CAMP TONTOZONA- Approximately 2,500 fans attended Saturday’s maroon and gold practice, which featured nearly 50 plays of 11-on-11 scrimmaging to close out the week of preseason practice at Camp T in Payson, Arizona.
It was the first time since 2017 that the Sun Devils made the trip up there, as the normally annual tradition was canceled in 2018 due to inclement weather.
The fans, young and old, who watched the scrimmage before storming the field to get autographs with their favorite players saw one thing throughout the morning: dominant defense.
Sure, it may help to go against freshmen quarterbacks for all but five of those plays. But with the standard this defense set a season ago in defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales’s first season, anyone who’s been paying attention would not be surprised.
“We’ve still got a long way to go, we’re not very good yet as to what our expectation is,” Gonzales said, “but we’ve got a great opportunity to do some really special things, and if we can help out the young quarterbacks, this team has a chance to be pretty good.”
In terms of today’s scrimmage, and even the practices that have preceded it, the defense has already helped out the young gun-slingers by challenging them on every play.
Today, senior Tillman safety Tyler Whiley continued the run of the defense getting an interception in all but one practice, now through nine this preseason.
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But consistency in not allowing chunk yardage has been their greatest show of prowess throughout camp, which is something fans saw again today.
“The great thing in the secondary is there’s not a lot of talent drop-off between the first group and the second group, the difference is the experience,” Gonzales said. “Right now, there are two to three true freshmen backing up in the secondary that are extremely talented, very similar to the first group. So, we got to get them guys 1,000 reps so that they don’t make mistakes when the big lights come on, because you don’t know how they’re going to play until they actually play. The starters have proven over the last couple days they’re pretty dang good in coverage, they’re really athletic.”
The only throw 10 yards or longer downfield that was completed came from Joey Yellen, while numerous others were tipped, batted down or forced incomplete in tight coverage by defensive backs and linebackers.
That’s not to mention multiple instances where Jayden Daniels or Yellen were forced to scramble and keep their throws modest due to a collapsing pocket.
“We’re tracing that fine line of arrogance and confidence,” Gonzales commented. “We haven’t played anybody yet, so they have no reason to be arrogant. But we’ve made good progress.”
As for the view from the other side, offensive coordinator Rob Likens acknowledges the progress his young quarterbacks still have to make. He’s noticed certain things recently that he didn’t before, and it came to a head during today’s scrimmage.
“The last couple of days I’ve noticed that there may be some gray areas on some reads that I didn’t see until yesterday and today,” Likens said. “I knew it would be a little fuzzy at times out here because it’s the first time you get out here (and scrimmage in front of a crowd).”
“I’ve been doing this for thirty years, the first scrimmage freshman completely…their minds are crazy, like they just do crazy stuff. They start running routes that we don’t even have in our offense, and then you’re like ‘everybody take a deep breath, relax, let’s get back to our technique.’”
However, he doesn’t view things as all bad, noting aspects of the offense’s performance that he views as positive to the group’s overall progression.
“We only really had one procedural penalty, and in your first scrimmage you’re really concerned about that as the offensive coordinator,” Likens stated. “You don’t want it to look sloppy and I don’t think it looked sloppy. I thought that the procedure was good, so we’re good there and I’m excited about that.”
He also brought up a a newcomer that’s caught him by surprise so far this preseason, who in fact caught a pass from Yellen that stood as the only completion between the two freshman quarterbacks that was thrown at least 10 yards downfield.
“The big thing is the emergence of (freshman) Jordan Kerley over at ‘z’ (receiver),” Likens commented. “That’s been probably the biggest surprise for me at that position.”
Overall though, head coach Herm Edwards viewed today’s scrimmage as a positive for one reason in particular, considering what happened in the same scrimmage a year ago.
“We accomplished some things and I think this one we really accomplished some things- I don’t think we didn’t have any injuries,” Edwards said. “You’re always nervous when you have some live drills, and I thought we got a look at a lot of young guys, and there’s a lot of competition on this team.”
