DevilsDigest: Jordan Kerley is one of your signees in the 2019 class. What can he bring to the table?

Charlie Fisher: “I just was down there, he’s growing, getting bigger, he’s 6-1, almost 190, might be 6-2. I think he’s a real sleeper in the state of Texas. He’s not really a sleeper in terms of everybody knowing about him, but in the city of Austin, you also have four Division I receivers, so a lot of attention is going to a lot of guys. But you talk to anybody down in Texas and that part of the state, and they just rave about this kid, and that’s what we saw early on. I just think with his ceiling, he’s just going to keep getting better and better.”

“He’s a very well-rounded receiver. On tape, and when you talk to people too, they rave about his route-running ability, his ability to catch the football. He’s got some ‘make-you-miss’ factor. He does a little bit of everything well, he’s tough, he’s got a willingness to block. You never know until they get here, how far ahead of the curve they can come, but you just look at his skill set, his overall polish as a wideout, I think that’s the thing that is really impressive to me.”

DevilsDigest: I know you like to be flexible with your receivers as to not to pigeon-hole them into specific positions, but is there one position Jordan plays better than the other?

Charlie Fisher: “I think he can be a really good slot, I really do. Now, he’s got the size to play outside, so he can play either or. The slot is kind of a special spot because you’ve got to be able to do everything, and you’ve got to be able to block. Like Kyle Williams, tremendous blocker. This kid kind of has a mentality of he’ll get after you now. So, he‘s got a little bite in him.”

DevilsDigest: The other incoming freshman is Ricky Pearsall, what are your thoughts about him?

Charlie Fisher: “We see Ricky as an outside guy, he can really run. Ricky can top the coverage off. Another guy who can do a little bit of everything, played some Wildcat quarterback over at his high school, played outside, played inside, but seeing him as an outside guy.

He’s 200 pounds, he’s a big, strong kid and ahead of the curve physically. Every bit of 6-1, 6-2. He was great in our camp, can stretch the field, can catch it, his dad was obviously a really good player when he played years ago. In recruiting, you like to recruit guys that you just see their ceiling is still in front of them. I’ve always been like that, find those guys that have the ability, knowing they’re going to keep getting better and better.”

DevilsDigest: I think what’s impressive about him is that he played, unfortunately, for a really bad team, and he’s the focal point of every scouting report every time his team takes the field. So, seeing the numbers he put up makes his senior season look even more impressive…

Charlie Fisher: “Yeah, he did everything for his football team. He’s not a big defensive player, either. So, all of these kids have versatility, and that’s what you want. You want guys who can play either side of the football, they’re here to play receiver but you see the ability as a football player, playing multiple positions.”

DevilsDigest: Now that you’ve had time to digest the 2018 season when you look at the wide receivers group as a whole, what were your takeaways?

Charlie Fisher: “Well, overall, I think it was a good, solid year. Obviously, everybody knows about N’Keal (Harry) and he played exceptionally well and was really good for us. A couple of other things stand out. The improvement and the emergence of Brandon Aiyuk was obvious. And that was exciting and that’s a testament to his hard work and obviously the work that we as an offensive staff have done with him in trying to really fit him into our offense. It just takes time for those guys, whether you’re a junior college player or a high school player get it, and figure it out, before you can play to your speed and play fast. So, really good to see his emergence.

“I thought we played well, but I thought about this, really last night, we’ve got to be more consistent, particularly down the stretch. We could’ve been more consistent, but we left some plays on the field as a group. So, we’ve got to do that. We’ve got to continue to obviously identify some other playmakers. We’ve seen what Frank (Darby) can do. But we’ve got to have that consistency factor with all of these guys. We just have to.

“It’s going to be interesting to see Geordon Porter’s development, that’s going to be very key for us this spring, and not just this spring. You’ve got another five-month block (of strength and conditioning) that people forget about. That’s a huge developmental process for a player, mentally, physically in the weight room, and then you’ve got camp.

“I’ve always looked at it like spring, then that next phase is your summer and spring conditioning because we’re going early, so it’s going to be a longer phase there, and then you’ve got three weeks of preseason camp. So, there’s a lot of development for him and really all of these guys. I’m pleased with the guys, we made some plays, made some strides, but we can be so much better, we really can. As a group, we can play better on a weekly basis.”

