The defensive assignment for Arizona State on Saturday night is straightforward in every sense of the word: stop the run. ASU defensive coordinator Brian Ward, though, knows that the danger on the ground isn’t limited to the Cowboy running backs. Junior quarterback Evan Svoboda, a local signal caller who prepped at Mesa Red Mountain High School, played in ten games last season with just one start and produced more touchdowns on the ground (two) than with his arm (none) in 2023. The six-foot-five 245-pound player unquestionably presents a very physical ball-carrying threat the Sun Devil defense will have to be aware of.
“They want to run the football, I know this,” Ward said. “This new offensive coordinator, he'll, he'll spread the ball around a little bit, but we're going to get a lot of motions and shifts and things to get our eyes bad, so we've been repping that a lot, and want to get our guys to play fast.
“We’re really expecting a more downhill run game and downhill quarterback run game. I can see them using him like that. He has a big, strong arm. I remember him from high school. I actually recruited the area, so I'm familiar with him and his game. So I know that they do a great job of keeping it simple, too, in terms of their pass reads and what they're putting on the quarterback. We’re going to try to challenge the routes and stop the run and make sure that we're affecting the quarterback on every play.”
Svoboda had only 38 pass attempts in 2023, backing up former Wyoming quarterback Andrew Peasley, now a member of the New York Jets. Even though Svoboda only rushed for 80 yards last season, he’s anything but an opposing player to take lightly when it comes to the capabilities of the Wyoming offense.
“Anytime you have a quarterback that's going to run direct runs, where he's just a running back, he's a plus one in that count; you got to account for that.” ASU Head Coach Kenny Dillingham stated. “So we got to be prepared for that; you got to anticipate that they're going to run him directly, being 240 pounds.”
For Ward, halting the ground attack is the backbone of his defensive focus. With a desire to play a physically imposing style, Saturday’s matchup is a prime opportunity for this side of the ball for the Sun Devils to stamp its identity to begin the year.
“Our emphasis on defense is never going to change. We're always a stop-the-run team.” Ward commented. “Get people off the field on third down, try to get him third and medium, third and longer situations, and keep them out of third and short and, obviously, keep them from scoring, and get after the football and get takeaways. We’re bigger, more physical up front, and we have depth. So that's the thing that we're excited about, is we're excited to actually see what these guys do. , once the lights are on and the whistle blows.
“Every week, you can prepare for something, and 70% or 80% of the game plan and everything that we practice is out the window. So we got to have a hard set of rules with their fundamentals and our principles. As long as we can do that and be ourselves, I think we'll be all right.”
Ward will be accompanied by offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo in the coordinator box. The pair will watch the game from a Bird' S-Eye view and relay instructions mostly to linebacker Keyshaun Elliott and quarterback Sam Leavitt. This season, with the addition of tablet technology, Ward can replay and break down past plays in a matter of moments.
“Both our coordinators will be in the box this year,” Dillingham described. “With the changing of the rules and the being able to communicate and watch the tape, being able to have that calmness in a box, to sit there and watch, essentially, game film live if there's a 30-second time out, and being able to go watch the last play, because everything gets within seven to nine seconds. You get the play up there. I definitely feel like that's an advantage if you use it correctly.”
The Sun Devil offensive line will be anticipating an aggressive front four for Wyoming, although the number of their blitzes last year is definitely defined more by quality and efficiency that was not determined by mass quantity. Dillingham feels that extra man-pressure plays by the Cowboys could come early and often on Saturday night.
“I know they're going to blitz more,” Dillingham claimed. “I mean, you just look at their success rate. They were 15 out of 19 on wins on third and five or plus. They only blitzed 19 times on third downs last year. They won 15 times, which means anybody scouts themselves and say, ‘We were over a 100th, one of the worst teams in the country on third down last year, but we were elite, or we were 75/80% win rate when we blitzed. What are you going to do?’ You're gonna Blitz?
“How they're gonna Blitz? I don't know. But I know that they're gonna have a plan to bring a lot more pressure than they did last year on third downs, and we got to have a plan to combat that pressure.”
The quality of any team coming into week one, despite what was accomplished the prior year, still feels like an unknown. Even formidable trends that took place in fall camp could, in theory, not materialize as expected. Naturally, this aspect can be a hindrance or advantage when the game is played and strengths and/or shortcomings start being revealed. Great turnover in head coaches and players every year only enhances that element.
“Week ones are going to be a pain in the butt until that norm changes,” Dillingham stated regarding the ever-changing face of college football. It's really hard to tell until you take the field and you're under the fire. I think when you play versus each other, you're like, ‘Oh, we're good up front. Oh, our defense got a great pass rush. Oh, we're good at wideout, or we're good at running back.’ You don't know if you're good at something or bad at something, and that's what game days are for, is to figure out, were you just average at something and bad in another area?”
Yet, Dillingham is very self-assured in the fact that entering the 2024 season has presented a picture of a Sun Devil squad that certainly can showcase a higher level of talent overall.
“I know for a fact we're a better football team overall,” Dillingham exclaimed. “I can say that with complete confidence. How are we play under the lights? Well, that's what matters.”
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