ASU Football: Edwards reviews Week 1, Hodges’, Butler’s performance

Arizona State Football head coach Herm Edwards spoke to the media on Monday four days after the Sun Devils defeated Southern Utah 41-14 to open up the 2021 season. Here were some takeaways from Edwards’ press conference.

Penalty total still hard to get over

Edwards warned in his press conference a week ago before the season’s kickoff that the matchup against the Thunderbirds could be sloppy. While 11 penalties for over 120 yards in the first half likely wasn’t what Edwards had in mind, some of the issues he did mention came to light.

“I think, along with the fanbases, nobody knew how to act,” he said. “This is the first time we’ve seen fans. Our players were like, ‘Wow, these are fans.’ and the fans were like ‘Wow, we’re watching a football game.’ It’s just funny how that works. We haven’t seen fans in two years.”

Sideline conduct and the bright lights seemed to be Edwards’ reasoning for why ASU had such a lack of discipline in the first half Thursday.

“I hope we got that out of our system,” Edwards said. “There’s a fine line between being passionate and emotional. You can’t get emotional.”

The head coach said the Sun Devils participated in a walkthrough on Sunday to clean some of their errors up. Against a higher level of competition in UNLV this coming weekend, stats like nine 1st and longs in the first half may come back to bite a little more.

“I’m hoping we’re not as sloppy,” Edwards said.

Get used to Curtis Hodges

ASU’s pass-catching corps consisted of highly-touted yet inexperienced talent entering the season. One of the biggest questions for the Sun Devils in 2021 was who would emerge as junior quarterback Jayden Daniels’ No. 1 option. In Thursday’s win over the Thunderbirds, it was senior tight end Curtis Hodges, who only had two catches but led the Sun Devils in receiving yards with 56.

“I think he’s excited about tight end being a big part of our offense,” Edwards said.

Hodges’ two catches on the night were big ones, with each going for 29 and 27 yards respectively. But Edwards was quick to point out that it just wasn’t Hodges’ receiving that was strong.

“This was his best game he’s played since I’ve been here,” Edwards said. “Not only catching the ball, but blocking. Our offensive line did a nice job blocking. It all starts up front, and Curtis was a big part of it. I’m happy for him.”

Second-year offensive coordinator Zak Hill’s system features the tight end position much more than former offensive coordinator Rob Likens’ did. Edwards said that the scheme changes Hodges has gone through, in addition to the injuries he’s faced, seemed to hurt his performance the past few years but that he’s turning himself around now.

“He’s been through a lot,” Edwards said. “He’s been injured. He’s been kind of in and out. He had all kinds of things going on, and his life is focused now. He wants an opportunity to play at the next level, and I think if he can play like that, he’ll get an opportunity.”

Darien Butler’s growth

While Hodges might have been the star through the air on offense, it might have been senior linebacker Darien Butler on the other end.

“He made some tackles in that game – I should have taken a couple guys and said ‘Look at the way Darien is playing right now. He’s really playing good,’” Edwards said of Butler’s five tackle, two interception night on Thursday. “He likes the style of this defense.”

Butler being the star of the show in a season-opener might have been a surprise a couple years ago. As a recruit and freshman, he well was behind the eight-ball.

“He was a blue-shirt,” Edwards explained. “He was one of those guys where we didn’t have enough scholarships. So he had to wait, and then all of the sudden, we had a scholarship become available so we said ‘Hey, come in.’

“He came in late into camp, started as a freshman, and you watch this guy as a freshman – he’s now a team captain, [and] one of the voices on the defense.”

Edwards said Butler’s growth has been rooted in his increased vocal presence on the team.

“He didn’t say a lot,” Edwards said. “Now, when he says something, people listen because Darien is talking.”