ASU QB Emory Jones rattled early, shaky as a passer in Utah loss
Early in the third quarter, Arizona State quarterback Emory Jones clapped for the ball from his stance in the shotgun. The offense faced second-and-10, needing to capitalize on a defensive interception and chip away at the 18-point lead held by No. 13 Utah. Jones executed the play-action fake pitch to running back Xazavian Valladay, ambled away on a naked bootleg, and locked onto his downfield reads.
What Jones saw, and what his receiving group gave him, was an opportunity to cause a splash. Andre Johnson streaked away deep behind coverage. Messiah Swinson and Elijhah Badger put Utah’s secondary in a bind with a deep vertical concept. Cam Johnson was available underneath with room as he coasted to the flat.
But what Jones didn’t see was Utah safety Cole Bishop charging toward him at full speed, unblocked and on the prowl, entirely unaccounted for by ASU’s protection as he twisted away from his position in the box.
Bishop rocked the unsuspecting Jones with such a level of ferocity that the officials had to examine the play for a targeting penalty. Bishop was eventually cleared of the infraction, and the Sun Devils retreated to a gloomy third-and-21. The momentum of a potential scoring drive completely vanished. Utah added to its lead on the ensuing drive, then churned out the rest of the clock for an unpanicked 34–13 win.
The discouraging sack was indicative of a rough night for Jones. Jones was inconsistent in hitting simple throws, fired off the mark on most downfield shots, and looked skittish when Utah’s pass rush forced him to extend plays. The junior quarterback completed 21 of 36 passes for 261 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions. Jones finished with minus 21 yards rushing the football, the consequence of taking five sacks.
Jones was rattled almost immediately out of the gate. His first pass was batted down at the line. Utah challenged ASU immediately with aggression on the next play and hit home before Jones had a chance to load up. In an obvious passing situation on third-and-17, Utah stormed through the offensive line seconds after Jones finished his dropback.
Utah drove six times in the first half and came away with points on four of them, including two back-to-back touchdowns to tight end Dalton Kincaid. Urgency started to set in for the Sun Devils at the top of the second quarter. They needed to keep pace with their opponent.
Jones spun the ball across the hashes to Charles Hall IV on an outside hitch. The crossfield rope seemed to hang in the air for an eternity. Utah cornerback Clark Phillips III, a Jim Thorpe Award watchlist honoree, swiftly closed on the route and bounced in front of the outstretched hands of Hall. Phillips snatched the interception cleanly while Hall drew yellow laundry for latching onto the cornerback’s facemask.
“He made a great play,” Jones said. “He jumped it. They have great players on their team, too. That’s football.”
Jones’ second interception concluded the last drive of ASU’s second-half scoring drought. The target, 6-foot-7 tight end Messiah Swinson, ran his slant route sharply inside and less vertical than intended. With pressure about to envelop him, Jones had to whip the ball forward and could not adjust.
The play looked eerily similar to the pair’s missed connection on ASU’s opening drive against Oklahoma State. The ball dropped harmlessly off Swinson’s hands then. This time, Jones’ throw ended up in the belly of Bishop, the same player who walloped Jones earlier.
“I was expecting my guy to do something a little different,” Jones explained. “But they blitzed. They were in a Cover-0 alignment and blitzed all their guys. I had to get the ball out quickly. I did that, and it was a little bit behind him. It was just a little miscommunication on our part.”
The Sun Devils also struggled to find success on third down, converting just three of 11 opportunities. The team’s average third down distance was 10.5 yards. When the team got into some of the more manageable down and distance scenarios, Jones acknowledged his accuracy suffered.
“We just didn’t really execute, honestly,” Jones said. “A couple of those third downs were on me. I threw a couple of high balls on third down, and we had to get off the field. That’s something I have to clean up, and I’ll do that, for sure.”
“We were definitely behind the chains,” ASU interim head coach Shaun Aguano said. “I thought we didn’t take advantage of our first downs to give them a shot on second-and-5 or less where we were not predictable. I thought Utah’s defense was able to pin their ears back and come at us, and that provides a lot of heartache for us because then they are bringing four, five, and six (rushers).
“I did like Emory’s poise in the pocket. There’s a lot of duress, and there are bullets flying at him. He couldn’t get his feet set, couldn’t make those throws. That is something we do have to work on because we played behind the chains all night. That’s something I’ll address with my offensive staff. How do we get better in that? If we can get better in the next game, staying ahead of the chains, I think we will be able to elongate series and be successful as well.”
Jones was also not a major part of ASU’s rushing attack until the second half. The usage was surprising, as ASU offensive coordinator Glenn Thomas was expected to amplify the quarterback’s athleticism and create moments of crisis in Utah’s defense. Jones racked up 759 yards on the ground a year ago. Florida dual-threat gunslinger Anthony Richardson, who Jones shared a quarterback room with until his transfer to ASU in May, gashed Utah badly for 106 rushing yards in the Gators’ 29-26 win earlier this month.
It was too little, too late, when ASU attempted to force Utah to respect its quarterback’s dynamic wheels. The backfield contributed six total yards, the fewest in a single game in ASU history. Although the offense has a read-option element installed, establishing Jones as a rushing threat must be a priority for Thomas to open up the rest of the offense.
“I was just doing what the defense presented,” Jones said. “The (defensive) ends shot to the running backs a little bit, and I got some pulls and got to the edge. When I’m running and passing, I feel like we’re a better offense.”
After ASU’s non-conference loss to Eastern Michigan, Jones mentioned the team did not focus as well as it should have in its game week preparations. Jones, defensive tackle Nesta Jade Silvera, and safety Khoury Bethley said they responded well to shifts made by Aguano to sharpen the operational flow of practice. All three players believed the Sun Devils were in a better position to compete this week.
“Nothing will be changed in a game or one week,” Jones said. “But I do think the changes that Coach Aguano made will be very good for our team the rest of the season.”
As for the insights about his team gained from playing Utah, Aguano personally vowed to start reviewing the team’s shortcomings immediately.
“If I don’t make adjustments, shame on me,” Aguano said. “And shame on me because these kids need to get the best of us as a coaching staff.”
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