Down one score against a ranked team on the road, it seemed as if freshman quarterback Jayden Daniels had been here before.

Wait, he had. Against then ranked No. 18 Michigan State the true freshman led the Sun Devils down the field for the go-ahead and winning score.

Trailing 17-14 in the final quarter of play against No. 15 ranked Cal, Daniels led his team on a 15 play, 75-yard drive that ended with a rushing touchdown by running back Eno Benjamin to push the Devils ahead for good.

The game was once again highlighted by a cast of ASU newcomers with a mix of true freshmen, redshirt freshmen, and transfer with Daniels heading the group.

Here’s how the rest of ASU’s first-year players performed and an update on what freshmen are no longer able to redshirt for the 2019 season under the four-game rule.

Offense

Daniels finished the game an efficient 14/24 passing for 174 without a touchdown or interception on the books. While the passing numbers were low for the freshman, his rushing numbers were a career-high.

The young signal-caller constantly used his legs to pick up key first downs and long gains as he ran the ball 12 times for 84 yards with a long of 24 yards.

For the first quarter, it was the legs of Daniels that provided the majority of the team’s rushing yards as he had 29 yards on three rushes compared to Benjamin’s 7 rushes for 26 yards in the first quarter of play.

Daniels nearly matched his combined rushing stats from the first four games as he had 91 rushing yards heading into the matchup and picked up 57 yards in the first half against Cal alone.

Other key performances by freshmen came in the form of a pair of true freshman receivers in form of Ricky Pearsall and Geordon Porter.

Pearsall picked up an early 38-yard reception, a career-long, to set up an Eno Benjamin touchdown a few plays later for his lone catch on the night.

Porter also only picked up one reception a 28-yard catch in the third quarter.

Jayden Daniels fumbled the ball once during the game as he was stripped during a sack and lost the ball in the fourth quarter.

Other newcomers who saw time during the game include running back A.J. Carter, fullback Elijah Juarez, athlete Ethan Long, offensive linemen LaDarius Henderson and Dohnovan West, wide receivers Jordan Kerley, and Brandon Pierce.

Defense

With the absence of cornerback Kobe Williams, it was transfer Jack Jones who picked up his first start in the maroon and gold against Cal.

Jones was the standout out corner during the game as he consistently used his speed in route to pick up six total tackles in the matchup.

Another injury in the secondary in form of redshirt freshman Cam Phillips led to the start of true freshman Willie Harts in the safety position in place of Phillips.

Harts was solid in his first start despite picking up only one tackle in the matchup and proved to be a worthy backup when Phillips returns from injury.

Graduate transfer defensive lineman Roe Wilkins also saw a large amount of action for the Sun Devils among the defensive line as he picked up three tackles in the matchup, tied for fifth-best on the team.

Other newcomers who saw time during the game include safety Kejuan Markham, linebacker Case Hatch, and defensive linemen Michael Matus and TJ Pesefea.

Special Teams

For the first time on the year, it was a less than stellar performance from the team’s newcomers on special teams.

Sophomore Cristian Zendejas once again handled kicking duties for Arizona State with the absence of Brandon Ruiz due to injury who has yet to play this season.

Zendejas entered the game 9/10 on field goal attempts and proceeded to go 1/3 in a game that had somewhat adverse conditions.

The first miss came on a 12-play drive that ended with a 37-yard miss while the second came on a 50-yard attempt that fell a couple of yards short and offline of the field goal post.

The night for sophomore punter Michael Turk was uneventful and below average as he had three punts for an average of 34.3 yards. Two of the punts were downed inside of the 20-yard line as he had a long of 36 yards.

The highlight of the newcomers on specials teams came courtesy of sophomore Timarcus Davis who got his hand on a punt in the second quarter that set up the Sun Devils with terrific field position to start.

True freshman Josh Plaster once again handled kickoffs for the Sun Devils as the return team allowed 69 total yards of kick return to Cal.

These freshmen played their fifth game of the season and thus cannot redshirt the 2019 season:

QB Jayden Daniels

ATH Ethan Long

RB Elijah Juarez

WR Jordan Kerley

WR Ricky Pearsall

OL Dohnovan West

LB Case Hatch

S Willie Harts

S Kejuan Markham

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