Coming into this year, there was plenty to be excited about when it came to the Sun Devils’ passing game, but the season opener for this unit certainly provided a level performance that fell below expectations. Its position coach, Prebtic Gill, speaks candidly of what he saw in that USC contest and what are the remedies in place to address the issues that manifested themselves against the Trojans.
DevilsDigest: Prentice, I know it’s easy to look at the game film and point out multiple issues that need to be corrected. But having said that, what did you see from the wide receivers against USC that you could take away as a positive?
Prentice Gill: “As a positive, I thought some of the younger guys did a really good job of getting open. I thought LV (Bunkley-Shelton) was open a lot. I thought Johnny (Wilson) got open a lot. I think that age (of these two freshmen) just kind of showed a little bit. I think Frank (Darby) getting hurt early rattled the younger guys a little bit and got to them. On a big stage like that, you would love to have your leader, and seeing him get hurt early, got to the guys because we definitely didn’t play up to our normal expectations and normal standards.
“But I thought the good thing was that we got open. I didn’t feel like we were running around covered the whole game. We just got to make grabs, and they got to learn that the game is going to move faster, and you got to make grabs on a little bit of tighter coverage. We just got to catch the ball. Pitch and catch it.”
DevilsDigest: Did you feel as if the younger wideouts did calm down as the game went on, or was the whole game an uphill battle in that regard?
Prentice Gill: “LV was fine from the jump. I think he’s just that kind of guy. He doesn’t really flinch. I think that they all calmed down a little bit but by the time they did calm down; the running game was going (strong). We were running the ball for almost 12 (yards) a carry at one point. So, anytime you run the ball for a good chunk of the game, and then you try to throw it at the end, it’s going be tough because now you’re out of a rhythm.”
DevilsDigest: When you mention those ground attack, I have to think you’re happy with the run blocking you saw from the wide receivers?
Prentice Gill: “Oh yeah. I thought the two things we did really, really well as a wide receiver unit, we played with great effort. And I thought we controlled the perimeter. That was actually one of our goals during the week. We thought we could take advantage of them on the perimeter. We’re getting some outside runs and blocks because their corners, defensive backs, and nickels (coverages). We didn’t think they were physical at all. So, I thought we did a great job at that, and we sparked a lot of big plays on the perimeter. And I thought we played with great effort. We just got to get the pass game to match the run game, and I think we’re going to have one a hell of an offense.”
DevilsDigest: Due to their struggles on Saturday, has it been more of an emphasis on the mental preparedness this week?
Prentice Gill: “I think it’s all mental (preparedness) to be honest with you. Me and Johnny (Wilson), we had to talk. I told him, the player that he is, the player that he’s going to be, he wasn’t that guy on Saturday. He understood it. I’m really, really transparent with my group, and we talked as a group about what are some of the things that we felt made them get a little nervous. And we addressed it; that way, it was out there.
“And now I think it’s just really all mental. It’s about getting back to the basics, doing all the little fundamental things that we normally do. And then, to be honest with you, it was just throwing the ball and catching it. Me and Jayden (Daniels) talk a lot. Jayden told me he wasn’t at his best, and I just think the passing game, in general, wasn’t in the rhythm. So, we’re just going to do a lot of throwing and catching this week and really just get in a rhythm of pitching this guy and catching with this guy and throwing to this guy. Where does this guy like the ball? Where does that guy like the ball? And concentrate on that rhythm. That way, this week, when we go out there, we get another shot at it on Saturday. That’s the good thing about football. You get a shot every seven days.”
DevilsDigest: Did losing Frank Darby in the first quarter immediately turn your game plan upside down from a passing game perspective?
Prentice Gill: “It definitely did. I think it turned USC’s game plan upside down too. They came out in the first ten plays, clouding a lot. Running a lot of safety over coverage over Frank, which will give us easy throws to the young guys, and that’s what we wanted. Cloud him so we can get easy throws to the young guys and get them going because we have really talented young guys. They just needed to get some easy things in the beginning to catch a rhythm, and I think USC really caught a good break.
“Obviously, with Frank going down, it’s not an excuse. But it is what it is. And I think that just kind of shifted our game plan and shifted USC’s game plan. And I think they (USC) did right. They knew we had a young group. They ran up. They pressed. They played man-to-man the rest of the game and made the young guys have to make some plays, and at the end of the day, we made enough plays to win the game because obviously, we’re up 14 with four minutes left. We did enough to win the game, but we didn’t finish it at the end on the last drive.”
DevilsDigest: How is Frank doing in terms of his availability?
Prentice Gill: “He’s feeling a lot better. He’s definitely up. We held him out today (Tuesday), but his availability is that he’s up. I expect him to practice tomorrow (Wednesday). He looked really good moving around today. I held him for my own selfish purposes. Tomorrow (Wednesday) he should go and Thursday, it’ll be an easier day. He’ll go. And I feel good about it. He had a really, really bad rib sprain, but Frank’s a tough-ass dude.
“The sprain in your ribs feels at times like a fracture because it’s in the center of your body. But it’s anything like a normal sprain. So, it’s a little bit different than a finger or ankle sprain. It’s just like anything else, you ice it, you heat it, you rest it, and then all of a sudden, a sprain two days later stops feeling as bad.”
(note this interview was conducted before an announcement was made on whether Cal could play at ASU this Saturday)
DevilsDigest: What kind of challenges does Cal pose in terms of their pass defense?
Prentice Gill: “They pose great challenges. I think they’re bigger than USC and more physical on the perimeter. I think they’re better defense, at least at the corners, I should say. Like I told our receiver corps, I thought that we were fine coming into the USC game. I just thought the spotlight got a little bright. We have to really bring our ‘A game’ this week. This is a really good (Cal) group. (Camryn) Bynum is one of my favorite DB’s in the conference, to be honest with you. I’ve watched him since he was young. Love that kid, and I think he plays with great heart, and he plays physical.
“This is a great opportunity. And I just think that we got to find the right matchups in the pass game and take advantage of it. Their defense will be a little more disciplined, and we got to make our plays.”
DevilsDigest: How did you feel about the communication level and game day workflow as an offensive staff that did have some new faces on it?
Prentice Gill: “That was one part that as a staff that we felt good about it. Our offense is a lot of moving parts, a lot of substitutions. We felt that in the first game, we would be struggling with that. Maybe burn a timeout here, have to do this here to get things right, but we didn’t. We didn’t have to burn one timeout to get guys in the game and get guys off the field.
“We changed the pace. We went to some huddle. We started speeding up. We did some different things, so I felt like we were actually really, really good (in those adjustments). And that shows. We practice every day with headsets on, so we’ve had to do it game-like anyway, and now we were just doing it in the stadium.”
DevilsDigest: How did it feel personally being in your first game as a position coach?
Prentice Gill: “It gelt good. The good thing about me is obviously, I feel like this is the first time I’m getting the blame or the credit, but the good thing is that I’m getting the blame or the credit for it. When I was at USC for four years (as a graduate assistant), the guy that I was under, Tee Martin, he was the in the booth. And he didn’t have time to coach the receivers every day because he was coming up with the game plan. I did that for four years. I subbed guys, did all of the game plan stuff. I did all of the personnel stuff on the sidelines, so it kind of just felt like I was right back at it and then the fact that I was right back at USC, right back in the Coliseum again. I’m doing what I did beforehand, and this time my name is on it. When my name was on it, obviously, it feels a little more personal.”
(Jesse Morrison contributed to this article)
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