(Photo: Brady Klain/WCSN)
Like the rest of the Pac-12 football head coaches, Arizona State head coach Herm Edwards spoke to media members as a part of the conference’s media webinar day ahead of its anticipated Nov. 7 start to its abbreviated season.
Here are the key points Edwards discussed throughout the media session.
Short schedule, COVID-19 bring unprecedented challenges to season
The Sun Devils were projected to finish No. 2 overall in the Pac-12 South in the Pac-12 Media Poll released on Wednesday morning. Edwards said his team will have little margin for error in its seven-game campaign and cannot let its guard down if it hopes to live up to preseason expectations.
“All of these games become similar to tournament play, like in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament,” Edwards said. “You win and you move on. There’s not a lot of error. When you lose, you hope you have the time to catch up, but with a limited number of games, they are all tough. This conference is very competitive among each team. There’s no gimmie game.”
On top of that, the COVID-19 pandemic has led to postponed games across the country. Edwards said that what’s scheduled is not necessarily guaranteed.
“We’re playing two opponents,” he said of the COVID-19 virus. “The one you prepare for and the one that you see on tape, and the one you cannot see. You can’t let your guard down at any time.
“It can be catastrophic to a football program.”
Edwards said his players will have to be responsible to take the proper precautions to preserve the season.
“I think the conference did a tremendous job helping us with testing, but when you’re in the bubble it’s one thing. When you leave the bubble, who you socialize with is very important,” Edwards said.
Skill position players have impressed
The Sun Devils have three inexperienced running backs, two prominent freshman pass catchers and a new offensive coordinator heading into the 2020 season.
Freshmen wide receivers LV Bunkley-Shelton and Johnny Wilson have both caught the head coach’s eye, among others.
“Johnny, obviously with his length, has tremendous catch radius,” Edwards said. “It’s the first thing [with him]. He can run.
“LV has been fantastic. He really has. He’s made plays everyday in practice.”
First-year ASU offensive coordinator Zak Hill utilized multiple running backs during his tenure in the same role at Boise State from 2016-2019, something Edwards said he may have at his disposal this year in Tempe.
“We have three [running backs] and they all have a little different skillset,” Edwards said.
Edwards compared freshman running back Daniyel Ngata to former ASU running back and current Arizona Cardinal Eno Benjamin, citing the former four-star all-purpose-back’s elusiveness and feet.
Freshman DeaMonte Trayanum, who currently measures 5-foot-11 and 230 pounds, according to ASU’s roster, drew a much more physical descrpition.
“He’s powerful,” Edwards said of Trayanum. “When I’m standing back there and he runs through a hole I’m like, ‘Woah.'”
Edwards said junior running back Rachaad White, who transfered to ASU from Walnut (Calif.) Mt. San Antonio College, had features of both freshmen backs in his game.
“[He’s] a combination of both,” Edwards said. “He’s a little taller. A long running back. Great hands. Great vision.”
Edwards said it is still anyone’s race to win the starting running back job and a leader will become clearer when ASU starts practicing in pads.
“I think it changes somewhat when you put shoulder pads on,” he said. “The last time we had pads on was in March. We put them on on Monday. Things change. It’s amazing sometimes.”
9 a.m. kickoff against USC not a concern
Long-rumored reports about the Pac-12 considering earlier kickoff times came to fruition during Saturday’s schedule release, but the morning start doesn’t bother Edwards and the Sun Devils, according to the third-year head coach.
“We’re fortunate enough that we practice in the morning,” Edwards said “We’re a morning team. We don’t practice in the afternoon. For us, it’s business as usual as far as body clock.”
ASU’s opponent also helps those who struggle to hit the alarm clock, given that many Sun Devils have personal connections to the Trojans.
“When you get to play on national television against a team like USC, it brings excitement to our players,” Edwards said. “A lot of our players are from the Los Angeles area, so this is a big home game for them.”
After the long offseason and the odds of playing football this Fall hitting nearly zero just months ago, the team is just ready to get going.
“At certain times during the shutdown, it felt like, ‘Are we ever going to play?,'” Edwards said. “When you’re playing a football game, regardless of what time it is, players are excited about playing.”
