Edwards shares team status ahead of Bowl game, talks portal 'free agency'

After a few weeks in the wings following its 38-15 victory over the Arizona Wildcats, Sun Devil head coach Herm Edwards met with the media on Tuesday following Arizona State's (8-4, 6-3 Pac-12) first open practice for the SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl against Wisconsin (8-4, 6-3 Big Ten).

"We are excited about being back on the grass," Edwards opened. "The guys had some time off, and there was a lot of energy in practice today, which is good… I thought it was very important for us to come back and kind of look at ourselves offensively and defensively."

"We are excited about the opportunity for a bowl game obviously and to play a quality opponent like Wisconsin, very well-coached, very physical football team in all three phases of football. It will be a big test for us, but I think our players are very excited about having the opportunity to play."

With numerous players graduating or on their way out of the program, Edwards took the opportunity on Tuesday afternoon to highlight who opted out of the bowl game to focus on the NFL Draft. Redshirt senior running back Rachaad White announced his decision to forego the Las Vegas Bowl to prepare for the pros on Dec. 8. Graduate student cornerback Jack Jones followed suit on Dec. 10. Edwards announced the decision of a third player after practice.

"A couple of guys have opted out – our two corners (graduate student) Chase Lucas and Jack. Rachaad has obviously opted out. Other than that, I want to say that's it thus far," Edwards said. "When you think about those three guys, they've done a lot to get us in this position. I had a good talk with Chase, and I said that I've been here for four years, and he's really helped this program tremendously, and I really appreciate what he's done with us and helped us, so it's all good."

The other two players slated to go to the draft are both graduate students – Pac-12 first-team defensive end Tyler Johnson and Pac-12 second-team nose tackle DJ Davidson, but they are still slated to play in the bowl game before preparing for the pros.

Edwards also shared that junior center Dohnovan West will not participate in the bowl game due to a recent thumb surgery, with redshirt sophomore right tackle Ben Scott sliding inside to take his place. The current O-line looks as such from left to right: graduate student Kellen Diesch, junior LaDarius Henderson, Scott, redshirt junior Jarrett Bell, and redshirt junior Spencer Lovell. There is potential for graduate student right guard Henry Hattis to get back in the mix after missing the last few games of the season.

The Sun Devils' head coach mentioned that he's confident with Scott snapping the ball, stating it's his "natural position."

“(With bowl games) you lose starters,” Edwards shared. “I think everyone has to deal with that. It’s just a part of it. We have dealt with that every bowl game – it’s our third one (in four years). We lost N’Keal Harry, Eno Benjamin didn’t play, Brandon Aiyuk didn’t play. There are guys that haven’t played in these bowl games, and we get it.”

As far as the status of players like senior linebackers Darien Butler and Merlin Robertson, who still have remaining eligibility but had the potential to go to the pros, Edwards said that he anticipates all the players who play in the bowl with remaining eligibility to return to the program to play in 2022.

“Last time I checked (that was true),” he asserted. “It’ll be kind of fun to get a lot of those guys back, which is good. It’s good to get some veteran guys back who feel like they might not have had the year they wanted to have an option to come back.”

The player who most fits the mold of a returner who is unsatisfied with their 2021 results is junior quarterback Jayden Daniels. In 2021, the junior threw for 700 yards less than his freshman year in 2019 while throwing ten touchdowns and nine interceptions. He posted career-highs in rushing yards and completion percentage but fell short of the lofty expectations set out for him. Instead of going to the NFL Draft, Daniels announced his return for a fourth year on Dec. 2 via social media.

“It’s kind of funny that he was going to return – he was never leaving,” Edwards told reporters. “I don’t know why all of this became a story because we sat in my office and laughed. I guess he made an announcement he’s coming back, but he was never leaving. It’s great. We want him to come back, and that helps when you have a quarterback of his stature. I think we looked at his season this year, and obviously, he wants to do some things a little bit better, and we have to help him do that. I like his attitude, his mindset right now. It’s always good to have a veteran quarterback coming back.”

