West happy with heavy rushing attack; Pearsall contributing multiple ways
In an ideal world, Arizona State would get to run upwards of 70 plays per game. That’s what offensive coordinator Zak Hill told reporters last week before the Sun Devils opened their season against Southern Utah. In the opener, a penalty-filled contest played a role in the Sun Devils’ failure to meet their goals.
Factor in ASU’s defensive success and the short fields, ASU’s defense set the offense up with for each possession, and it all adds up to the 58 total plays that Hill’s offense ran against the Thunderbirds. Of those 58 plays, 40 of them were on the ground. That run-to-pass play split isn’t quite ideal for the development of Arizona State’s passing game, but it keeps the offensive line in a good mood.
“It’s definitely gratifying because when we get to run the rock, we get more opportunities to go out there and hit people,” junior center Dohnovan West said. “I think running the ball and seeing that we’re succeeding at it has been good. As long as we can stick to it, it’s going to keep making us happy.”
Running backs coach Shaun Aguano complimented the offensive line while speaking to reporters Tuesday. Aguano expressed a belief that chunk plays in the run game would have been even more prevalent against SUU had the Sun Devils not gotten behind the chains so often on early downs. Still, the Sun Devils had four different ball-carriers, each record a rush of 20 yards or greater.
“When you have running backs that are going to keep fighting for extra yards; it’s just great to feel because you’re not doing all the work out there,” explained West. “You know they’re going to get a couple of extra yards even after your guy is no longer being blocked.”
Junior wide receiver Ricky Pearsall made an impact across all facets of the ball during the opener, completing a 29-yard pass to tight end Curtis Hodges in the first half and taking an end-around for a 26-yard touchdown run in the second half. Pearsall’s production in the receiving department resulted in two catches for 27 yards, a mark that he’s hoping to improve upon as the Sun Devils open up the passing game in their second game.
“I feel like going forward; we’re going to be throwing the ball a little bit more than we did last week just because our run game was clicking, so we just continued with that,” Pearsall told reporters. ASU’s opponent this Saturday, the UNLV rebels, allowed 374 yards passing in a double overtime loss to Eastern Washington in Week 1. “We’re always watching that film, too. We’re seeing what (Eastern Washington) had success with and taking that into our game.”
Pearsall was specific with his assessment of UNLV’s opening game film and gave insight into what he expects the Sun Devil receivers to need to accomplish to have success.
“(UNLV) runs a lot of Cover 1 and a lot of Cover 3, and that exposes a lot of DB’s to play one-on-one matchups,” Pearsall said. “We’ve got to win those as receivers.”
Sun Devil receivers had some of the greatest issues with penalties against Southern Utah. Following the win, junior quarterback Jayden Daniels was honest about the penalties being largely an issue for the perimeter players of the offense. Pearsall echoed that sentiment and noted it as the first thing that needed to be cleaned up by the group.
“We’ve gotta eliminate those penalties and be a lot cleaner when we’re out there,” said Pearsall. “Penalties killed our drives, and when we clean those up, I feel like our offense is going to flow way smoother than last week.”
During the media’s limited practice viewing, one of the staples of the positional group period work has been interim tight ends coach Juston Wood working with his group on blocking. Setting the edge, shuffling their feet to get positioning and exploding to the second level to hit a defender are all part of the drills that Wood has put an emphasis on, and the results were on full display in ASU’s first game action.
On each of the six touchdown runs, fullback Case Hatch was on the field. Oftentimes, springing the key block to make space for Arizona State’s talented ball-carriers to make a house call. That comes as no surprise to Wood, as Hatch is the line-leader during the unit’s blocking drills.
“Obviously, Case is one of the team leaders and one of the captains,” said Wood. “Coach Herm (Edwards) and coach Hill are awesome with going out of their way to give guys compliment. Maybe those are things that fans don’t see, but they are things that if you’re in this building and in this program, you notice those things.
“With Case, the guy just outfights his weight class. He’s so fun to watch to me, and I think people see that.”
The tight end unit’s goals were met during the opening 60 minutes of the season as Arizona State’s run-heavy approach allowed the physical blocking to take precedent for Wood’s players.
“One of the cornerstones of our offense is to play fast and physical. I thought in Week 1, we came out and did that on the very first play of the game,” said Wood. “With the ball on the (3)-yard line, we came out in a heavy set and ran a downhill, physical gap play. I thought it set a standard and attitude for what we want to be, and it continued into the game.
For the last few years, the potential of Hodges has been a subject amongst those around the program. Thursday night provided a glimpse into how Zak Hill could provide proper utilization of the 6-foot-7 tight end’s ability.
“He was someone who was well-prepared. He was reliable, and he played assignment sound with good pad level as a 6-7,” Wood said of his evaluation of the ASU veteran. “He played with good pad level and played physical coming off the ball and tried to attack people. That’s one of the things with the tight ends as a group we’re trying to do.”
As the weeks pass by this season, and freshman tight end Jalin Conyers continues to gain comfort with his hand in the ground, the versatility of the ASU tight ends and the ability for Hill to be comfortable in 12 and 13 personnel could grow along with it.
“He’s very developmental in the blocking game, and we knew that going in,” explained Wood. “I think we’re seeing signs that he’s making improvement every week… It’s a 12-game season. I know that before this thing is all said and done, he’s going to have a huge role. I love the progress he’s making, and I think he’s excited by it.
“He’s getting more confident and as he gets more confidence – as every player does – their performance and production starts getting better. I think he’s on the right track.”
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