WR Aiyuk emerging as weapon for ASU
Before last week’s game against Utah, ASU linebackers coach Antonio Pierce jokingly asked junior wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk where the promising playmaker he had heard so much about was.
Aiyuk came to the Sun Devils out of Sierra Community College in Northern California and was expected to excel as a wide receiver and return specialist but the 6-foot-1, 195-pounder has had limited opportunities given the presence of juniors N’Keal Harry and Kyle Williams and sophomore Frank Darby.
Aiyuk answered that challenge by hauling in six passes for a season-high 101 yards in the Sun Devils’ 38-20 win over the Utes on Saturday at Sun Devil Stadium. Four of his six receptions went for first downs.
On the season he now has 17 catches for 279 yards with his lone touchdown of 12 yards coming in the loss to San Diego State.
He’ll hope to build on that effort Saturday as the Sun Devils (5-4, 3-3) play host to UCLA (2-7, 2-4) in ASU’s final home game of the season.
“That was the first game I really felt comfortable,” said Aiyuk, who has seen considerable time on return duty. “I got more playing time against USC (two weeks ago) and that helped but up until then I didn’t feel like I was in my element. I was just kind of anxious because I wasn’t playing as well as I wanted to.”
Earlier this week, ASU coach Herm Edwards praised the play of both Aiyuk and sophomore running back Isaiah Floyd, Aiyuk’s roommate and friend. Both came to ASU from two-year schools with Floyd coming over from City College of San Francisco.
Edwards said there is a learning curve for community college players just like there is for players coming from the high school ranks, although it might not be quite as steep.
Aiyuk, noted for his exceptional hand-eye coordination, had 17 offers from Division I schools after a two-year career in which he racked up 2,499 allpurpose yards and earned first team California Community College AllAmerican honors.
He took visits to Tennessee, Kansas and Colorado State before deciding on ASU because of where he thought the program was headed with the new coaching staff in place.
Floyd ran 235 times for 1,797 yards and 21 touchdowns and had 13 receptions for 133 yards and two touchdowns in his only community college season. He didn’t have an offer out of high school, due mainly to his grades.
Floyd originally committed to New Mexico before changing his mind in favor of ASU.
“He (Aiyuk) comes out of junior college along with Floyd and I thought earlier in the season they were like freshman. They’re JC guys. It’s new to them, the speed of the game I think caught them both by surprise,” Edwards said. “They had some hiccups early, they’ve overcome those hiccups now, they’re more confident and you can see it every day at practice.”
The additional playing time Aiyuk has gotten in the past two weeks has made all the difference.
“The more I have played, the better I have felt,” he said. “There is a big difference. In junior college you have a few guys that might be Division I. Well here they’re all Division I. There you might have a guy that can run you down in the the open field. Here there are a lot of guys that are that fast.”
Aiyuk and Floyd both say they just continue to do their work in practice and learn from the players behind whom they are playing. Floyd is in a similar situation with sophomore Eno Benjamin shouldering the workload out of the backfield.
Floyd, a small but solid 5-foot-7, 169-pounder, has 33 carries for 161 yards but did have a season-high 10 attempts against Utah.
“I know my role and I just try and do my best when they call on me,” he said. “Eno is a great back and he deserves everything he is getting. It’s what is best for this team and for us to win.”
Aiyuk echoes the same sentiments. He learns from Harry not just when to comes to receiving.
“I watch the way he runs routes and finishes plays,” Aiyuk said. “When it comes to punt returns he has great hands and can catch the ball away from his body, like he does when he is catching a pass. Not a lot of guys can do that.”
Honors keep rolling in for Benjamin
Benjamin has been named to the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award Honorable Mention list for the second consecutive week for his showing against Utah.
Benjamin, a native of Wylie, Texas, went over the 1,000-yard mark for the season with 175 yards and two touchdowns. It marked his sixth game of more than 100 yards and boosted him to No. 5 in the nation in both rushing yards (1,113) and rushing yards per game (123.7).
Harry climbs receiving charts
Harry’s big game last week has boosted him into 18th in the NCAA FBS receiving list with 55 catches for 828 yards and nine touchdowns.
Harry is only 30 yards shy of cracking the top 10 and also ranks 19th in yards per game at 92.4.