Below is a more comprehensive report on today’s scrimmage and final practice from Camp Tontozona, so feel free to read on for more news, notes, and quotes from Saturday’s session.
Green non-contact jerseys: QB Ethan Long, DL Shannon Forman, LB Stanley Lambert
*Long being in the green jersey is not injury-related, but rather worn to enforce that he is an emergency quarterback for the team, even as he tries other positions.
Personnel Notes:
- Defensive linemen Stephon Wright, Shannon Forman, Amiri Johnson, and Jermayne Lole, linebackers Elijah Juarez and Ty Johnson, and defensive back Keon Markham were held out of scrimmages. Yet, Markham and Juarez participated in install.
- Freshman running back Demetrius Flowers returned after missing practice yesterday, taking reps in the second and scout team offense, scoring a goal-line touchdown for the latter
- Lole and linebacker Khaylan Kearse-Thomas are expected to return to practice Monday, according to Gonzales
FIRST-TEAM OFFENSE
QB: Jayden Daniels, Dillon Sterling-Cole
RB: Eno Benjamin/A.J. Carter/Isaiah Floyd
WR: Brandon Aiyuk, Frank Darby, Kyle Williams, Ryan Newsome, Ricky Pearsall
TE: Tommy Hudson, Curtis Hodges
OL: LT Cohl Cabral, LG Alex Losoya, C Cade Cote, RG Roy Hemsley, RT Steven Miller
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SECOND-TEAM OFFENSE
QB: Joey Yellen
RB: Isiah Floyd/Demetrius Flowers
WR: Ricky Pearsall, Jordan Kerley, Keith Davis, Angel Ruiz, Ryan Newsome, Ethan Long, Andre Johnson, Tannor Park
TE: Nolan Matthews/Jared Bubak
OL: LT Ralph Frias/LaDarius Henderson, LG Cody Shear, C Dohnovan West, RG Ben Scott, RT Spencer Lovell
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*Sterling-Cole once again was limited to five snaps in scrimmaging, taking them all in the first session of 11-on-11’s. This is the third consecutive practice he’s been limited to this many snaps, but today took first-team reps.
* Jarrett Bell did not practice once again, as he is still hampered by a leg/ankle injury.
*For reference in the following play log, anything 0-5 yards is considered a short gain, 5-15 yards is considered a medium gain, and anything longer will be considered a big gain
11-on-11, session one:
Jayden Daniels: ⁃ Eno Benjamin run middle, short gain ⁃ Benjamin run right, medium gain ⁃ Benjamin run right-middle, medium gain ⁃ Pass complete to A.J. Carter, medium gain on screen right ⁃ Carter run right, short gain Joey Yellen: ⁃ Incomplete pass to Ethan long, well defended on a short throw right ⁃ Isaiah Floyd run middle, short gain ⁃ Intercepted pass, Whiley picks off go route middle overthrown to Matthews ⁃ Demetrius Flowers run left, a short gain ⁃ Pass complete to Jordan Kerley, medium gain on throw middle Dillon Sterling-Cole: ⁃ Benjamin run middle, medium gain ⁃ Pass complete to Benjamin, medium gain on screen right ⁃ Pass complete to Brandon Aiyuk, medium gain on throw left ⁃ Floyd run middle, short gain ⁃ Pass complete to Floyd, medium gain on a screen right JD: ⁃ Pass complete to Aiyuk, a short gain on a swing pass left ⁃ Pass complete to Kyle Williams, medium gain on throw right ⁃ Incomplete pass to Aiyuk, overthrown on a go route down the right sideline ⁃ Pass complete to Benjamin, a short gain on a swing pass right ⁃ Pass complete to Benjamin, medium gain on quick throw right (1st down) ⁃ Incomplete pass to Matthews, pass middle broken up by Crosswell ⁃ Incomplete pass middle to Ky. Williams, Fields deflects away