DevilsDigest: Before I talk about the returning players, the fact that you pretty much knew when the season started, that this was more than likely N’Keal Harry’s last season here. Does that fact benefit your approach as you develop wide receivers, when you get that one-year heads up, so to speak?

Charlie Fisher: “We’re obviously happy for N’Keal and it’s a great opportunity for him and he’s earned that. So, it wasn’t like it was a surprise to us, that was probably going to happen, because in this day and age of college football when they’re that good, they’re basically three and done. That’s just the way it is now. So, we understand that.

“It helps you in your planning, knowing that we have to discuss, ‘where are we going to be a year from now without this guy?’ Years ago, you didn’t have that, because guys wouldn’t declare until later in the year. And N’Keal couldn’t declare (early in the year), but we knew that if he did all the things he could do, played up to his capabilities, stayed healthy, that was probably going to happen.

“So, it helps you in planning, looking at who’s going to emerge to be your next playmaker? Your number one, so to speak. Because you have to have a number on. And then in recruiting, for that next class and that class after, because it’s not just the class that’s affected right then, you’re affected a class beyond, because you’re always looking down the road. Because when you lose a guy that’s had the production N’Keal Harry has had, that’s a big loss.”

DevilsDigest: You talk about looking ahead, and on the one hand, you have a very veteran wide receiver group coming back. And while that’s beneficial it also puts more pressure more recruiting-wise, does it not?

Charlie Fisher: “Long term, it does. It’s a blessing, we’ve got them all back, but we tell our guys and coach Edwards has told them, we didn’t bring these other guys in there just to watch…they’re going to get their opportunity to compete. So, they’re going to have the opportunity to push the guys that are in the room, that are here right now. They know the deal.

“When we bring guys in, they’re here to help. We thought Geordon Porter could help us more so as the season went on, he started to get where we wanted him to get to. Everybody has a level of how quickly they’re kind of in a position to do certain things. So, we’ll see with Ricky, and with Jordan, how quick they are in their ability to help us.

“I love the fact that we got experienced guys back, and now we’re going to add two young playmakers, we feel, guys that can really help us. So, it’s going to be interesting, that’s what’s great about college football. Guys don’t play 12 years. They cycle in and they cycle out and new guys have to take over, but certainly the emergence of Brandon Aiyuk helped soften the loss, so to speak, of N’Keal Harry, and now we’ll see what happens. You have Kyle Williams, and you can’t say enough about Kyle. I’m a baseball guy, and he's one of those guys that you pencil him in the lineup and you know what he’s going to do. You know he’s going to give you a solid day, he’s always going to be there, he’s always going to play hurt. But he’s going to have to be consistent, and he gets it.”

DevilsDigest: I know it’s impossible to say this guy or that guy is going to replace N’Keal Harry, who’s one of the best receivers ever to play here. Yet, you said it, that Brandon Aiyuk just might be able to, maybe not compensate for the entire loss of Harry, but for a good portion of the loss…

Charlie Fisher: “Yeah, he can, and he’s got a great skill set. He’s a talented, talented player. If you look at him, and we couldn’t do this but had he redshirted and had two more years, oh man, the ceiling would be off the charts for him. He’s got a major league skill set.

“He’s got good footwork, he’s got size, he’s got speed, and he’s got good hands. He’s a tough kid, he likes to work hard, he likes to be coached. It’s all there in front of him. As I always tell a player, when he has success, now he’s got to be focused, even more focused. They know who he is, he’s not going to…I don’t want to use the word ‘surprise’ because everybody knew him from recruiting…but his emergence now as what we feel like will be a true number one receiver, people know that. They’ve seen the plays he made down the stretch.”

DevilsDigest: Was there any skill in specific that you saw great growth in him from August to December?

Charlie Fisher: “I think just the knowledge of what he was doing, being able to play at his speed and athleticism. You saw how he emerged, he could catch the ball and make plays but you saw how his confidence grew and his ability to catch the ball and make plays…tremendous job running the tunnel screens, he’s got a ‘make-you-miss’ factor, and he’s really good with the ball in his hands.”

DevilsDigest: You mentioned Kyle Williams a little earlier. Since he plays in the slot and a lot of that role is seemingly blocking-oriented, you’re probably not throwing the ball to him as often. Consequently, his numbers suffered. I know you weren’t here in 2017, but you saw the disparity in his states between 2017 and last year. Can this be explained simply by him being in the slot, or maybe there were other factors in play?

