Pac-12 opener marks a new season for the Sun Devils

“We kind of break the season up into nonconference and now you have nine conference games to see if you get to play a tenth one, and this is where it starts counting,” head coach Todd Graham said at his weekly press conference.

Graham said his team should be near full strength just in time for Saturday’s Pac-12 opener against Cal at Sun Devil Stadium.

Redshirt senior linebacker Salamo Fiso will make his first appearance of the season after being suspended for the first three games. Additionally, Graham expects receiver Tim White, right tackle Zach Robertson and defensive lineman George Lea to be healthy.

The top priority on Saturday?

“Turnover ratio is a number one focus,” Graham said. “We’ve got to get takeaways and we’ve got to take care of the football. Turning the football over twice inside our 25-yard line resulted in two touchdowns. That hurt. It’s been a long time since I’ve been (-3 turnover ratio) in a game and been successful.

The whole deal when we talk about Sun Devil Football is you got to take care of the football…One-hundred percent ball security is the key to our success.”

Cal runs a variation of Air Raid offense called the “Bear Raid.” After losing Jared Goff — the No. 1 pick in the 2016 NFL Draft — senior Davis Webb is this year’s signal caller.

Graham knows Webb well.

Before transferring to Cal, Webb played at Texas Tech and had a record-setting first half against ASU in the 2013 Holiday Bowl, throwing for 301 yards and four touchdowns.

Just as NAU’s Case Cookus and Texas Tech’s Patrick Mahomes did, Webb presents his own unique challenge.

“Obviously (Davis Webb) is a veteran,” Graham said. “He’s very tall, he’s tough to sack and get down. You get a hold of him, but he’s still able to get the ball off, so he’s a very good quarterback. He’s really gelled with their players.”

Graham is also familiar with Cal’s first-year offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Jake Spavital because the two worked together at Tulsa. He said while Spavital has put his own flair on the offense, it remains largely similar to previous years.

However, this week’ test is different because it marks the first time ASU will face a stable of running backs — Cal’s Vic Elwere, Khalfani Muhammad and Tre Watson.

Additionally, Graham said he has been impressed with wide receiver Chad Hansen’s passion and heart.

Cal is averaging 47 points per game on 580.3 yards per game through three games this year.

“What makes it so difficult is they make you defend sideline to sideline,” Graham said. “They’ve got really good personnel. Obviously, the strength of their team is their offense and their ability to score points.”

ASU redshirt sophomore Manny Wilkins is undefeated as a starting quarterback. His efficient play has been accented by a bit of flash, like his hurdling.

Wilkins took a big hit in the first half against UTSA. Graham said Wilkins needs to protect himself there but applauded the quarterback for his leadership in coming back strong and eventually leading a comeback later in the game.

Learning to use his athleticism intelligently and safely is just another aspect of Wilkins’ development and progression.

“I would rather him hurdle someone than get cut by them,” he said. “He’s tough as nails and I don’t want him to play cautious, but it’s just being smart. Learning how to play that way just takes a little bit of experience.”

True freshman receiver N’Keal Harry is already making an impact with two touchdown receptions in the first three weeks.

Graham credited some of Harry’s development to wide receivers coach Jay Norvell.

“I think (N’Keal Harry’s) staying really humble and hungry,” Graham said. “He’s a very gifted young man…He’s definitely a threat for us…He’s a playmaker for us.’

The offensive line was a concern heading into the fall because it looked to replace four or five starters from 2015. It quickly took shape but underwent a chance when right tackle Zach Robertson suffered an injury.

Stephon McCray shifted from center to right guard and Quinn Bailey from right guard to right tackle.

Insert junior A.J. McCollum at center.

“I tell him he’s an old-school center,” Graham said. “Blood and guts kind of guy…He really just brings a lot of physicality in the run game. He really just loves coming off the football and blocking people. He’s learning. He’s very raw.”

ASU needs to continue improving fundamentally and with tackling, especially in open space, Graham said.

He also said Laiu Moeakiola will most likely continue to play at SPUR linebacker instead of the Bandit safety role because it stabilizes the defense.

Graham said he has told his teams one important thing prior to the start of each season for the past 10 or 15 years.

You have to win the close games.

So far, this year’s group has done just that.

“We’ve had a few of those so far,” Graham said. “None of them have been easy, but we’ve figured out a way to win them. That speaks volumes about our players…They know that every single game in this league is going to be a battle.”

Note:

Graham on players dropping the ball before end zone in College Football: “Our guys hand the ball to the official, they always have. That’s just the way we do it. There’s a reason for it. You’d be hard-pressed to find a time where one of our guys have scored in the past four or five years and didn’t hand the ball to the official. That’s something we started doing a while ago because we wanted to keep the pace going, but also just to make sure you don’t have (a mistake) happen. Usually rare, but there’s been a lot of that lately. It’s too hard to score touchdowns. It’s just easier to hand the ball to the official.”