Fields was injured on the play, staying down for an extended time. He walked off on his own and returned later to practice. JY: ⁃ Pass complete to Floyd, medium gain on a swing pass right ⁃ Incomplete pass to Matthews, throw right in tight coverage deflected ⁃ Scramble right, short gain ⁃ Incomplete pass to Pearsall, throw to left sideline bu by Hart’s After the pass deflection intended for Pearsall, DB coach Tony White was jokingly asked by d-lineman Tyler Johnson “Who taught him that?” White replied: “Not me. That’s called natural.” ⁃ Pass complete to Matthews, a short gain on throw right ⁃ Incomplete pass to Matthews, throw right tipped ⁃ Incomplete pass right to Davis, deep throw right to the front corner of end zone covered by Cornay (Red zone) JD: ⁃ Benjamin run right, short gain ⁃ Pass complete to Newsome, a short gain on a swing right ⁃ Incomplete pass to A. Ruiz overshoots him on quick pass right ⁃ Pass complete to Carter, medium gain on throw middle ⁃ Incomplete pass to right back corner end zone ⁃ Pass complete to Aiyuk, a short gain on throw left ⁃ Carter run middle short gain ⁃ Carter run middle, stuffed ⁃ Carter run right, short gain ⁃ Carter run middle for TD JY: ⁃ Sack ⁃ Benjamin run left short gain ⁃ False start Frias
After this mishap, Frias was replaced with LaDarius Henderson for the remainder of the segment.
⁃ Pass complete to Andre Johnson, medium gain on roll right & throw right ⁃ Pass complete to Angel Ruiz, a short gain on throw left ⁃ Floyd run left (misdirection) for short gain ⁃ Flowers run middle short gain ⁃ Incomplete pass to A Ruiz, thrown end zone to left sideline ⁃ Incomplete pass to Tannor Park back of end zone, Whiley break-up ⁃ Pass complete to A Johnson, no gain on the bubble screen left
Offensive Notes:
- Jayden Daniels was 8-for-13 on his passes today during scrimmages (only 11-on-11 today). He tried a few deep balls- two of them were broken up and one was overthrown to Brandon Aiyuk. He also couldn't connect on a toss to the back right corner of the end zone in a goal-to-go situation, with that pass getting broken up too. His completions were short throws, as per usual, but he got most of these throws off quickly- within a few seconds- and completed his eight passes to five different receivers.
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- Not the the best day for Joey Yellen, who completed 6 of his 14 passes on the day and threw an interception during his first segment- an overthrown pass on a go-route to Nolan Matthews that senior Tillman safety Tyler Whiley snatched out of the air. However, that wasn't really the theme on his incompletions, as he was on the other side of strong defense, having most of those incompletions broken up. He also showed impressive footwork in maneuvering around and out of the pocket to keep plays alive while he waited for receivers to get open. His decision making was and is far from perfect, but it's hard not to believe he would've done better with the first-team receivers.
- Dillon Sterling-Cole was once again limited to five snaps in scrimmages, the third practice in-a-row that has been the case, as he continues to deal with a sore shoulder. He did complete 3 of his 3 passes though, two of them screens and one a solid throw to Brandon Aiyuk for roughly 7-8 yards. If Daniels is named the starter, as expected to be announced in the next few days, it would seem like the battle for backup QB favors Yellen right now. We'll see if Sterling-Cole can do anything to counter that when he's back to taking full reps in practice.
- The three segments quarterbacks ran through were as follows; Starting from the opponent's 25-yard-line (Daniels, Yellen, DSC one segment each), 2-minute drill/no huddle (Daniels, Yellen one each), red zone offense- roughly the 15-yard-line (Daniels), normal offense starting from roughly own 40 (Yellen). These segments, as well as which QB took snaps for each one, are listed in the order they happened.
