Defense dominates spring game to the tune of four turnovers
In what has been a generally accurate depiction of what we saw in spring practice, ASU's spring game showcased an opportunistic defense that tallied four turnovers on Friday night and repeatedly halting the Sun Devils offense as the Maroon team beats the Gold team 50-46 in front of approximately 3,000 fans at Mountain America Stadium
"Defensively, we're attacking the ball, and I think you saw some hits that were physical," said head coach Kenny Dillingham, "that I really didn't see much last year. We tackled better than we have been in a live setting so that was better.
"We just have to take care of the ball on offense, and if we will do that, we'll be pretty good. I tell the guys all the time it's little things, toughness, taking care of the ball. Defensively, we attacked it, and we're going to win a lot of ball games doing that. Offensively, we're going to lose a lot of games if we don't do the little things."
Lineups
Marron Offense
First Group
LT Josh Atkins
LG Ben Coleman
C Leif Fautanu
RG Cade Briggs
RT Colby Garvin
QB Trenton Bourguet
RB Raleek Brown/Kyson Brown
SLOT Melquan Stovall
WR Jake Smith
WR Derek Eusebio
TE Cameron Harpole
Gold Offense
LT Bram Walden
LG Kyle Scott
C Sean Na’a
RG Ise Matautia
RT Emmit Bohle
QB Sam Leavitt
RB Cam Skattebo/George Hart III
SLOT Kaleb Black
WR Max Ware
WR Korbin Hendrix
TE Markeston Douglas
Gold Defense
EDGE Clayton Smith
DT CJ Fite
DT Sam Benjamin
EDGE Elijah O’Neal
LB Jordan Crook
LB K'vion Thunderbird
Nickel Cole Martin
CB Keontez Bradley
CB Javan Robinson
Safety Shamari Simmons
Safety Myles Rowser
Marron Defense
EDGE Prince Dorbah
DT Jacob Kongaika
DT Blazen Lono-Wong
EDGE Ramar Williams
LB Caleb McCollough
LB Zyrus Fiaseu
Nickel Keith Abney II
CB Rodney Bimage
CB Latterance Welch
Safety Xavion Alford
Safety Montana Warren
Among the non-participants were offensive lineman Jalen Klemm, running back DeCarlos Brooks, defensive linemenn Justin Wodtly and Kyran Bourda, and wide receiver Troy Omeire, who were out with injuries. Tight end Coleson Arends was under a non-contact restriction, while wide receiver Xavier Guillory participated in the non-team segments tonight. On the other hand, offensive lineman Bram Walden who only returned to a full participant in spring practice earlier this week, did participate in the spring game’s team segments.
Starting the night with red zone segments, the maroon offense concluded its first drive on a 35-yard field goal by Carston Kieffer, with a pair of false starts holding them back. The gold offense answered in two plays, as Cam Skattebo broke off two good rushes for the quick touchdown. On the next series, the maroon team came around for another field goal, which Sam Leavitt countered with a 16-yard keeper into the end zone.
Pass-catching 1v1s were relatively uneventful compared to the rest of the spring practices. Leavitt and Trenton Bourguet each had their own shortcomings that hindered the wide receivers. Bourguet had a miscommunication with Korbin Hendrix and later underthrew Derek Eusebio. Leavitt displayed strong throws but had an issue with overthrows in this period, albeit on a very windy night, missing Coben Bourguet and Max Ware on passes. Tommy Romano added a breakup on a Leavitt pass intended for Coleson Arends. George Hart III had a great rep against Isaac Stopke, putting fast feet off the snap to get open over the middle and catching a perfect pass from Leavitt.
Simulating third and long situations from midfield, Bourguet often targeted Melquan Stovall and Kyson Brown, moving the chains or setting up short fourth-down opportunities with commonality. Leavitt, on the other hand, continued to get bit by overthrows, missing a couple of passes with too much on them. While he put one on the money for Jordyn Tyson on a potential walk-in touchdown, Tyson couldn’t hold the pass.
Carston Kieffer went 4-5 on field goals, missing one from 58 yards. Ian Hershey was 2/4 in his own right, missing from 37 and 58.
Scrimmage Stats:
QB Sam Leavitt: 6-16, 104 yards, TD, INT
QB Trenton Bourguet: 4-4, 63 yards, TD
QB Navi Bruzon: 4-6, 28 yards
Touchdowns: Cam Skattebo (2), Joe Dochee Jr
The Gold team started the scrimmage portion with possession from their own 25-yard line and quickly flipped the field as Leavitt linked up with Tyson for a 71-yard gain to the goal line. Tyson got open off the snap and would’ve run it home if not for a chase-down by Montana Warren. Cam Skattebo ran in the touchdown on the next play.
Gold continued its hot start to the scrimmage portion on defense. A tackle for loss from Clayton Smith on a Raleek Brown run and pass breakup by Kamari Wilson set up a strip tackle by Jordan Crook, which Macen Williams returned for a touchdown. Raleek Brown coughed up the ball on a punch from Crook.
On the ensuing drive, Bourguet completed a chunk pass to Joe Dochee before going three-and-out. Cole Martin wrapped up Melquan Stovall in the open field on third down for a short gain, forcing a pseudo-punt. Gold went three-and-out following this but had a special appearance of the “swinging gate” formation on second down, which was an incomplete pass.
Maroon put together its first sustained drive of the evening following this. Starting from its own 44, Navi Bruzon came on and made consecutive completions to Raleek Brown and Cameron Harpole, gaining a pair of first downs and bringing the group into the red zone. On second-and-long, Jamaal Young II brought in a pass but was hammered at the one-yard line on an aggressive hit from Myles Rowser. The force of the hit brought the ball out of Young’s grasp for a fumble, which was recovered by the defense for another costly turnover.
Picking up his offense, linebacker Caleb McCullough got the ball back for Maroon, intercepting a Leavitt pass to set the squad up back within the red zone. Prior to the play, Skattebo had gained 20+ yards on three straight rushes, which was set back by a sack from Ramar Williams before the pick.
Bruzon stayed under center on the following series, taking a keeper inside the five before extending a play to find Joe Dochee Jr on the short-side corner for a touchdown. It was the culmination of an impressive session by Bruzon, as the left-hander showed off his speed in the pocket and good accuracy on his passes.
Leavitt put together a long drive in response, completing short passes to Coben Bourguet, Markeston Douglas, and Cam Skattebo on the series. Chris Johnson II nearly took home an interception early on but couldn’t haul it in. The defensive line got pressure on a couple of snaps, getting a team sack before forcing a throwaway under pressure on 4th down.
Maroon won the overall event 50-46, while Gold won the scrimmage itself 12-6.
Both defensive lines were frequent on pressure, with Ramar Williams and CJ Fite both getting tackles for loss. Caleb McCullough added his interception, while Jordan Crook racked up tackles all evening. Myles Rowser had huge hits in the secondary, while Xavion Alford flew around the field to plug the box and make open-field stops.
Navi Bruzon stole the show among the quarterbacks for the aforementioned reasons. Cam Skattebo was himself in the run game while catching a few passes, with Raleek Brown showing off his shiftiness in extending runs and George Hart III running crisp routes. Jordyn Tyson created formidable separation early and often, while unheralded pass-catchers like Coben Bourguet and Joe Dochee Jr enjoyed breakout nights.
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