ASU's young defense shines at spring scrimmage
- ASU%27s defense is replacing nine starters
- Jamil Douglas saw his most reps at LT
He may not admit it, but Todd Graham loves that nearly everyone is doubting his defense as he enters his third season at Arizona State.
He doesn't care that the Sun Devils have nine starters to replace, including two -- Will Sutton and Carl Bradford -- who could be drafted inside the top three rounds in next month's NFL Draft. He likes ASU's young talent, and he thinks his coaching staff -- the best he's been around, he says -- will find a way to make this season's unit strong enough to again challenge in the Pac-12 South.
Perhaps Saturday was a step in that direction.
In the longest scrimmage ASU has had this spring, the defense out-shined ASU's powerful offense at Sun Devil Stadium, providing a glimpse of the unit's potential.
"They had something to prove today, and the defense dominated the day,'' he said. "How about that?"
Graham counted about a dozen tackles for loss. Senior defensive lineman Marcus Hardison, senior safety Damarious Randall and senior linebacker Marcus Washington all had interceptions. Junior defensive lineman Demetrius Cherry recovered a fumble. Graham praised Randall's all-around performance, as well as his leadership. He called junior walk-on safety Jordan Simone outstanding and again praised freshman linebacker D.J. Calhoun, who continues to showcase a knack for getting to the football.
"I was really, really concerned today, because I was worried that we couldn't stop them,'' Graham said. "It just goes to show you, man. We got to adapt the system to fit our guys. We got a lot of work to do. We haven't done anything defensively. We got a lot of work to do to be where we need to be, but I like how they went out (and performed.)"
CHANGE UP FRONT
ASU made a minor change to its offensive line, shifting senior Jamil Douglas from left guard to left tackle. Douglas, a two-year starter at left guard, has played tackle at time throughout his career, but this was the most action he's seen at the position this spring.
"Today kind of threw me a little bit," Douglas admitted.
With Douglas at left tackle, ASU lined up with junior Christian Westerman at left guard, junior Nick Kelly at center, junior Vi Teofilo at right guard and senior Tyler Sulka at right tackle. Graham has praised the offensive line -- replacing two starters from last season -- all spring, but Saturday it struggled.
Douglas likely will end up back at left guard, but much depends on the development of sophomore Evan Goodman. A former four-star recruit, Goodman has run at first-team left tackle nearly all spring. He played as a true freshman in 2012, but red-shirted last season.
EXTRA POINTS
*Senior tight-end De'Marieya Nelson, the leading candidate to replace Chris Coyle at tight end, suffered a knee sprain on the scrimmage's second play and didn't return. Graham said the injury wasn't serious. Senior running back Kyle Middlebrooks also had a shoulder pop out, according to running backs coach Bo Graham. Sophomore Devil-backer Viliami Latu didn't play because of concussion symptoms.
*After a shaky start, sophomore Zane Gonzalez looked better Saturday, hitting 7 of 10 field goals. Still, the 2013 All-Pac-12 selection missed from 35, 46 and 51 yards. "Can't do that,'' Graham said. "Doesn't matter if you were the best field-goal kicker in the country last year. It matters what you do this year."
*Quarterbacks Taylor Kelly and Mike Bercovici were average. Kelly, approaching his third year of starting, completed 9 of 20 for 67 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. Backup Bercovici completed 11 of 22 for 105 yards with a touchdown and interception. Graham thought the quarterbacks held the ball too long.
*Brady White, a 2015 four-star quarterback from William S. Hart High in Newhall, Calif., was among several recruits who watched Saturday's scrimmage. Recruiting-service Rivals ranks White as the nation's No. 3 pro-style quarterback.
*After red-shirting last season, tight end Grant Martinez has had a strong spring, a stretch that continued with seven catches for 83 yards in Saturday's scrimmage. The red-shirt freshman might have the best hands on the team.
SCRIMMAGE STATS
Passing: Taylor Kelly 9-20-2 67; Bercovici 11-22-1 122; Taylor Cohan 0-1-0 0; Rathen Ricedorff 0-3-0 0.
Rushing: Jacom Brimhall 13-75; Kyle Middlebrooks 7-39; Deantre Lewis 10-36; Kelly 4-22; Bercovici 4-5; Frederick Gammage 1-4; Jarek Higlers 1-4; D.J. Foster 1-2; Mark Beverley-Collins 1-1.
Receiving: Grant Martinez 7-83; Ellis Jefferson 6-68; Gary Chambers 3-23; Gammage 2-16; Cameron Smith 1-13, Lewis 1-8; Jaelen Strong 1-4; Middlebrooks 1-3.