FIRST TEAM DEFENSE - DL: (end) *Roe Wilkins, (nose) D.J. Davidson, (end) Michael Matus
Anthonie Copper came in for Roe Wilkins - LB: (outside linebacker) *Kyle Soelle, (middle linebacker) Merlin Robertson, (outside linebacker) Darien Butler - CB: Chase Lucas, Kobe Williams - TILLMAN: Evan Fields
- S: Aashari Crosswell, Cam Phillips
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SECOND TEAM DEFENSE - DL: (end) Parker Jacobs (nose) T.J. Pasefea, (end) Anthonie Cooper
Corey Stephens rotated at nose tackle, Alexander Randle came in for Jacobs - LB: (outside linebacker) Ely Doyle, (middle linebacker) Case Hatch, (outside linebacker) Fritzny Niclasse
- CB: Timarcus Davis, Jordan Clark Darien Cornay and Terin Adams took some reps on the second team
- TILLMAN: Tyler Whiley - S: Willie Harts, Kejuan Markham
Defensive highlights
- Joey Yellen threw an interception to Tyler Whiley who did a formidable job reading the overthrown ball to Nolan Matthews. Later in the end zone, he deflected a pass by Joey Yellen to Tannor Park. Will be interesting to see if can hold onto to his starting Tillman safety position with the recent surge by Fields.
- Freshman walk-on Fritzny Niclasse, who is poised to avoid a redshirt season, had the hardest hit of the day, on a slant to Andre Johnson. Was told that he’s the most error-free linebacker of the group and not only will he be on the second team, but a fixture on special teams. In other words, not redshirting.
- Evan Fields misjudged his leap trying to intercept a ball thrown by Jayden Daniels. He still deflected it, but also fell hard to the ground. Looked much more serious than it was, walked off the field without assistance, returned later to practice and is expected to practice Monday. Earlier in practice, Tony White complimented him on forcing a wide receiver out of bounds causing an incomplete pass by Daniels.
- Chase Lucas had several quality reps today. One of them when he effectively ran down a bubble screen for a minimal gain, his position coach Tony White yelled: “That’s it Chase! That’s the way to pre-snap!”
- Willie Harts is another defensive back who had a solid session today. Multiple pass deflections and great field awareness. Early on this week, you could already tell that there is no way this freshman is redshirting even with the new four-game rule. On one of his plays where he squeezed the wide receiver to the sidelines causing an incomplete pass, White yelled: “Nice job bottling him to the corner.”
- Terin Adams, Darien Cornay (near interception) Kejuan Markham and Aashari Croswell each had a few solid plays in pass coverage. Today was easily Adam’s best session of the week.
- Case Hatch who Hod interviewed with after practice, was stellar as always as a second-team middle linebacker in run defense. Another penciled in not redshirting freshman.
- Merlin Robertson sacked Jayden Daniels, as did Michael Matus. Anthonie Cooper had a tackle for loss.
- On special teams, the two bookend players on kickoff coverage first team were Cam Philips and Kobe Williams. On the second team, it was Aashari Croswell and Tyler Whiley.
Other Notes & Quotes:
- The 3rd team/scout team offense ran the final segment on 11’s, with freshman walk-on Trenton Borquet running the offense. Notable things from this segment include a nice long completion Nolan Matthews, receiver Ryan Newsome taking some hand-offs from the backfield, and the field goals- more on that later.
Isaiah Floyd took carries with this group along with Demetrius Flowers out of necessity, due to a banged-up RB group with Paul Lucas injured
- “Why don’t just tackle, they blow the whistle? Damn,” linebackers coach Antonio Pierce said during this third-team segment.
- In the field goal kicks, redshirt sophomore Christian Zendejas nailed a 40-yard field goal, while starter Brandon Ruiz went 2-for-3, making ones from 37 and 47 yards out, but missing from 42 yards
- Players seen taking kickoff returns include: A.J. Carter, Ryan Newsome, and Ricky Pearsall. Brandon Aiyuk and Pearsall were also seen taking punt returns early in practice from a jugs machine
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