After a month and a half of dramatic change, Arizona State is finally settling into a routine with solidified roles under interim head coach Shaun Aguano. Trenton Bourguet is now the established starting quarterback. Aguano took over play calling duties from offensive coordinator Glenn Thomas. And the offense as a whole is operating in an up-tempo style that has catalyzed positive change in the two games since the disaster at Stanford.
“Over the weeks, it’s progressively gotten better. When we first made the changes, some people were (saying) ‘oh can we do it,’ because we’d been huddling all year,” Bourguet said of the new offensive tempo. “We haven’t really changed anything offensively besides not huddling. Everything is still coming in signal-wise. A lot of us are used to up-tempo from high school. Just trying to run the most plays that we can.”
Bourguet has showcased a number of strengths in his three games at the controls of the ASU offense. One of his intangible traits is the ability to diagnose and read defenses before the snap and then exploit those to execute on a play. Bourguet is a cerebral quarterback. He won’t dominate physically, but he will definitely be prepared to out prepare the opponent.
“That’s just a credit to our game plan. Coach Thomas and Coach Aguano do a good job of breaking down what we will see in film and understanding what we’re looking for in film. It’s a whole team effort; it’s not just me at quarterback.”
At 3-6, Arizona State must win out in its remaining three contests to clinch bowl eligibility. Besides the Covid shortened 2020 campaign, the Sun Devils have been to a bowl each year since 2016. It’s not a streak anyone wants to be a part of breaking. Bourguet acknowledged the pressure that comes with a final stretch like this one but maintained that the team’s preparation doesn’t change on a weekly basis based on circumstance.
“Yes and no, every week is super important to us,” he said shortly. “We look at going 1-0 each week. But definitely, we know it’s coming down to the end of the schedule. Right now, we’re looking at Washington State. Those next two teams we’ll look at in the future right now, it’s all on Washington State.”
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Unsurprisingly, each of Bourguet’s teammates has praised his poise and leadership since taking over as quarterback. No one is closer with the signal caller than the center, and redshirt junior Ben Scott too, has been impressed with what he’s seen from number 16.
“I think Trenton just runs the offense really smoothly,” Scott said simply. “He puts the ball in his playmakers’ hands quickly and reads the RPO plays well. When Trenton sees an RPO play that’s open, he’s going to take it.”
Scott has anchored an offensive line that has seen its fair share of adversity this season. Ladarius Henderson has been sidelined for a month now with a finger injury that threatens the remainder of his season. Position groups have been shuffled on either side of Scott as a result of Henderson’s absence. Usual tackle Des Holmes has shifted to right guard, while right guard Chris Martinez crossed the formation to left guard. Despite the revolving door, Scott has been a constant, and he believes the depth of his group is on display. He said that the current personnel group is strong and one that should inspire confidence against a tough Washington State front that offers unique challenges for offensive linemen.
“They move a lot up front; it’s a very active defensive line,” Scott explained. “They’re not huge, they’re not the typical stout defensive linemen you see, but they’re very technical. We should be ready when we do see those weird looks and blitzes. It’s pre-snap recognition; I mainly put that on myself as center.”
Scott and his fellow linemen boasted their prowess in the run game very often during the preseason. He still feels as though they can play smash mouth football, but the strength of the offense of late has been its ability to move the ball through the air.
“I still feel like our strength is the run game, but with the way the offense is rolling right now, we’ve been passing the ball a lot more just to get those quick passes into our guys’ hands because that’s what is working. That’s where we’re exposing opponent’s defenses. A lot of teams will try to mess with us by bringing a safety in the box, but that opens up the pass game even more than that.”
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Defensive backs Jordan Clark (redshirt junior) and Chris Edmunds (junior) have endured ASU’s defensive struggles while also shining personally. Clark has two picks in the last three games, and Edmunds notched his third interception of the season on UCLA’s first play from scrimmage Saturday night. They’ll have a lot more opportunities to make plays defending the passing game on Saturday afternoon in Pullman, as the Cougars’ Air Raid offense keeps secondaries on their toes.
“They’re known for that air raid offense; they like to throw the ball around,” Clark confirmed. “It’s like Coach Donnie (Henderson) says all the time it’s assignment-based football. Don’t worry about anybody else’s job, do your job every single play.”
Third downs have been woeful for ASU on both sides of the ball this season. The defense, in particular, has consistently been unable to get off the field on the pivotal down, allowing third down conversions of all distances to plague them since early September.
“Third downs have been a big concern; obviously, we have to get off the field,” Edmunds said. “It’s what we’ve really been harping on this week at practice. A lot of our competitions have been getting off the field on third down.”
“It comes down to the preparation we do at practice,” Clark added. “It has to be a focus in practice. It’s the preparation. Watching film and making sure those things are right in practice.”
It was likely a very unpleasant film session for the ASU defense on Sunday. The group had to relive a ghastly performance in the run game that saw UCLA rack up 403 yards on the ground. When learning from a performance like that, leadership is paramount. Clark and Edmunds are vocal leaders, but they emphasized that senior captain Kyle Soelle is the one whose voice is amplified during film sessions.
“Kyle Soelle. For sure,” Clark said as Edmonds nodded in agreement. He’s always been that voice in the room, the guy we’ve kind of looked to for leadership. It’s always been 34. Nothing has changed.”
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