ASU Football: Confidence in Mike Bercovici grows on offense

(Photo: Scotty Bara/WCSN)

The Sun Devils opened up their sixth week of practice and second week with quarterback Mike Bercovici at the reins on Tuesday.

Opting to remain outside on the practice field for the duration of the day, rather than moving indoors to the Dickey Dome at the halfway point, the media was not granted entrance until the commencement of 11-on-11 play.

Defensive positional shuffling was evident once again, as Marcus Ball, Carlos Mendoza and Edmond Boateng all received first-team looks over the incumbents, Laiu Moeakiola, D.J. Calhoun and De’Marieya Nelson, respectively.

Despite this ever-flowing, week-by-week approach on the defensive side of the ball, the offense continues to remain unchanged and unwavering in its support for Mike Bercovici.

Offense backs Berco

“Obviously the biggest positive is getting a win,” Bercovici said. “But I think guys trust me a little bit (now). Offensive line, running backs, receivers, I think we know we have a potential to do something great… I’m doing everything I can to keep us going in the right direction, and not going backwards.”

Now making the second start of his collegiate career, Bercovici acknowledged that he learned a vast amount in last week’s contest against UCLA.

“I feel like I’ve done a pretty good job understanding situational football, but you don’t realize the magnitude of each play when you’re in a Thursday night, prime-time game like that. It was a huge learning experience. I wish it weren’t a learning experience, but going into this next game, I’ve got even more confidence,” Bercovici said.

That confidence undoubtedly grew as the game progressed last week, as Bercovici finished the game with 488 passing yards and set school records in completions (42) and attempts (68).

Nevertheless, Coach Todd Graham expects more from his redshirt junior quarterback, and elimination of turnovers is the point of emphasis.

“It doesn’t matter how many yards you have. It doesn’t matter how many completions you have,” Graham said. “That’s all for everybody else to talk about. The bottom line is you have to take care of the football, and that’s the biggest area where we made the most mistakes.”

“One interception was a spectacular interception,” Graham continued. “Those things will happen like that, but sometimes when you don’t have a lot of experience, you operate outside the system. He’ll tell you it wasn’t a great performance. There’s only one definition in our offense to a great performance: We don’t turn the football over. That’s the key to winning games.”

Of course, that “system” that Graham references is one that validates the mantra of “100 percent ball security.”

As Bercovici puts it, the system is “playing offense with a defensive mentality:”

“The way that’s going to happen is if we ground and pound,” Bercovici said. “We get five yards a pop, then D.J. [Foster] goes for 60 yards. I think that’s when we’re at our best—not when we have to sit back and pick them apart because that’s not easy as a quarterback.”

Bercovici’s three turnovers (two interceptions and one fumble) against UCLA obviously do not adhere to those standards. But then again, do 68 passing play calls adhere to “playing offense with a defensive mentality?”

The answer is no, but Bercovici attributes the heaps of passing attempts to the (blowout) nature of the game.

“It was game flow,” Bercovici said. “When we were down there’s not really time to run the football. We needed to get the ball going down the field. If you would have asked me how many times we were going to throw it, I would have said a normal amount. I had no idea. This week, if it calls for 68 pass plays, that’s what it’s going to be.”

In essence, based on what was said from Graham and Bercovici at Tuesday’s practice, the offensive game plan for USC will strive for balance. The aim is certainly to get star running back D.J. Foster more than nine rushing attempts.

But then again, different situations call for different play calls. If ASU’s defense continues with its inability to execute simple tackles, Bercovici is well-versed and well-prepared to uncork the football 60-plus times.

First-Team Defense

Defensive Line: Marcus Hardison (End), Jaxon Hood (Nose), Viliami Latu (Tiger)

Linebackers: Marcus Ball (SPUR), Salamo Fiso (SAM), Carlos Mendoza (WILL), Edmond Boateng (Devil-backer)

Cornerbacks: Kweishi Brown (Boundary), Lloyd Carrington (Field)

Safeties: Jordan Simone (Boundary), Damarious Randall (Field)

Practice Notes

* Laiu Moeakiola began 11 on 11 drills shadowing Marcus Ball at the SPUR linebacker position. Todd Graham could be heard yelling at players to not hit Moeakiola, and then opted to have Moeakiola put on a green no-contact jersey to be safe.

* After a poor performance against UCLA, DJ Calhoun was dropped to second-team duties. Carlos Mendoza, who is now fully recovered from a knee injury, instead got first-team reps at WILL linebacker.

* Graham downplayed the change in personnel, saying that he is just giving Mendoza reps now that he is healthy and creating competition.

* Paul Crawford, a 6’8” fifth-year senior who transferred from Florida International, earned second-team looks at the defensive end position.

* Bercovici played high school football with USC nose guard Antoine Woods. Despite the two being close friends, Bercovici said that he does not plan on talking to Woods until Sunday after an ASU win.

* Graham said that his expectations of senior safety Damarious Randall are extremely high and that perhaps he is trying to do too much after a poor tackling performance against UCLA.

* Graham also said that he received an academic report today. Along with it being the best one he has ever received, the Sun Devils are on target to be a 3.0 (GPA) football team.

Follow Jacob Garcia on Twitter @Jake_M_Garcia or connect with him on LinkedIn.

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