Badger arrives on the scene in an overall up and down day for ASU newcomers

Arizona State kicked off Pac-12 play at Sun Devil Stadium Saturday with a 35-13 drubbing of Colorado, and some of ASU’s first-year players made their presence known in Saturday night’s victory.

Offense

After seeing action for the first time in his ASU career last week at BYU, ASU redshirt freshman wideout Elijhah Badger made the first splash of his career on Saturday. His first touch of his career was a reverse play he took for 17 yards and a touchdown at the 7:53 mark in the third quarter. He also came down with a 6-yard reception, the first of his Sun Devil career.

Another fresh face with a first on Saturday was tight end Jalin Conyers. The Oklahoma transfer caught his first pass as a Sun Devil when ASU quarterback Jayden Daniels found him for a gain of five yards on ASASU’sirst offensive possession.

An offensive newcomer ASU was still missing on Saturday was wide receiver, Bryan Thompson. Thompson hurt his hamstring in ASUASU’sctory over UNLV on Sept. 11 and has missed the past two weeks.

Defense

The ASU defensive newcomers had some highs and lows on Saturday. True freshman 3-technique defensive tackle B.J. Green II was the greatest example of this.

On ColorColorado’st drive of the game, Green combined on a sack on a third down to force Colorado to punt. In the second quarter, however, he hit Colorado quarterback Brendon Lewis late and was flagged for roughing the passer. The ill-advised hit high on the quarterback was reviewed by the officiating crew for targeting and was confirmed. Green was ejected from the game.

“It’s a tough call on B.J.,” said ASU defensive coordinator Antonio Pierce. “Young“kid, got to learn...Wasn’t intentional, but in the game of college football, you got to get a lower target where it’s about hitting the sternum. He was a little too high.”

True freshman Eric Gentry was another young player that stood out on defense for the Sun Devils on Saturday. The outside linebacker had a solid tackle for loss midway through the second quarter in addition to a quarterback pressure late in the third quarter. He finished the game with four total tackles, three of which were solo.

Other defensive newcomers making impacts were true freshman defensive back Tommi Hill (started at cornerback and had two solo tackles) and redshirt freshman defensive back Macen Williams (pass breakup). Hill did have a blunder midway through the second quarter when he was whistled for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty which moved the Buffaloes from their own 9-yard-line to their own 24-yard-line.

Special Teams

On special teams, true freshman punter Eddie Czaplicki was the young gun standing out. He punted four times in the game with an average of 43.5 yards per punt. Three of his four punts were downed inside the 20-yard-line. His highlight was his 44-yard punt that pinned the Colorado offense at its own 8-yard-line late in the first quarter. His one lowlight was his first punt of the day when he booted the ball a bit too far. Hill was unable to stop it from rolling into the endzone, and it became a touchback.

Other newcomers seeing time Saturday were true freshman defensive back Isaiah Johnson, true freshman defensive back RJ Regan, redshirt freshman defensive back Jean Boyd III and true freshman running back George Hart III (three carries, five yards),

True freshmen who have played the maximum number of games (four) if they want to redshirt

Running back George Hart III

Linebacker Eric Gentry

Defensive back Tommi Hill

Defensive lineman B.J. Green II

Defensive back RJ Regan

True freshmen who can play in more contests and still redshirt

Offensive lineman Isaia Glass (two games played)

Defensive back Isaiah Johnson (one game played)

Linebacker Jaydon Williams (zero games played)

Quarterback Finn Collins (zero games played)

Wide receiver Lonyatta Alexander (one game played)

Punter Adam Babb (zero games played)

Long snapper John Ferlmann (zero games played)

Kicker Jace Feely (zero games played)

Offensive lineman Ezra Dotson-Oyetade (zero games played)

Offensive lineman Armon Bethea (one game played)

Offensive lineman Austin Barry (one game played)

Offensive lineman Sione Veikoso (one game played)

Offensive lineman (two games played)

Defensive lineman Gharin Stansbury (two games played)

***

Graduate transfer defensive lineman Travez Moore played n three games before suffering a season-ending knee injury and could be eligible for a medical redshirt