ASU Football: Edwards looking for poise and focus against UCLA

(Photo: Susan Wong/WCSN)

Usually Arizona State Football head coach Herm Edwards opens up his Monday media availability by discussing the Sun Devils’ road ahead against their upcoming opponent. Instead, he chose to discuss life off the field, specifically citing two separate shootings involving players on Utah and Washington State that left one player injured and the other dead this weekend.

“We live in this world that we always think that everyday we get up and we’re going to control our destiny and our situations,” Edwards said. “When you see something like that it really hits home that two athletes – young people – put [themselves] in a position, or however they got in that position, and it’s just sad. That’s probably the most important thing I can tell you today.”

With thoughts and prayers extended to the respective programs, Edwards then moved ahead to the task of facing No. 20 ranked UCLA (3-1, 1-0 Pac-12) this Saturday.

How the Sun Devils counter the threat of UCLA

The Bruins present a similar offensive threat as the Sun Devils, with a dual-threat quarterback in senior Dorian Thompson-Robinson and a two-headed monster at running back in junior Zach Charbonnet and redshirt senior Brittain Brown.

“Very, very complementary football team,” Edwards said. “They don’t allow you to run, but they can run the ball. And that says something.”

Reflecting on the offense coming together

ASU flashed its ability to be a complementary team with a dominant 35-13 win over Colorado last Saturday. The offense displayed a balanced attack of passing and running the ball.

Junior quarterback Jayden Daniels improved in both facets, throwing for 276 yards and running for 75 yards with two touchdowns. While Edwards has called out Daniels for running the ball too much in games earlier this season, he was pleased with the junior protecting himself on Saturday.

“He got down,” Edwards said of Daniels. “Know when the journey is over, get down, don’t take an unnecessary hit. You don’t have to try to show people you’re a tough guy. The tough guy is the guy that can play the next play when you play quarterback.

“This was one of his better games, I thought, sliding and protecting himself.”

Wide receivers as a whole break out

The Sun Devils’ wide receivers were also able to benefit from the developing passing game, with steady, 70-plus yard performances from three different pass catchers against Colorado.

Even though a No. 1 receiver has not emerged yet, Edwards said that the most consistent wideout has been junior Ricky Pearsall. While he only caught two passes for -2 yards against Colorado, Pearsall has been able to make an impact as a receiver (13 catches for 107 yards), rusher (40 yards and a touchdown) and a passer (2-for-2 with 59 yards and a touchdown) this season.

“He’s kind of like the swiss army knife,” Edwards said. “He can do a lot of things. It’s fun to watch him develop. He’s been here since his freshman year and now he is a guy who can make things happen with the ball in his hand.”

After focus paid off against Colorado, urgency is there again

Edwards stressed the significance of his players keeping poise and focus against UCLA, considering that many of the Sun Devils are from the Southern California area. Similar to his sentiments before ASU’s home opener, he hopes that the veterans on the team will be able to “keep their emotions in check.”

The first time ASU was on the road was two weeks ago against BYU in Provo, Utah. With the penalties and mental lapses the Sun Devils committed in that game, Edwards’ message this week will be consistency.

“When you don’t give the opponent extra opportunities due to your own errors, you can play somewhat of a consistent game both on offense and defense,” Edwards said. “When you do that you have a chance to win.

“Just don’t muck it up. Just don’t muck it up with fouls and penalties and turnovers. I always say, ‘Try to play a clean game.’ That’s what every coach aspires to do. If you can do that, you have a chance to win games.”

Other notes from Monday’s media availability:

Edwards said that three players will return from injury for this weekend’s game against UCLA:

Senior cornerback Chase Lucas, who missed the Colorado game after getting hurt at BYU.
Sophomore running back DeaMonte Trayanum, whose ankle injury has kept him out of the past three games.
Senior wide receiver Bryan Thompson, who has missed the past two games with a hamstring injury.