All offseason the narrative surrounding ASU’s offensive line was the experience it boasted with five seniors who all could’ve started from week one. It was viewed as a key component, if not the most important aspect of the offense that would help the program’s first-ever true freshman starting quarterback in Jayden Daniels get acclimated and comfortable adjusting to the college game. After all, formidable protection is needed for success as a quarterback, which is only accentuated when that quarterback is playing in his first-ever college games.

Of course, by the time the season got underway last Thursday the Sun Devils still had the majority of its front five occupied with seniors with left tackle Cohl Cabral left guard Alex Losoya and right tackle Steve Miller. However, two young players filled out the other spots in redshirt freshman Jarrett Bell at right guard, who won the job over senior transfer Roy Hemsley, and then true freshman Dohnovan West at center after he had to step in for senior Cade Cote on very short notice, with Cote suffering a broken foot just four days ahead of the first game.

“That’s all based upon how you practice,” offensive line coach Dave Christensen said regarding the right guard spot. “We’ll watch film for three days this week and whoever gets to play, gets to play. If (Hemsley) practices to the level that I need to see, then he either gets to play or not.”

As for West, he’s been faced with the daunting task of stepping into one of the two most, if not the most important position on the offensive line in the first game of his first year at the college level. Christensen offered some insight into the rarity of such a situation, noting how few times he’s seen true freshmen play on the offensive line throughout his experience coaching in college football.

“I’ve had two starts in 38 years of coaching, and I’ve coached the offensive line about every year,” Christensen said when asked how many times he’s had to start true freshmen, noting that West counts as the second one. “I had a freshman at Texas A&M, I had two other freshmen play for me at Missouri and Toledo but they didn’t start, and that’s all the (true) freshmen I’ve played.”

Even though West was bestowed the starting center because of Cote’s injury, he’s proven he belongs exactly where’s he’s at by the way he’s practiced since he arrived in January and with an impressive collegiate debut. He did not practice at center in the Spring, but the extra time with the team has helped him gain familiarity with their calls.

“During the game, I had thought that (West) was getting beat in certain things and he wasn’t,” ASU offensive coordinator Rob Likens commented. “I watched the film and I thought for a freshman, for his situation and what he did, we couldn’t have asked for anything better than what he did, that was absolutely amazing. I now have so much faith in that kid, I don’t look at him as a liability or anything like that at all. I look at him as a plus and I look at him as a future all-conference center, I really do, that was amazing.”

West also displayed the attributes that make him special over that period of time, which is why, as head coach Herm Edwards explained on Monday, the team was willing to start him with little hesitation when the situation presented itself.

It certainly says a lot about West that the players and coaches not only adapted so quickly to him in that role, but felt like he did his job too.

“He got used to the calls and the players and those type of things, it definitely helped him to be here in Spring ball,” Christensen commented. “Dohnovan’s taken all the reps at second-team center all (Fall) camp, so he’s got a lot of reps and he’s played well at center. He’s a really intelligent kid, he’s smart, understands our calls, our schemes. He made a few calls today that I was trying to simplify the scheme, and then turned around and said ‘well, I don’t have to simplify it, you’re a lot smarter than I thought for a freshman, I didn’t expect you to be able to handle all this.’

“It’s a pleasant surprise and I don’t mean- he’s a smart student in the classroom, obviously he’s very good, but to play offensive line and to play that position as a true freshman, there’s a lot going on and he’s handled it really well.”

Not only was Thursday night West’s first collegiate game and start, but also the first time he had even been in Sun Devil Stadium during a game. He admitted he took some time to take everything in and that the way the week played out was nothing short of surreal, especially since they were considering redshirting him and “just seeing how the season goes” before he was called upon to start.

West also valued being able to lean on the experienced seniors leading up to and during the game, noting how important their support was and what he’s been able to pick up from them through eight months in Tempe.

“Just watching (the seniors) do their footwork and the steps, because they have that down to a key,West said, "they’ve been doing it so much, and then also just the mindset really, because on the o-line, you always got to be aggressive, so just the way they lock in and come off the ball trying to kill people every play, I like to take that from them.

“All the guys were really supportive of me. We have a lot of experience on the o-line, especially at the two tackle positions. Steve and Cohl, both of them are really helpful, just kind of served as mentors as far as since I came in January, they’ve just been showing me the little things to do to improve my game, and also they help me with the calls here and there during the game as well.”

He’s even proven his prowess in a certain off-the-field competition, if you will, against his Sun Devil teammates and close friends.

“I’m roommates with Jarrett Bell, Ralph Frias, and Spencer Lovell," west described, "and then prior to that I was actually pretty close with the backup quarterback Joey Yellen, that was my roommate when I first got here, so I have a good relationship with all of those guys and I’m really close with the whole team, to be honest.

"We’re all pretty competitive when it comes to sports video games; madden, FIFA, (NBA) 2K, all of that, and I’m the best one on the stick, so it’s good.”

Although West has fit in seamlessly with the program and has answered the unexpected call to start, he still knows where improvements need to be made for him to reach his full potential.

“I could get stronger, put on a little bit more weight just so that I can be more dominant out there on the field,” West commented. “In the game, the coaches tried to take some of the responsibility off of my shoulders, and so the tackles called some of the formations out to help me with that, but as the season goes on and I progress more they’ll be giving that over to me.”

One of those two tackles in Cabral expressed his satisfaction with the way West played and how great it was to see him and Bell’s hard work pay off.

“I think Dohnovan had a killer game so did Jarrett, and both went out and played their asses off,” Cabral said. “It was something special to see guys that were busting their ass all offseason, I mean Jarrett being here the whole last year and Dohnovan getting here in January, getting ready to play, and it’s just awesome to see all their hard work pay dividends.”