Charlie Fisher: “Well, I think more than anything, when you look at the emergence of No. 3 (running back Eno Benjamin), and our ability to run the football the way we did. That changed some dynamics offensively, and that’s a good dynamic because you’ve got to be able to run the football.

“Now, the biggest credit to Kyle Williams, he never once complained; he always said: ‘coach, whatever we got to do to win.’ He shows up, does his job, and does it the right way. There’s a lot to be said just about that mindset, doing whatever we’ve got to do to win. And as a coach, you appreciate that in a player. Sure, every player wants the football. We obviously try to work ways to get him the ball. But then, outside of him, you’ve got a N’Keal Harry, you’ve got an emergence of Brandon Aiyuk, you’ve got a Frank Darby who is a deep threat. The ball can only be sliced up so many ways. And then, the emergence of our running game and what happened there. I think those things are all factors, in my mind, what I appreciate about Kyle and have great respect for, he never made that a big deal.”

DevilsDigest: So, it sounds like you anticipate him being in the slot again come spring practice?

Charlie Fisher: “We’ll see. He’s a guy that can play outside if need be, and if we need to put him outside, we will. We’re going to get our three best guys on the field. You see the emergence of Aiyuk, Frank has flashed, made some plays, we’re going to see what Geordon Porter can do, and we’ve still got Terrell Chatman. Then we’ve got some young guys that really haven’t had a chance to kind of take another step ye because they redshirted. We’ve got Ryan Newsome who was out injury-wise, but I thought he made tremendous strides in the last half of the season, and then he got hurt. I was really pleased with the way Ryan was coming along, and he gave us another viable option in the slot. We just won’t see Ryan this spring, but we’ve had an idea to see what he can do, the key for him will be coming back healthy from that foot injury.”

DevilsDigest: And besides Newsome, everybody else is healthy for the spring?

Charlie Fisher: “Yup. John (Humphrey) is full go.”

DevilsDigest: Let’s talk about Humphrey what do you expect from him coming back from injury?

Charlie Fisher: “I’m excited to see John John, because, quite honestly, I haven’t seen all that much of him since I got here. I had him a week in spring ball and he got hurt. I’ll say this about John, I love his demeanor, his attitude, the way he attacked overcoming that injury. He never felt sorry for himself, team guy all the way. He showed up, was there right behind his team, encouraging, there’s a lot to be said for that because when you’re injured, you’re somewhat disconnected from your team. He was always right there with our guys.

“Then he comes back in bowl practice and was able to get some time in, and John can run. He’s flat out fast. So, we’re excited about him. He’s going to play inside and outside. With Newsome being out, we’re going to give him some time in the slot and see how he does there. We know he can go outside and top coverage off and all of those things, but we want to see a little bit more of him from the inside and see what he can do.”

DevilsDigest: You talked a little bit about the run blocking with Kyle Williams, and I have to feel that with the way the running game performed that you’re also pleased with your entire group in that regard?

Charlie Fisher: “I am. It’s all about your effort and your ability to get your guy. I always say, ‘Just take care of your job. N’Keal, obviously, was a dominant blocker at times. You get latched on him, good luck getting off. Kyle is your atypical lunch-pail guy. We’ve got to do our part because, with the long runs, I always tell a wideout, you’ve got to get your guy, and you’ve got to be relentless chasing him all over the field like you would be if you were defending a guy for the entire court in basketball. You’ve got to find a way to help spring Eno for those once he breaks free for those long runs. Because we know, we talked about this all the time, we’ve got a special running back. He can make a lot of guys miss. And that was obvious. So, just get your guy, and he’ll put it in the end zone because he’ll rip off some big plays.”

DevilsDigest: Seems like anytime there was a controversial passing play this year, Frank Darby was in the middle of it…

Charlie Fisher: “Yeah, Frank was in the middle of it. The thing for Frank is just consistency. There’s nobody that works harder. He cares, and I love that about him, and I thought down the stretch he may have been worn down. But he had a couple of critical drops, but he had some big plays, too. It’s just consistency for Frank. We know Frank’s got the ability, Frank can make big plays, he’s shown that throughout his career at Arizona State, it’s just consistency. And the thing I love about Frank, he cares, he wants to do good, he likes to be coached. I always say a player makes his biggest strides in that third year. That’s when you really see that maturity and that growth, and that’s all in front of Frank. We see the playmaking ability, it’s just a matter of consistency.”

