(Photo: Nicholas Badders/WCSN) Marcus Ball has a lot of tattoos. Each one serves a particular meaning or purpose, but there’s one on his leg that stands out: a puzzle piece with a football inside. Written on the football are the initials “LXB.” Above the puzzle piece is the phrase “Find Your
Football
ASU Football: Breaking down probable depth chart through coaches’ words
(Photo: Nicholas Badders/WCSN) With the start of the 2017 Arizona State football season exactly one week away, the Sun Devils’ opening night depth chart has appeared to take shape. With the two-deep roster looking set for next Thursday’s opener against New Mexico State, we break down who will be playing, and
ASU Football: Fixing inefficient offense a key for new season
(Photo: Nicholas Badders/WCSN) It’s easy to scapegoat Arizona State’s defense as the exclusive cause for the program's losing season in 2016. Plenty have done so, citing the team’s oft-maligned, blitz-happy scheme and nation-worst pass defense as the reason for the Sun Devils’ disappointing 5-7 record last fall. However, an inability to stop opponents was
ASU Football: Defensive Coordinator Bennett Not Changing Style for Move to Pac-12
(Photo: Nicholas Badders/WCSN) Phil Bennett has been a lot places during his nearly 40 years of coaching college football. But this season -- his first as Arizona State's defensive coordinator -- will represent a new chapter in Bennett's legacy: it is the first time he has ever coached in the Pac-12 conference. With vast experience
ASU Football: Walk-on Frank Ogas finally gets his chance
(Photo: Nicholas Badders/WCSN) A call from mom can provide reassurance and a sense of comfort for a college student going through a tough time. During all the tribulations of his college football career, ASU fullback Frank Ogas kept his mother’s words in the back of his mind. “Frankie, you’re stronger than that.” Whether
ASU Football: New Kicker Duo Ready to Continue Sun Devils Special Team Success
(Photo: Brett Deckert/WCSN) As the old football adage goes, “any drive that ends with a kick is a successful one.” At Arizona State this season, it’s a safe bet that almost every one of those kicks will be successful too. Brandon Ruiz and Michael Sleep-Dalton couldn’t be much more different on paper. One
Game of Trenches: Sam Jones leads ASU football to war in 2017
(Photo: Ryan Clarke/WCSN) Sam Jones made powerful, motivating gestures as he gave his end of summer speech to the ASU football team, pointing to individual teammates and pumping his fist. “Tougher than hell every day, right? It’s not just a saying, man,” Jones said. “We did it every day of the summer.
ASU Football: Graham Happy With Sun Devils’ Ball Security, Discipline In Preseason Scrimmage
(Photo: Blaine McCormick/WCSN) Arizona State took the field at Sun Devil Stadium for the second of three intra-squad preseason scrimmages Saturday night, pleasing head coach Todd Graham by avoiding turnovers and penalties, and showing development as a group after another week of practices. “Eliminate penalties, we did that,” Graham said of his
ASU Football: Williams Skill on the Field, Character Off of It, Has Him Poised for Breakout Season
(Photo: August Frank/Oregon News Lab) After Arizona State’s dejecting road loss to Oregon last year, a 5-foot-10 teenager, who only months before had graduated high school, was helping push Sun Devil equipment trunks up the tunnel at Autzen Stadium in Eugene. If not for the white #10 jersey he was wearing, you
ASU Football: True Freshman Forman Becoming a Force On Defensive Line
(Photo: Blaine McCormick/WCSN) In a front seven filled with returning veteran starters, first-year defensive tackle Shannon Forman is forcing his way to the top of Arizona State’s depth chart this preseason. Less than three months after graduating from Southern Lab High School in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the 6-foot-1 lineman has been a revelation