Paul Lucas’ appearances in his first year at Arizona State were few and far between.

They came almost entirely in the kick return game, where he had six touches for 127 return yards, to compliment his 12 yards on his season’s lone carry.

Not terrible, but a very, very small sample size.

That said, he’s made it abundantly clear over the past several years, particularly in high school and in two years at Oregon State, what he’s got most prominently going for him.

Speed.

“Speed is always there,” Lucas said. “You can tell when we do things like one-on-ones, and DBs are opening their hips early, it makes running routes way easier for me, because I feel like they know they have to scoot back.”

“I would say I pride myself on my speed,” he added.

At Mountain Pointe High School, Lucas was a two-sport athlete, tabbed as a Rivals three-star in football while competing for track-and-filed state titles in multiple years, and even winning one as a sophomore with a time of 10.44 seconds in the 100-meter dash.

But despite that apparent skillset, Lucas probably won’t see too many snaps at running back. That was always to be expected, with a Top 5 rusher in the nation returning for his junior season in Eno Benjamin, and other quality players like redshirt junior Isaiah Floyd and sophomore A.J. Carter to back him up.

It’s clear, though, through two weeks of spring practices, that the Sun Devils’ offensive coaches are at least trying to find to somehow get him involved in an offense that has plenty of returning talent at its skill positions.

This spring, Lucas has found himself useful in the passing game on a handful of occasions, mostly out of the slot.

“I caught, like, a wheel route out of the backfield, and coaches Likens was like, ‘You’re too athletic not to be in the game,’” Lucas said. “‘So we’re going to put you in the slot and see what you can do there.’”

Other than his obvious role on special teams, an occasional slot receiver function makes plenty of sense for a guy like Lucas. He’s certainly got quickness to beat any linebacker one-on-one, and if he can get into space, he can be dangerous.

According to coaches, that’s kind of the hope. Wide receivers coach Charlie Fisher was very clear that Kyle Williams is still the go-to at slot receiver entering his senior year — and rightfully so — but Williams’ absence from recent practices due to class conflicts has given Lucas an opportunity to, at the very least, show what he’s capable of.

“Right now, with Kyle having class, and having some of that, it’s opened up some opportunities for him to get reps,” Fisher said. “Kyle Williams is our slot receiver. Bottom line. But it’s opened up some opportunities for Paul to get reps, which has been good for him.”

Lucas can run the ball; he proved that at OSU, averaging just over five yards per carry on 56 attempts in two seasons.

But while with the Beavers, Lucas was a similar passing threat. Interestingly enough, he was actually listed on the OSU roster as a receiver. In 2015, he only caught the ball once, but in his 2016 campaign, he totaled 76 yards on five receptions.

Again, a small sample size. But ASU’s coaches can work with that, and plan to.

“The thing about Paul, he was a running back and doesn’t have the natural hands, so you develop his hands,” offensive coordinator Likens said. “Today he had a couple drops and he struggled and that’s going to happen with his development, but up until today, I thought he’s been doing great.”

“A lot is demanded of him, a lot is expected from him,” Likens added. “We’ve put a lot on his shoulders and it ran together a little bit on him today, but up until this point, he’s been doing very well, I’m really pleased with him.”

Then again, it’s not every day you’ve got the kind of guy whose 100-meter dash time is Top 5 in Arizona high school history. If you can, you’re going to at least try to find a way to use that to your advantage.

“They’ll find different things that go with everybody’s strengths,” Lucas said. “It feels good to know that there’s a plan going ahead.”

For now, Lucas is still learning the position of receiver, the plays, the technique, and so forth.

He certainly has gotten some experience under his belt — not to mention, the opportunity to learn behind NFL wide receivers like Brandin Cooks (Los Angeles) and Victor Bolden (Buffalo) at OSU — but there’s certainly a period adjustment having essentially been removed from the position since the 2015 season.

What those two receivers — particularly Bolden — taught Lucas was quite valuable. According to Lucas, they explained to him how to harness his elite speed as a wide receiver, and therefore make it even more lethal.

“It’s like, being able to set people up, and knowing that you have the speed to get away,” Lucas said. “And knowing, ‘If I change gears right here, and then suddenly stop, the DB is going to think I’m going deep,’ it makes everything easier, just being able to change gears.”

With that in mind, he sees explosiveness and big-play capability as the way he can make the biggest difference in a new role.

“Specifically, I feel like I have a home run ability, I would say,” Lucas said. “You know, being able to take a five-yard hitch route or a three-yard slant for six. So, those kinds of things, for sure.”

According to Fisher, there’s still a ways to go, but the potential is clearly there for Lucas to make an impact in the passing game in his final season of college football.

“He’s getting better, still got a lot of work ahead of him,” Fisher said. “It’s a process, it’s not going to happen in five practices, or eight practices. So, every rep he gets, he learns something.”