Another season is just about to start for the Sun Devils and it begins with NAU Lumberjacks.

Although an FCS team, NAU presents some interesting challenges for ASU’s defense, a defense that, particularly in the secondary, has a new look both schematically and personnel-wise.

Redshirt sophomore safety Armand Perry feels this game they can be more ready than other games.

“I think this game you can be more prepared than any other game,” Perry said. “You’ve had the whole summer and a whole fall camp to watch film on these guys but it’s the first game so you’ve got to be cautious for trick plays and big shots.”

Deep shots are a staple of NAU’s offense, especially when sophomore quarterback Case Cookus looks for 6-foot-4, 220-pound junior wide receiver Emmanuel Butler.

Junior linebacker DJ Calhoun noted the deep shots NAU tends to take but he doesn’t think it will affect the defense’s aggressive nature.

“We can still be aggressive,” he said. “We count on any corner that’s out there. Everybody’s been working hard so we can still be aggressive.”

But those aren’t the only things NAU does well. While the deep shot off play action is the equivalent of a boxer’s knockout punch, the running game, and the zone read its like its jab.

“It doesn’t really do anything,” Calhoun said of how Cookus’ running ability affects the run defense. “Playing in the Pac-12 we’ve got a lot of running quarterbacks we’re kind of used to it. “We really have to contain our middle and things like that.”

Below we’ll look at a set of a couple of NAU plays to see what their offense does well.

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The play begins with Cookus in the shotgun and a play-action fake to the running back. The entire defense bites on the play fake while the NAU receiver a the top of the screen makes a double move (a slant-and-go or “sluggo” route). The read is easy for Cookus to take the shot to the receiver.

Cookus makes his throw to the receiver. The cornerback is in a solid position so the throw will need to be perfectly placed on the back shoulder and the receiver will need to make a strong play on the ball in the air to come down with the catch.

The throw is placed perfectly on the back shoulder of the receiver and the receiver makes a strong play on the ball to come down with the catch and then powers his way into the end zone for a TD.

These deep shots off play-action are a key piece of NAU’s offense and lead to a large percentage of their scoring plays.

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The Lumberjacks have multiple receivers capable of making big plays but there is no bigger than Butler.

The junior is a big body with strong hands and ball skills with the ball in the air. NAU can both throw the ball downfield to Butler and with his size he is particularly dangerous near the goal line on the fade.

Here NAU is on the goal line and, due to the Lumberjacks’ formation, Montana State is forced to respect the run, leaving Butler (in the red circle) isolated on the right side of the formation one-on-one with the cornerback with no help over the top from a safety.

Cookus makes a quick drop and lofts a pass to Butler on the outside. Butler makes a stutter step and breaks to the outside. From here it’s up to Butler to go over the cornerback and snag the pass.

Butler does exactly that, using his body he goes over the cornerback to make a catch for the TD. Butler is a big, strong wideout and will be a suitable challenge for the ASU secondary

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The final piece of the NAU puzzle, which adds to how dynamic the offense is, is the zone-read concept and above average athleticism of Cookus. Zone reads put a lot of pressure on the defense to maintain discipline as the back side defender needs to make sure they maintain the backside control and not allow the quarterback to slip out.

However, on this cut, we’ll see Cookus’ running ability and how it creates havoc.

The offense starts in a pistol set near the goal line. It’s a great formation for the zone read as it can be run to either side without tipping much off to the defense.

Here Cookus pulls the ball out at the mesh point (in the red circle). The defender in the blue circle crashes down on the running back, providing Cookus with a backside lane to run.

The backside defender, having overcommitted to the running back, tries to recover and go after Cookus. But, with Cookus’ athleticism, he’ sable to get around the defender and take the wide open lane to the end zone.

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These concepts, the play-action deep shot, the fade the Butler and zone read concepts with Cookus’ athleticism are what make NAU’s offense dangerous and a good season opening test for the Sun Devils.