DevilsDigest: You mentioned Geordon Porter, what kind of development did you see from him throughout the season?

Charlie Fisher: “I saw a lot in the last half. You saw a guy who couldn’t really play to his speed early on. He’s a fast guy, and we knew that when we recruited him. In the beginning of the year he’s thinking, he’s trying to figure things out, a lot going through his brain…and then about halfway through the season he started to figure it out.

“There just weren’t enough spots for him, and we’re sitting there going, ‘Well, we don’t want to lose this kid’s redshirt just by putting him in a few plays, that would be foolish,’ because we’ve got a talented kid here. And now, in the last half of the season, he really started to grow, he physically got bigger. You could see his growth through the weight room, and coach Joe did a great job with him. You saw him starting to grow. And then, confidence-wise, you saw him play a little bit against USC, but our plan all along was to play him in the bowl game. Once we got in a bowl game, we wanted to play him some. He’s got a chance to be really good. He cares, he works hard, and I love his attitude, and love his demeanor. This next cycle is huge for him.”

DevilsDigest: Terrell Chatman seemingly got lost a little in the numbers, but what do you see from him?

Charlie Fisher: “Terrell battled injuries. For him, it’s a matter of staying healthy. He’s had the injury issues here, really, I think over the last couple years. Terrell flashes at times, I think more than anything, it’s a matter of him staying healthy, and being consistent.

“Being available - we talk about that all the time. He’s had some injury issues, sometimes that happens, that’s out of the hands of the player. He had a hamstring issue twice throughout the season that set him back a little bit. I love Terrell, he’s got a good attitude, he works hard, and this is a big year for him. I’ve just seen it so much over the course of my time, that when a guy puts together a really good spring, and then he backs it up with a really good summer, he’s usually ready to take off.

“We saw the emergence of Brandon Aiyuk, but Brandon’s got so much more in him, improvement-wise. And this cycle, this cycle of spring ball, and then that ‘B’ cycle of conditioning, of weights, that long cycle throughout the summer, and then that ‘C’ cycle in camp; I look at, you’ve got ‘A, B, C,’ and then the last cherry on top of it is the season. So, that's kind of how I’ve always looked at it. And I could cite you examples of guys I’ve coached through the years, you say, they don’t know it yet, but this guy’s ready to take off.

“I was just reading a tremendous article on the wideout at Colorado (Laviska Shenault) that emerged. And they were talking about what an unbelievable spring he had. Well, you know, a lot of people aren’t out at spring football, so they don’t see that all the time. And they’re talking about how his emergence, and they knew it, they saw it every day.”

DevilsDigest: Going against the 3-3-5 defense every day at practice, just from a wide receiver coach perspective, how much did that benefit you throughout the season?

Charlie Fisher: “Well, it’s a challenge, because there’s a lot of pressure. I think the thing that’s going to be interesting this spring is, obviously, any time you connect a quarterback race into the whole scheme of things, and then the passing game, every day is going to be interesting.

“I can remember at Vanderbilt, when Jay Cutler was a redshirt freshman, and we had him and another guy battling for the job. And you have those discussions every day (who performed better) and that plays a big factor with the wideouts, because that’s their guy. Whoever that guy is that emerges is the guy that gets them the football. And then you’ve got the challenge of going against a pressure defense like we run. So, those guys, they’ve got their hands full. A bunch of young quarterbacks, got a defense that is extremely tough to prepare for. But at the end of the day, their job is to show up and do their job, whatever’s asked of them. Blocking, catching, running routes, whatever’s asked of them for what their job is, and they know that.”

DevilsDigest: But even though it’s an exotic defense that you don’t see that much, you still feel there are some benefits that can carry over no matter what kind of defense you’re playing later in the season?

Charlie Fisher: “Oh, absolutely, absolutely. Because at the end of the day, no matter how they end up, they’re in man or zone. So, you’re going to see press, or off-coverage, or cover 2, or quarters, whatever it might be, absolutely.”

DevilsDigest: You touched a little bit on the topic my next question, the whole dynamic of having a new quarterback. We all know it’s going to be a new quarterback starting for ASU this year, and whether it’s someone who has little experience or no experience remains to be seen. I know as a wide receiver coach or really any position coach, the mindset would be ‘I can’t worry about who’s behind center, I’ve got to do my job and get my guys prepared.’ However, at the end of the day, the wide receivers can’t throw the ball to themselves. Therefore, as a wide receivers coach, how do you deal with that dynamic of having an inexperienced quarterback behind center while you’re still trying to develop your guys?

