Arizona State football opens its 2017 season on Thursday against New Mexico State. Running backs coach John Simon and linebackers coach Keith Patterson briefly spoke to reporters today.
John Simon
What are your overall impressions of your running backs? How has it been installing the offense?
It’s been good. It’s been a good process installing and overloading the brain. Now, we’re simplifying. We have everything in and it’s time to go play a game now. We have it all simplified now, those guys know what they’re supposed to do, they know what their jobs are and they’re a lot more comfortable and are playing a lot faster this week. It’s been a good week.
How do you go about emphasizing to your senior backs Demario Richard and Kalen Ballage that they have a defined leadership role on the offense?
It’s a process. With those guys, it’s so important to them. I have a good problem that I don’t have to worry about their focus, their leadership, and their assignments because it’s bigger than just them and their group. They’re trying to play to win a championship, they’re trying to play for their legacy, they’re trying to play for the rest of their career here at Arizona State.
Nick Ralston seems to be a different type of back than the others in your group. Where does he fit into the offense and where do you see in his skill set?
We’re glad to have Nick back. He’s healthy, and he’s not 100 percent yet, but he’s as close as he’s ever been to it. We’re excited about what he brings to the table because he does a lot of things well. He’s a jack-of-all-trades guy. There’s not anything he can’t do or any situation we can’t use him in. I’m excited to see him have an opportunity to be out there and play a little bit more.
Jacom Brimhall has been a running back/slot receiver this fall. Todd Graham called him a “dependable.” What have you seen from him and how have you shaped him as he’s gone through the progression of his role?
Brim has done a lot since he’s been here at Arizona State. He’s been at a lot of different positions. I think with Brim, he’s special with the ball in his hands, so what we’re trying to do is find a way to get the ball in his hands and put him in a position to where we can do that.
A lot of people talk about the prospects of two 1,000-yard rushers because you coached a duo like that at Southern Miss. How difficult is it to have two guys both rush for 1,000 yards?
You know as well as I know, it’s only been done a couple times in the history of the game. That’s a special deal because you have to have two guys that don’t have any injuries, you got to have an offense that’s having a lot of success so you’re up front running the ball because you’re ahead in the game. You can’t be behind in a lot of games to where you’re trying to throw it, so it’s the perfect storm. Could it happen? Anything can happen. But right now, we’re just focused on those guys being here and giving max effort every day and letting the records and rushing yards and everything else take care of themselves.
What about Trelon Smith? What does he excel at and where have you seen his growth this fall?
Trelon’s here because he’s great with the ball and his hands, so he’s doing some great things. Just like with any young guy, it’s about detailing the game. Understanding who you have in protection, and if a guy disappears, where your eyes go next. The little things like that with him, Understanding when you’re running a man route and you’ve been getting a man look (from the defense). Now you’re getting zone, now what’s the adjustment? He’s there, he’s close, but we’re excited about what he’s going to do for us in the future.
Are you guys going to be working with more two-back structures this year as compared to last season?
No, probably not any more than what you’ve seen in the past. We’re just going to continue to feature one guy back there and try to keep him fresh and just try to rotate him through.
What about the number of groupings you guys have?
That’s a good problem to have. The more guys you have, the more you got to find a way to utilize those guys and keep other guys fresh. So I think that’s probably what you’re seeing. How we’re grouping them according to their skill set, according to what they do well, we want to make sure we have the best five guys out there — five skill guys out there — for the play call.
When you guys started Fall Camp, what was one area that you pinpointed as probably the biggest need for improvement with your group?
Just being a pro in our preparation, in our mental preparation and how we handle adversity, and how we practice on a daily basis. Coming out and taking the day to get better. Regardless of where you are, regardless of how good you are, taking advantage of every day and saying, ‘Today is the day I’m going to get better in some area of my game.’
Keith Patterson:
Do you think the way you guys are communicating the defense here is going to make for less missed assignments?
Yeah, there’s no gray area, no doubt. I don’t know. Obviously, that helps. It all stems from communication and when there’s missed communication, lack of communication, whatever, you’re going to have breakdowns on defense. Probably 70 percent of plays in college football come from a misalignment or busted assignment, which typically comes from not getting the call. And if I got the call, probably not communicating it.
Are the players feeling more comfortable with this?
Oh yeah. That’s the thing. Within our system — make no mistake, we say it’s simple — there are simple concepts, but complexity within the system. Within the simplicity there’s complexity. Just through that repetition of doing things every day, you’re going to see that same production on the field.
Coaches say they like the speed of the back end. It’s not an experienced group. What’s the management of that?
One, I think one of the most misunderstood things when it comes to pass coverage is that everybody just takes the pressure off the guys up front. How about the guys up front? They have one-on-ones. If they’re not winning their one-on-ones, then the guys covering in the back end (can’t). Eventually, at some point, that route is going to turn into a one-on-one. We got to get pressure on a quarterback, you can’t let a quarterback throw with a rhythm. I don’t care what your experience level is or what your unit is.
On defensive coordinator Phil Bennett:
“He’s raised the standard for us. Not only just our expectations but the expectations of yourself as a player and player accountability of doing it right and not letting people down.
What’s your impression of the front seven?
I think we have the makings of — when it’s all said and done — I think we can be really good. When you have two physical linebackers like we got. With (DJ) Calhoun and (Christian) Sam and (JoJo) Wicker and (Tashon) Smallwood, first of all, you got a wealth of experience. Then, they now they have such a confidence in our run fits and our pass distribution. I think we can be good, I think we can be really good.
