Newcomer Report

No. 19 Arizona State (2-1) lost in sloppy fashion 27-17 to No. 23 BYU (3-0) on Saturday, but the Sun Devils newcomers were not the reason why.

Here is the full newcomer report:

Special Teams

Punter Eddie Czaplicki was ASU’s standout fresh face. The true freshman punted four times in the game, averaging 48.5 yards per punt. His first punt of the night early in the first quarter was his best. He punted it 46 yards, and fellow young gun Tommi Hill downed the ball at the one-yard line. The punt was his fifth consecutive inside the 20-yard-line to start the season and his ASU career.

Czaplicki added a 51-yard punt in the second quarter and a 59-yard punt in the fourth quarter. He almost had another punt downed at the one late in the first quarter, but Hill could not save the ball at the one, and the punt was ruled a touchback. The punt of 38 yards had a net of just 18 yards as the Cougars started their drive at their own 20-yard-line.

Defense

On defense, the young player seeing a lot of action was redshirt freshman cornerback Macen Williams. Williams relieved Chase Lucas for the remainder of the game after Lucas took a knee to the head late in the second quarter. Williams allowed a 14-yard pass play at the beginning of the third quarter but settled down for almost the entire rest of the game. This was until he allowed the game sealing touchdown to BYU tight end Isaac Rex which made the score 27-17 with 1:19 left in the game. Rex, who is 6 feet 6 inches tall, was a mismatch for Williams, who stands at 5 feet 10 inches tall. Williams also added two total tackles in the game, one of which was solo.

Travez Moore was a fresh face who played well on the defensive side of the ball on Saturday. The graduate transfer from LSU had two tackles, including one solo and half a tackle for loss. Unfortunately, his performance on the field was overshadowed by an apparent knee injury he suffered late in the game. He was later seen leaving the field on crutches with his right knee in a brace.

Offense

The offense did not see many contributions from newcomers. Wide receiver Elijhah Badger, the No. 2 wide receiver in the 2020 class according to Rivals.com, finally made his ASU debut on Saturday but did not record any statistics. Graduate transfer wideout Bryan Thompson did not play Saturday due to the hamstring injury he suffered last week against UNLV.

Other newcomers seeing playing time were redshirt freshman transfer tight end Jalin Conyers, true freshman defensive back R.J. Regan, redshirt freshman defensive back Jean Boyd III, true freshman defensive lineman B.J. Green II and true freshman linebacker Eric Gentry (2 total tackles including one tackle for loss).