In the seemingly never-ending season and year that is 2020 comes Arizona State’s next bout: a December home-opener against Chip Kelly and the UCLA Bruins. With a mounting set of cancellations and postponements – ASU has had games against California, Colorado and Utah called off due to positive tests and a lack of scholarship players available to the ASU program – the Sun Devils are hopeful they’ll be able to get back to competitive action Saturday night in Tempe.
Three weeks without physical competition left Arizona State with limited options to improve. Head coach Herm Edwards and others on the coaching staff spent time in the film room, but there’s only so much film to watch and implement.
“We’ve only played one game, and we’ve installed a lot,” first-year offensive coordinator Zak Hill said Tuesday. “So, you’ve gotta be careful as a coach to go ‘I like that, I like that, that’s a good idea’ and then all of a sudden you put in too much. You have to focus on what you can do and not stray too far away from what you’ve already practiced.
“That’s the fine line, and it’s easy to do as a coach, especially when you love football. You see all these plays that all these teams are running between college and the NFL, and you have to be smart with how much you want to put on the kids.”
An abundance of Zoom meetings allowed the Sun Devils a chance to work on and remain fresh on the new schemes being implemented on both sides of the ball. Yet, without an opportunity to establish a wealth of physical reps, there are challenges.
“We did a lot of Zoom calls, still going over the defenses and all the plays,” said redshirt sophomore defensive end Michael Matus. “It was more mental reps than anything… Watching the film, talking it out over Zoom, stuff like that, so there wasn’t any lapse in communication when it came to the scheme and what we were doing.
“For me as a player, I learn a lot better when I can actually physically go out on a field. Eventually, you kind of get used to it, but I definitely can attest that a lot of people would rather be on the field than watching it on a screen.”
During Tuesday’s meeting with the media, the notion of extra Zoom preparation was brought up as a potential advantage for ASU. Hill pushed back on that idea, showing an understandable frustration with how limited the Sun Devils have been with physical reps this season.
“I don’t think it was an advantage,” Hill said of the Zoom sessions while the facility was closed. The video calls continued a trend of offseason preparation, which leaned heavily online in its incorporation. “I think it’s a tough period, and we’re trying to handle it in the best way we can in meetings. Trying to keep guys on the same page and trying to keep guys active and engaged. That’s all you can do.
“I don’t look at that time off as a positive advantage.”
One of the unknowns for Arizona State is what level of fitness players will be able to display during the first full week back at practice. Saturday night’s 8:30 p.m. kickoff could be one of the coldest games in Sun Devil Stadium history – the record held by ASU’s most recent home contest, a 24-14 win over Arizona, which kicked off at 51 degrees. The colder weather could be a welcomed sight for a Sun Devil team, which saw cramping issues in its lone action against now-No. 18 USC.
“You get two weeks off from football, and there’s not a lot of running involved,” said Matus, who had four tackles in ASU’s season-opening loss to USC. “You just have to find some time outside on your own, whether it’s running around the block or doing some pushups in the living room, you have to find something to keep that activity up and keep yourself in shape.”
“However these practices go this week we’re going to see game day,” explained Hill, whose offense averaged 6.4 yards per play in the opener. “So however much we can attack each day and each meeting and work through that; hopefully, we can build ourselves up to the point where we’re back into full-speed mode and communicating well and operating like we want to.”
On the field, Arizona State’s offense will look to be more successful in the passing game in its second contest against a Pac-12 South foe. The Sun Devils ran for 258 yards against the Trojans, but sophomore quarterback Jayden Daniels and the ASU passing attack were held to 134 yards through the air. Last week, UCLA forced Arizona into two interceptions in a 27-10 win over the Wildcats.
“It’s a fast defense. They fly around and do a good job,” said Hill of what he’s seen on tape from the 2-2 Bruins. “You can see them getting better each week. And they’ve played some good teams and good offenses, too. You can tell that they’re not out of position very often, they play hard, they fly to the ball, and they’ve got a good team speed.”
Arizona State’s first home game comes 28 days after the Sun Devils opened the season with a gut-wrenching 28-27 loss to No. 20 USC – another program recently shut down due to positive coronavirus tests. With almost a month off between games, Edwards said Monday facing UCLA could feel like another start to the season. Hill said it’s another test in ASU’s challenge to keep things in a short-term perspective for a long-term gain.
“It’s our first home game in December. Who would’ve thought?” a laughing Hill said. “We’re just trying to take it one day at a time leading up to game day, but I know from everybody’s standpoint, we’re excited to get back out there and past this period trying to focus on the positive.”
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