Post-spring transfers speak on adjusting to ASU during preseason practice

The story that has been told countless times ahead of Arizona State Football’s 2022 season has been regarding the players who entered the transfer portal and left Tempe. However, there was much less chatter concerning those who entered the transfer portal and decided to ultimately continue their college career in Tempe.

This is where senior wide receiver Charles Hall IV enters the picture. Hall spent last season at HBCU Virginia Union University and was a dual sport athlete, playing football in the fall and running track and field in the spring. The combination of football and track field helped mold an explosive and fast receiver, something ASU could benefit from in a new offensive scheme.

Despite catching 66 passes for 1,668 yards at Virginia Union, something was still missing for Hall. That absent aspect was having an opportunity to play at the highest level – something Arizona State could offer.

“I thought I had the talent to play at the highest level. It’s always been my dream to play at the highest level,” Hall said. “I mean, I want to push to the next level as well. Even just playing at the highest level. I know I had a couple schools, like D2 and D3, that was looking at me and stuff like that. But, you know, just listen to my mom...she always boosted me. So it’s just like, why settle when you can just push yourself? So I know, I had to stay at home, maybe for a semester and stuff like that. I was working and helping my mom out and stuff like that. And then that’s when I had got an opportunity to play my last school, and, you know, just been running since.”

Taking that leap from a division two school to a Power Five level will always have its growing pains. Yet, Hall is adjusting well, which can allow the coaches to start to use him more in the passing game.

“He’s doing a good job,” ASU head coach Herm Edwards said. “It’s just it’s all-new, and I think when you’re a receiver, alignment, formations, how you run routes, you know, every receiver runs routes, a little bit different coordinate systems he was in, and that’s the key for him, is let me figure this out. And then we got to figure out how we’re using these guys, right? Because as you guys know, it’s gonna be more than like, three receivers at play. Probably gonna be six, seven of them. How do we use them in different formations? What are their strengths? I know this if you have fast guys. You got to let them run. Eventually, you have to let them run fast. And so how we create that it’d be interesting, but I think we have some ways to do that. So, it’d be kind of fun.”

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Someone who could have a large part in Hall’s usage is redshirt junior quarterback Emory Jones, who transferred to Arizona State from Florida. Last season, Jones threw for 2,734 yards but threw 13 interceptions, which tied for third-most in the country. However, as the fall camp starts advances through the

“[Practice] was long, done intentionally,” Edwards said. “There were about 90 plays, for the most part, got a lot of good work. Things are starting to come along. It’s always interesting when you start adding stuff to your offense. [The] defense is pretty much set, but the offense is the one when you start adding some things. Too many drop balls today. A lot of drop footballs today. It looked like me trying to catch the ball. Now I shouldn’t say that. I would actually catch the ball actually. So I’m not going to put that on me. But we got to catch it. And I think a lot of it has to do with tight coverage. Quarterbacks trying to fit it in there. And we’ve been very fortunate, you know, we’ve been a good cover team. So they gotta realize some of these guys that haven’t been here in the past, that you’re gonna get tight coverage and have to make those catches, but we have way too many drops. And we got to clean that up.”

Jones’ interception counter increased to four on Monday, adding up to one per practice observed by the media. However, Edwards believes these incidents are a lack of reps with a lot of new and moving parts.

“And I know one thing when [Emory Jones] throws a ball, [he doesn’t] throw a lot of curveballs. It’s fast,” Edwards said. “You better be ready because it’s gonna get on you. I mean, it gets on you fast. If you don’t have your head around [and] your hands ready. It can bounce off you. So, you got to get your head around. And that’s the timing of receivers and quarterbacks. That’s a new offense, a lot of new receivers [and] a quarterback that wasn’t here in the spring.”

Even with many new receivers, Jones will have to adjust to each one, as Arizona State will likely rotate between a handful of receivers. Once a new system is introduced into the situation, it will take accountability from all parties to ensure everyone is on the same page.

“It’s more so there’s locking in and focus, and everybody’s doing their job. That’s it,” Jones said. “I gotta make sure I do my job, make sure I do. Take the right jobs; they got to make sure they get the depth. So I mean, I mean, mainly, it all comes down to everybody’s just locking in and focusing and doing their job.

“The hardest challenge is just distributing to everybody. Me, I’m the guy that likes to go talk to people in my one-on-one. And that’s why I do a lot. It’s probably the hardest thing. But it’s not been pretty bad…So at this point, it’s all about just keeping getting better every day.”

Even though Jones transferred to Arizona State, winning the starting quarterback job is something that was never publicly guaranteed for him. Jones only arrived in Tempe following spring ball, which forced him to be in catch-up mode all off-season with new receivers and scheme. Nonetheless, his peers have only helped make him better.

“This competition is definitely raising my playing level and my standard,” Jones said. “I mean, all around, that’s everybody. Every day I am trying to [treat] every day like a game. I come in and stretch, get loose, and I study the script that we’ll go through for practice just to make sure I’m prepared and ready to go.”

Besides the wide receivers, Jones also has to be on the same page with the offensive line, which is a key component of any offense.

“I mean, [the offensive line], they really have been doing a great job this offseason,” Jones said. “And they really applied it and just count those guys right there. They always work together. [ASU offensive line] coach [Cavanaugh] is hands-on with everything they do. And I mean, you can tell that it just keeps improving every single day. As an offense, as a whole, is all about playing together well, [and] making sure we are on the same page. And I’m making sure that I get us in the right place to be successful.”

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Redshirt junior offensive linemen Joey Ramos, who transferred from Iowa State after spring ball, is also trying to get on the same page with his fellow linemen. Ramos has been observed playing right tackle and center, fighting for whatever spot on the front five that will give him the most reps in practice, let alone on Saturdays.

“I’ve said it before that my favorite position is (being) on the field,” Ramos said. “I’m not really picky where I want to be or need to be. As long as they need me somewhere, I’ll be there in a heartbeat. Whether it’s left, right, or right down in the middle. As long as I’m on the field, just kind of helping out.”

During Saturday’s practice, Ramos was taking reps with the first and second teams. He was observed playing right tackle with the first group but would move to center once the second group would take the field, forcing him to take a majority of snaps during Saturday’s practice.

“I just see it as an opportunity,” Ramos said. “I don’t see it as ‘Oh, I gotta go back-to-back reps.’ I just see it as an opportunity to get better. I don’t complain about it. At least I’m on the field. That’s all I really cared about. As long as I can take those reps. I mean, I’m from here, know how to handle the heat. [I] work construction for a couple years with my family. So the heat’s not really an issue to me. As long as I get some water, I’ll be straight.”

As the season progresses, the unexpected can and will happen. Ramos has already taken steps to ensure that he will be ready for when that happens by learning everything he can about the offensive line.

“I think it gives me a really good advantage just all across the field,” Ramos said. “I mean, the ability to learn every single position and handle all my business in a different manner, when it comes to playing different positions, is definitely crucial to my game. I think that’s what really advances my game as an offensive lineman. Just having the ability to go left right center and know exactly what I’m doing.”

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