Charlie Fisher: “At the end of the day, their job is to do their job, to be where they’re supposed to be. Don’t fool the quarterback, and work hard to develop chemistry with all of these guys. Because somebody’s going to emerge. Somebody’s going to be their guy, whoever that is. I’ve been in that position so many times. But as a wideout, your job is to gain the trust of all of those guys. You’re going to be where you’re supposed to be on a route, you can finish it with a catch, you’re going to show up every day, you’re going to do your job, and they can count on you.

“So much of it as a quarterback and receiver group is that chemistry. That uniqueness that can only be developed through day to day practice. You get in a meeting and you talk, but you’ve got to develop that every day on the practice field, not just 7-on-7 and all that, I’m talking about routes on air, and the little bit of time that you do before and after practice, and then that ‘B’ cycle, that long cycle, where those guys are working in the weight room together, but they’re also throwing and catching together when nobody’s out there. It’s them. They’re developing a unique chemistry between themselves. So, it’s going to be interesting, it really will be. I’ve seen this play out before, and it’ll be interesting, and a lot of fun, and it’ll be great for our football team.”

DevilsDigest: Would it be fair to say that having again such a veteran group of wide receivers can really help the new quarterback?

Charlie Fisher: “Absolutely. When you’ve got guys that have played a lot of football, it’s when you put youth in youth that it gets a little bit tougher. Great example, Cutler and Earl Bennett, out at Vanderbilt. Cutler’s a fifth-year senior, Bennett’s a true freshman, and he steered him throughout early parts of the process. Well, it’s no different when you flip-flop it; now, the wideout can’t throw the ball to themselves, but just that chemistry, just being there, helping the quarterback make that transition, no question, you see that played out in every level of football.”

DevilsDigest: As the position coach of such a veteran group, do you feel that your natural level of expectations should be raised quite a bit compared to last year, for example?

Charlie Fisher: “The expectation for me has always been to produce the best group in the league, and in the country. I think, what you expect out of yourself or out of others is what you get. If you set the bar high and you set the expectation high, then you’ve got a chance to be very good. That’s how I’ve always coached and how I’ve always lived. I think that one of the things that can happen is that people in the big scheme of things, don’t expect enough of themselves, or just don’t believe they can reach the pinnacle of what all they can be. So, you don’t want a player to ever set a low bar. Set a high ceiling, reach for that high ceiling, if you just come up a little bit short, just keep working and go for it.

“I’ve used this term many times, don’t ever put any limits on what you can be. Don’t ever do that, as a player, or a coach, or businessman, whatever you do…set the bar high, and go for it.”

DevilsDigest: What is the primary goal you would like the wide receiver group to accomplish in spring practice?

Charlie Fisher: “We’ve got to develop that chemistry with our quarterbacks. That’s a big deal. It’s going to be fun seeing that unfold, seeing how that goes, because it’s going to be a new guy, that’s a big change. Developing that consistency is going to be critical, because we’ve got a good group, but we can play even that much more consistent as a group, as a whole. I think it’s going to be interesting to see the emergence of our guys, because we’ve got great competition, and we’re going to add to it in the summer.”

DevilsDigest: Do you feel at the end of spring practice, that you need to have a clear two-deep picture, or that can just take care of itself later in the year?

Charlie Fisher: “Well, I think, for me, the bigger thing is having a clear two-deep by the time we play (the season opener) Kent State. Now, we’re going to have a good snapshot of who, we know there are some guys that have already made plays here. I think now is the competition from the younger guys to see where can they put themselves, because that’s always an ongoing thing.

“I don’t think just a month of practice can ever determine that, because that second cycle is so big, it takes you through summer, and then preseason camp is huge. Those cycles are even more so than professional football. You’re dealing with ten-year veterans, it’s not that way in college football. I don’t think you can ever declare that just in that one month of practice. You get a picture, no doubt, but you see emergence of guys and now you want to see, can they keep backing it up? Can they take the preseason camp to get themselves to the season? And then, where do they go from there? It’s an ongoing process. But that’s the exciting part of being a coach and seeing their development.

“I’ll say this, we’ve got a great group of kids. We’ve got a good room. And they support each other, they compete against each other, that makes my job a whole lot easier.”

(Jeff Griffith contributed to this story)