5 questions: ASU springs into football
Arizona State officially begins its second year under Herm Edwards when spring football kicks off Tuesday, about six weeks earlier than the Sun Devils have traditionally started.
The Sun Devils, coming off a 7-6 showing and second-place finish in the Pac-12 South Division, will practice four times a week, leading up to the annual spring game slated for 7 p.m. Feb. 28 at Sun Devil Stadium.
Here’s what we hope to learn by the end of the month:
1. How will the quarterback battle shake out? This has been the question most on the minds of
ASU fans since the team signed three top prospects in December. This will be a storyline that continues follow into the fall as well. For now, offensive coordinator Rob Likens will have his hands full just trying to give all four the reps they need. Likens admitted last week junior Dillon Sterling-Cole, the backup to Manny Wilkins last year, probably has a slight edge because he was here so he already knows the system. The three freshmen — Jayden Daniels, Joey Yellen and Ethan Long — each bring something different to the table and come in with impressive high school resumes.
2. How will the transfers affect the depth?
It looks like the defensive line is the area in which the Sun Devils are most vulnerable as the transfers included Jalen Bates and Darius Slade, who were rotation players. The Sun Devils graduated nose tackle Renell Wren so experience up front will be lacking. ASU did sign two defensive linemen in Stephon Wright and Amiri Johnson, and Edwards has shown he isn’t afraid to count on newcomers. ASU could also move a player from another position if it feels the need.
3. Who could be an X-factor that might not be on the radar yet?
The Sun Devils are high on 6-foot-1, 210-pound linebacker Case Hatch, who is joining ASU after serving his Mormon mission. Last week defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales singled out Hatch, a 2016 graduate of Perry High School. Gonzales said they don’t often count on an athlete coming off a mission because he hasn’t played in a couple years. However, he was impressed with the shape in which Case reported.
4. Who will be the heir to N’Keal Harry at wide receiver?
Harry was the Sun Devils’ go-to guy a year ago but after him the receiving yards were evenly distributed among juniors Brandon Aiyuk (33 catches, 474 yards) and Kyle Williams (44-449) and sophomore Frank Darby (21-421). Look for Aiyuk to pick up much of the slack as evidenced by his showing in the Las Vegas Bowl in which Harry sat out. Aiyuk had nine catches for 61 yards but also had five kickoff returns for 115 yards so he fills a void there as well.
5. What can Eno Benjamin do to build upon his record-breaking sophomore season?
The talented sophomore tallied 1,642 yards and 16 touchdowns on 300 carries for a single-season school record with nine games of 1,000 or more yards. He says his biggest goal this season is to work on his contribution in the passing game by working on running better routes as well as improving his blocking skills. He had 35 catches for 263 yards receiving last season but those numbers could easily go up.