Marcus Ball retires

seven quarterback sacks and 14 tackles for loss to a team not known for producing such things. Even junior left guard Sam Jones admitted that the numbers “look bad on paper.”

Improvement will be needed to win in Week 2.

“There are a lot of just little minor things we can correct,’’ Jones said. “There are some good things we did. … Obviously, we just got to better every week.”

During Wednesday’s media-viewing portion of practice, the Sun Devils lined up with the same five that started against New Mexico State, but that could change. Sophomore Zach Robertson was limited with a minor medical issue during preseason practice but he’s back to full health, making him a first-team option at right guard or tackle.

Offensive coordinator Billy Napier said the Sun Devils had a lot of positives in Week 1. The effort was good. Preparation was solid. They started fast. They just need to learn from their mistakes.

Midway through Wednesday’s practice, Marcus Ball walked through the Kajikawa practice-field gates. Even though his teammates had worked for nearly an hour, Ball wasn’t dressed in football gear. It soon became clear why.

Later that afternoon, the senior safety announced his retirement for medical reasons. Since his sophomore season, Ball had missed time for an undisclosed condition. For the first time, he explained this issue publicly:

“Those who know my story know that I’ve now been battling with uncontrollable seizures going on 3 years and was diagnosed epileptic my sophomore summer,” Ball wrote on his Twitter page. “Those who don’t, I want to make it clear that I am now retiring from football so I can live a better quality of life.”

Contact Doug Haller at 602-444-4949 or at doug.haller@arizonarepublic.com.