(Photo: Nicholas Badders/WCSN)
Five games into the season, it is safe to say the Arizona State football team has been battle tested.
With a win over then No. 15 Michigan State and a close battle with then No. 10 Washington, ASU has had its fair share of trials. But the Sun Devils face a talent they have not seen this season in No. 21 Colorado’s sophomore wide out Laviska Shenault Jr.
“I think he’s a really good player,” defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales said.
“I’ve watched a lot of film on him,” ASU sophomore cornerback Chase Lucas said Wednesday. “He’s a good receiver.”
Shenault has 38 catches for 581 yards on the season and four touchdowns. Shenault is so highly touted, in fact, comparisons to Pac-12 elite talents N’Keal Harry (ASU) and Stanford’s J.J. Arcega-Whiteside have been made.
“They have a receiver similar to N’Keal,” coach Herm Edwards said. “They move him around, try to get him the ball.”
“People try to compare him to N’Keal…they have similar attributes,” Lucas said. “Two different players. I think he’s a really good ball player.”
“Very similar frame to N’Keal (Harry),” Gonzales said. “I think we’ve seen how we use N’Keal, they do the same thing. We’ve been practicing against this since spring so hopefully that’ll help.”
Part of what makes Harry so dangerous as a playmaker is the different ways ASU elects to utilize his talents, and Shenault is no different.
With a touchdown in every game through the air this season, Shenault is a constant threat through the air, but he has also added an additional two touchdowns on the ground.
While Lucas knows that Shenault’s statistics are eye-popping, he won’t be thinking about that when he lines up across from the receiver on Saturday.
“I just want to line up against him, (number) 24 against (number) 2 and just ball out,” Lucas said.
The Sun Devils will look to slow down Shenault as they take on the newly-ranked Buffaloes on Saturday.
