ASU Football: Passing game a “work in progress” in Sun Devils’ last month

(Photo: Dom Contini/WCSN)

In Monday’s media availability, Arizona State Football head coach Herm Edwards perhaps summed up perfectly why the Sun Devils’ struggling passing game needs to step it up.

“It’s easier to fly to California than to drive,” Edwards said. “I’ve done both and it’s actually easier to fly than to drive, especially when you got a puppy and you make more stops.

“Every once in a while you got to hit one.”

Garnering laughs from the media room, Edwards’ metaphor holds true. While the “puppy” line might throw someone off, his main emphasis was on the importance of developing an aerial attack to balance ASU’s potent running game.

While the passing game has shown glimpses of what it can be – ASU’s upset win against UCLA being a prime example – junior quarterback Jayden Daniels has not been asked to do too much throwing the football.

Yet, when he has thrown, it has been inconsistent. In Daniels’ first two seasons at ASU, he threw only three total interceptions. In the last two games, he has four interceptions with a combined passer rating of 103.2.

Edwards is calling the passing game a “work in progress.”

“With the receivers, there’s been a lot of guys in and out of the lineup – that’s a little bit of the problem as well,” he said. “[There has] been a few [balls] that have been dropped that you can clean up. [There have] been some probably [where] Jayden wishes he could take back, as far as maybe putting it in a little window – a little tighter.”

This past Saturday against USC, the Sun Devils were perhaps feeling fortunate that Daniels’ mistakes didn’t come back and bite them. Following Daniels’ first interception of the game, the Trojans missed a field goal that would have cut the deficit to one point to close the half. The second one took place near the end of the third quarter with ASU then leading by one, but USC went three-and-out on the ensuing drive.

While ASU’s timely stops or USC’s offensive ineptitudes could both be argued for in these cases, the main takeaway is that Daniels’ errors didn’t swing the game’s outcome like others this season.

It is easy to lose track of this fault line in the offense when redshirt senior running back Rachaad White is wreaking havoc on opposing defenses, as he steamrolled the Trojans with a career-high 202 yards to receive Pac-12 Conference Player of the Week honors. Edwards compared White to Hall of Fame back Marcus Allen, with his similar stature and sharp cutting ability.

Still, as Edwards alluded, if the car breaks down, then the plane has to be ready to take its place and fly. With ASU having three weeks left in its season and now gaining bowl eligibility, it becomes even more imperative to get the passing game going. Luckily, Daniels’ miscues seem to be fixable, according to Edwards.

“Your feet have to be quiet where you can step into throws,” he said. “I think that’s probably the most important thing. That’s just technique, and fundamentals and just trusting it. And not being in a hurry so much, but just getting your feet in rhythm with your arm, and coming over the top, not so much dropping your elbow…”

Since Daniels’ stellar freshman season in 2019, expectations have been set on the junior to build upon his play. Both Edwards and Daniels are aware of this. The 2020 season was a throwaway season for ASU, setting the stage for 2021 to possibly be Daniels’ shining year.

Now, Edwards realizes that he must remind Daniels that the pressure isn’t all on him, and that there’s still time left to fix the plane.

“We realize what he’s dealing with,” Edwards said. “He can’t do it by himself though. I think [those are] the conversations I have to have with him – that you just can’t do it alone. He understands, he’s a quarterback. He’ll get through it – he’ll be fine. [But] we’ve got some work to do.”