Maroon tops Gold at ASU's annual spring football game
Coach Todd Graham changed the format of Arizona State's annual Spring Game because he wanted to see more competition. The results: a scrimmage that went down to the final play.
On fourth-and-short in an overtime session, sophomore linebacker Viliami Moeakiola stopped walk-on running back Jarek Hilgers, preserving the Maroon's 29-23 win over the Gold in front of a record-crowd of 8,456 Saturday at Sun Devil Stadium.
"We play defense here, and those guys were fired up," said quarterback Taylor Kelly, who quarterbacked the Maroon to victory. Per Graham's challenge, the winners dined on steak, while the losers settled for tuna salad sandwiches.
For the first time during his three-year stay, Graham changed the spring scrimmage. The Sun Devils started with drill work, the winning team receiving thee points. ASU scrimmaged for just two running-clock, 15-minute quarters, plus planned overtime sessions.
Kelly, approaching his third season of starting, completed 7 of 22 for 92 yards and a touchdown. He hit standout receiver Jaelen Strong for a 63-yard pick-up, which set up the day's first touchdown. Senior Deantre Lewis rushed 12 times for 88 yards and a touchdown for the Maroon.
For the Gold, junior quarterback Mike Bercovici completed 11 of 24 for 149 yards and three touchdowns, numbers that could've been better had his receivers not dropped so many passes. In limited action, junior running back D.J. Foster caught three passes for 67 yards and a touchdown. Senior Kyle Middlebrooks rushed six times for 48 yards.
Defensively, senior safety Damarious Randall intercepted a Bercovici pass and blocked a kick. Junior walk-on safety Jordan Simone produced nine tackles.
"Way too many dropped balls," Graham said. "The tempo was way too slow. There are a lot of things we need to work on, but I was very pleased with the competition. … We had a great spring."
Standouts
azcentral sports asked several players to name a teammate who had most impressed them over the spring. Most popular answers: junior nose tackle Mo Latu and freshman linebacker D.J. Calhoun.
Randall on Latu. "Big Mo caught my eye. He played great this spring. He's getting his weight down and the lighter he gets, the bigger of a force he will be in the fall."
Junior defensive tackle Jaxon Hood on Calhoun: "That kid's a little ball player, I've give him that."
Extra points
Middlebrooks left the scrimmage with what appeared to be a shoulder issue. The senior running back has had a shoulder pop out more than once this spring. Redshirt-freshman tight end Grant Martinez also left with a pinched nerve in his neck.
— Offensive coordinator Mike Norvell coached the Gold, and not long after the scrimmage started he quickly realized something: "I don't like coaching against Taylor Kelly, I can tell you that," he said.
— About 20 recruits attended Saturday's scrimmage, including Tony Nicholson, who committed to the Sun Devils. The 5-foot-10 three-star receiver from Grand Prairie, Texas, also has scholarship offers from Baylor, Duke, Indiana, Mississippi, North Carolina and Washington State, among others.