Another key returner, one who never played a snap in 2021, was the first player to share his intent to come back instead of heading to the NFL Draft – senior defensive tackle Jermayne Lole. A preseason first-team All-Pac-12 selection and Outland Trophy Watch List player, Lole announced his decision to play in 2022 on Nov. 30, after missing the entire season due to a triceps injury suffered in August.

“We anticipated that as well - he’s one of the better defensive players on our football team, and to have him back inside, that helps us a lot,” Edwards said of Lole.

A significant factor in creating the roster for ASU’s showdown against Wisconsin on Dec. 30 is the transfer portal and the outgoing talent which has elected to leave the program. Undoubtedly the biggest of these names is sophomore running back DeaMonte Trayanum, who entered the portal on Nov. 29, two days after the regular season came to a close. On Dec. 10, it was announced Trayanum was set for a visit to the University of Michigan, yet Edwards remains uncertain if he leaves the program after all.

“Until he’s gone somewhere else, you never know,” the ASU head coach said.

With Trayanum gone for at least the bowl game, the ball will be run through the hands of redshirt freshman Daniyel Ngata, who showed strong potential and various flashes of excellence throughout the season. Looking beyond that into 2022, Edwards has the likes of four-star running back recruit Tevin White bound for Tempe, but he also hopes to make a splash in the transfer portal himself.

“All of this portal stuff is interesting, very interesting,” Edwards began. “It’s changed college football – there are about 6,000 kids in the portal as I speak. For the last two weeks, we’ve been locked in that room for about eight, nine hours, early in the morning until the evening, looking at portal guys and transfers. We are looking at bringing in 10 or more (portal players).”

“Because we lost a lot of seniors, we need some players at certain positions that have experience and leadership. I want to say ten guys (that we have targeted) are mid-year players. That portal is going to open again after the bowl games, and there will be another set of players entering then; there will be some more after spring football. We have to understand that, and that’s a part of doing business. If you’re us, we need some veterans in certain positions, and we have access to those guys, and if we can make it work, we will go in that direction.”

A coach who has played and coached at all levels of football and attempted to create the “Pro Model” at Arizona State with his NFL experience and that of his coaching staff, Edwards views the transfer portal and the exits of his players like he is managing a roster in the pros. With the spots he needs to fill, he’s pouring more energy into the transfer portal to get veteran players where he needs them, rather than overly worrying about his incoming high school class set for Wednesday’s National Signing Day.

“Signing Day is always big in college football; it all sends a buzz. I think with where we are at right now, we understand our team, and we are going to sign high school players; make no mistake of that. But there are certain positions where we need some veteran guys,” Edwards insisted. “We know that we have to go out and get those guys that can come in and play.”

“It’s no different than NFL free agency. You lose some players because their contract or eligibility expires, and you go into free agency, and you look for guys. That’s what the portal has become in college football… You have to go out and do your due diligence, find the guys that fit your program in certain positions and go after them… The hardest thing about the portal is that they can’t sign a letter – it’s a handshake. You have to keep recruiting until they decide to enroll in school. It’s a gentleman’s agreement with a lot of these guys… Our team is going to look a lot different in the spring, to be honest. It will be interesting to see.”

For now, Edwards and his team have the task of facing the Wisconsin Badgers, the third-place team from the Big Ten West. The Sun Devils will have to play a slew of younger players in Las Vegas, particularly in the secondary in place of Jones and Lucas. On offense, Daniels, without his backfield stars in White and Trayanum, will have to face off against the sixth-best scoring defense in the country, limiting opponents to just 16.42 points per game, second-best in the Big Ten behind conference champion Michigan.

“They’re big, strong, and physical in all three phases of football,” Edwards noted. “They are very well-coached, disciplined, and have an outstanding defense. You don’t score a lot of points on these guys. They have a young, outstanding running back. The quarterback is very good at managing the game… They remind me a little bit of the Michigan State team we played in 2018 and 2019 with their physicality in all three phases. So we have to be prepared to play big time football.”

Join your fellow Sun Devil fans on our premium message board, the Devils’ Huddle, to discuss this article and other ASU football, basketball, and recruiting topics. Not a member yet? Sign up today here and get all the latest Sun Devil news!