Most of the first three quarters of ASU's contest versus Mississippi State were nothing short of dominance. Anxious moments ensued, but the Sun Devils were able to secure their first ever win over an SEC team in a 30-23 victory. Saturday’s game saw some of the newcomers make key plays, although fewer first-year players saw the field in week two. Here’s the rundown of those performances.
(Note: all transfer players, true freshmen, redshirt freshmen regardless of if they played last year, and other players, regardless of class, who redshirted last year are the ones mentioned in this article series)
Offense
After an impressive first outing in the maroon and gold, redshirt freshman quarterback Sam Leavitt followed it up with a performance that will be remembered more for his work on the ground than in the air. Leavitt went 10-20 with 69 passing yards and almost doubled his total offense with 68 rushing yards on 11 attempts, scoring two touchdowns, one of them traveling 17 yards, his longest run of that night. Head coach Kenny Dillingham admitted post-game that Leavitt was thrown out of his rhythm with a heavy dose of ground attack as the team will try to balance out the offense better on Thursday when they visit Texas State.
“Mississippi State came out and made a couple of adjustments, brought a couple of pressures, and played a couple of new coverages behind it that I got to see,” Leavitt said after the game on Saturday. “I have to get the ball to my playmakers and make a couple more protection checks. I put it on me. I will get back to work, and I’m excited for next week.”
“He played two games, he hasn’t turned over the ball,” Dillingham described, “he's getting us in good calls, he’s converted/extended three different third downs (against Mississippi State) with his legs…everyone wants to look at the three or four misses. I can sleep very well at night if our quarterback is just missing a few throws. I can’t sleep if he's throwing the wrong person.
“That’s what gives me great confidence – he’s missing throws that he makes routinely in practice, in his second (ever) start.”
With such a low number of passing yards to go around, the receivers collectively had a quiet outing. Redshirt sophomore Jordyn Tyson, who led the team against Wyoming with 49 yards, only corralled two catches for seven yards. There were times when it looked as if Leavitt had him open deep, but the two couldn’t connect. Tyson, though, was key blocking on senior running back Cam Skattebo’s longest run of that contest, 39 yards, deep in the fourth quarter, which preceded the Sun Devils’ victory formation. Redshirt senior Jake Smith was second on the team last week with 47 yards but saw just a few targets in the last game without a catch.
In the tight end group, two redshirt juniors, Chamon Metayer and Markeston Douglas, combined for two catches and four yards. Metayer caught a ball for just one yard, and Douglas snagged a pass for three yards. In a game with 346 yards rushing for ASU, the tight ends were also instrumental in their blocking contributions.
Defense
For the second week in a row, the defense stepped up when they needed to and kept a fast and powerful Mississippi State to just 85 yards and three points in the first half. While there weren’t as many turnovers forced by the newcomers this time around, they did score one defensive touchdown and made their presence felt in the backfield. Junior Jacob Kongaika had a sack, and redshirt junior Justin Wodtly contributed with half of a tackle for loss, as well as a pass knockdown. Both players, with their teammates in the trenches, contributed heavily to a defensive effort that held the Bulldogs to just 30 yards on 26 rushing attempts.
The linebacker core that intercepted two passes in the season opener didn’t force any turnovers this week but imposed their will, too. Junior Keyshaun Elliot had a sack and tackle for loss, along with two solo tackles and five total stops. His running mate, redshirt junior Zyrus Fiaseu, had half of a tackle for loss, two solo tackles, and five total stops of his own.
The defensive back room looked strong in the first half but faced adversity in large stretches of the second half, allowing three out of Mississippi State’s four drives to culminate in a touchdown. Junior safety Myles “Ghost” Rowser led the team with ten total tackles, but his missed tackle led to the visitors' 80-yard touchdown reception, which was the last score of the contest. Junior safety Xavion Alford was third on the team with seven tackles.
Special Teams
Redshirt sophomore kicker Ian Hershey converted two out of his three field goal attempts last week, hitting from 29 and 24 yards but missing a 38-yard attempt. After a practice week that was less than superb, Hershey hit all three of his attempts from 27, 47, and 46. The 47-yard field goal was also his career-long.
“To be honest, he had a horrible (practice) week,” Dillingham said with a smile. “He missed like every kick, and then he goes out there (against Mississippi State) and absolutely nails them over and over. He killed it again today, so he’s in a rhythm.”
True freshman punter Kanyon Floyd received more work than last week, with ASU in the fourth quarter going on back-to-back three-and-out drives. His three punts went for 119 yards, averaging out to 39.7 yards per punt, and his longest was set at 46 yards, and none of his punts yielded any return yards.
Kickoff man for this year graduate Parker Lewis was part of the special teams that Dillingham noted was “flawless.” His seven kickoffs all went for touchbacks. With a dangerous Bulldog returner in junior receiver Kevin Coleman waiting at the goal line, this was a feat that proved to be significant for Arizona State.
“Every single kickoff was booted and absolutely gone,” Dillingham noted. “A personal foul on another team’s kickoff return because of how physical we’re running down the field is awesome. We played with effort and made them frustrated."
Full Newcomer Participation List for Mississippi State
QB Sam Leavitt
WR Malik McClain
WR Jordyn Tyson
WR Jake Smith
TE Chamon Metayer
TE Cameron Harpole
TE Coleson Arends
TE Douglas Markeston
OL Joey Su’a
OL Ben Coleman
DL Roman Pitre
DL J.P. Deeter
DL Zac Swanson
DL Justin Wodtly
DL Jacob Kongaika
LB Keyshaun Elliott
LB Zyrus Fiaseu
LB Martell Hughes
DB Javan Robinson
DB Xavion Alford
DB Myles Rowser
DB Cole Martin
DB Montana Warren
DB Adama Fall
DB Keontez Bradley
DB Kyan McDonald (first appearance this year for the true freshman)
K Parker Lewis
K Ian Hershey
P Kanyon Floyd
Freshmen who haven’t played yet this year
OL Terrell Kim
OL Champ Westbrooks
OL Semisi Tonga
WR Zechariah Sample
TE Jayden Fortier
TE James Giggey
DL Ramar Williams
DL Salesi Manu
DB Plas Johnson
DB Chris Johnson
DB Tony-Luis Nkuba
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