All the talk and preseason hype, the projecting, prognosticating, and predictions, are wrapping up as Arizona State prepares for its 2021 season. Herm Edwards opened the first game week of his fourth season coaching the Sun Devils by announcing that star senior defensive tackle Jermayne Lole would miss the remainder of the season.
Lole underwent surgery on his triceps after getting injured during the second week of the preseason practices.
Heading into the preseason, Edwards and the ASU staff have the belief that the defensive line – and the defense as a whole – would be one of the strengths of the team. Without Lole, the Sun Devils will need to monitor their ability to stop the run without sending an extra defender into the box. Edwards said showcasing an ability to do such a thing would allow ASU to be better in coverage as well.
“I would hope that our strength is our guys coming back on defense,” said Edwards. “These are guys that have played together. Your strength is always with your experience and we’ve got some strength on the offensive line, but we’ve got strength on the defense, too.
“We will find out Thursday night what things we can do defensively. If we can do (what we want), we’re good.”
In 2020, Arizona State was led in receiving yards by running back Rachaad White. Because of the lack of proven wide receiver production and rapport with junior quarterback Jayden Daniels, the position remains a question mark that Edwards is intrigued to find out about on Thursday, so much so that the Sun Devil head coach singled it out as the first thing he’d be looking for.
“They now have another year under their belt. How that kind of comes together with Jayden, I think is important,” said Edwards. “We’ve got some young secondary guys that are very talented, and it’ll be interesting if some of those guys are able to get in the game and see how they play. Those are the groups that I look at as a whole because there are so many of them.”
Southern Utah participated in the FCS division’s spring football schedule at the beginning of 2021. The Thunderbirds went 1-5 in their six games of action, struggling with the same issues that plagued Arizona State during its own shortened 2020 campaign.
“When you watch these guys on tape; last year, they were in every game,” said Edwards about the Thunderbirds, who lost four games by a combined seven points and none of their four losses by more than a touchdown. On Saturday, Southern Utah matched up with San Jose State during college football’s Week 0, losing 45-14 to the Spartans. “It went down to the fourth quarter. We just have to be us. You always prepare for an opponent, but it’s really about you. It’s what type of team you want to be. This is going to be our first test of the year, at home, with some fans. I’m just looking forward to watching us play.
“At times, it won’t look pretty. You just have to deal with that.”
Arizona State opens as a 44.5-point favorite as oddsmakers expect a clear talent gap to be on full display Thursday night in Tempe. If that is the case, Edwards and the ASU coaching staff should get a decent look at some of the youth on the roster.
“For some reason freshmen seem to find a way to play here,” said Edwards when asked about the program’s approach to the four-game redshirt rule. “They’re not always starting, but they’ll get backup roles. There are some guys who obviously sit in that seat, and there will be some guys who we decide on. I think that’s a great rule in college football that guys have an opportunity to play four games and still have a redshirt year.”
Even with the joy that comes with the first game of the season, Edwards joked about the stresses that come along with it as well. Asked about how he decides on who will dress for games, Edwards dove into a playful tirade about the stresses of bench behavior.
“This coaching thing is way overrated,” Edwards joked. “No, you can’t wear Nike on the sideline. We’re an Adidas school. Thinking about all that gives me a headache.”
The re-acclimation of college football fans into stadiums around the country will receive plenty of attention, but perhaps no more so than in the Pac-12. During the 2020 season, the Pac-12 opted to prohibit fans from attending games due to COVID-19. With empty stadiums, Edwards said he was able to use his voice to speak to players while they were on the field – something he said he’ll miss a little bit. (ASU is expecting approximately 45,000 fans for Thursday’s contest).
“I could holler to the players and tell them what was going to happen, and they could hear me,” said Edwards, who claimed he was right roughly 90 percent of the time on pre-play advice. “They could actually hear me… But what I’m going to like the most is the energy that fans are going to bring to the stadium.
“Night games are fun. Our crowd has all day to get ready for those games, and they know how to do that. The first game is always one of those things. You go out there, and you learn some things. We feel like we have a pretty good football team. Now we have to go play. It’s interesting the first game."
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Over the weekend, former Arizona State kicker Cristian Zendejas announced that he would be rejoining the Sun Devils again after announcing his intention to transfer after the spring. Edwards declined to confirm whether he was officially back with the program yet but hinted at an official return.
“It’s open to review. You might see him one day,” Edwards hinted. “I do believe that we have some talented kickers. You have to have a security blanket. If that comes to fruition… you’ve got to be prepared.”
Edwards also mentioned that offensive lineman Ralph Frias would miss a significant portion of time due to a personal medical problem. Edwards assured reporters that Frias had not done anything wrong and was in good standing with the program. Edwards said redshirt freshman offensive lineman Triston Miller, who transferred from North Carolina over the summer, has discussed retiring with the coaching staff. Miller had missed a large portion of spring practice due to a concussion.
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