ASU offense spreads wealth

JONESBORO — The Red Wolves understand how defenses approach them.

Defending the pass is the priority. The run comes second.

Through five games, 15 different Red Wolves have caught a pass, highlighting the amount of weaponry Arkansas State University possesses.

Eight players (five receivers, one tight end, two tailbacks) have caught at least one touchdown pass.

Six wideouts — Kirk Merritt, Justin McInnis, Brandon Bowling, Omar Bayless, Jonathan Adams Jr. and Kendrick Edwards — have more than 100 receiving yards. All three running backs — Warren Wand, Armond Weh-Weh and Marcel Murray — have each rushed for more than 190 yards this season.

The Red Wolves’ offense has plenty of assets as skill players, which begs the question: Are they satisfied with how touches have been distributed?

“I mean, I think it’s been really good,” ASU Coach Blake Anderson said. “If you look, we’ve spread the ball around a lot.”

No ASU skill player has eclipsed 30 receptions. No individual has more than 250 receiving yards — although Merritt’s 238 and McInnis’ 233 are close — out of ASU’s 1,481 passing yards and 12 touchdowns, the highest figures among all Sun Belt Conference teams.

The availability of different options relies on what an opposing defense is willing to surrender.

Many defenses emphasize limiting the big arm of senior quarterback Justice Hansen and the rather large plays that right arm can create.

“On our side, we’ve got to continue to be patient and not force throws and know 4, 5 yards is maybe all you’re going to get,” ASU offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner said.

Game to game, the Red Wolves’ skill players have seen something different. First, it was Alabama. Then it was Tulsa’s 3-3-5 defense often dropping eight men into pass coverage. Against UNLV, rain did not permit an effective passing game.

In last Saturday’s 28-21 loss at Georgia Southern, ASU failed to punctuate many scoring drives with a touchdown, largely because of pass-blocking mistakes.

Yet, against Georgia Southern’s more traditional defense, the Red Wolves produced eight passing plays of 15-plus yards, the most bigplay life their offense has established since 11 such plays Week 1. Arkansas State has produced 33 plays all season of 15 or more yards.

“The UNLV game’s a little bit of an aberration because of the weather,” Anderson said. “Our commitment to running the ball 13 minutes in the fourth quarter against Tulsa takes some touches away. And we played the No. 1 team in the country, so we had to do what we could do there.

“But if you look, we’ve spread it around. A lot of different guys have touched it. I think they’re all at times playing really well.”