SPORTS

Rewind: Looking back at ASU football's win over Weber State

Doug Haller
azcentral sports
Weber State quarterback Billy Green gets a pass off before ASU linebacker D.J. Calhoun can sack him during the first quarter of ASU's season opener at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Ariz. on Aug. 28, 2014.
  • WR Strong%2C LB Calhoun star in ASU win
  • QB Taylor Kelly got the ball to his top playmakers
  • Devil-backer position quiet in opener

Arizona State on Thursday opened with a 45-14 win over lower-division Weber State at Sun Devil Stadium. In case you missed it, here's my game story:

Let's review:

Offensive MVP: Jaelen Strong. The junior receiver entered this season bigger and stronger, and it showed. Strong caught 10 passes for 146 yards, all coming in the first half. An impressive 79 of those receiving yards came after the catch. Nine of Strong's 10 catches resulted in first downs.

Defensive MVP: D.J. Calhoun. You can see why coach Todd Graham and co-defensive coordinator Keith Patterson are excited about the freshman. In his first start at weak-side linebacker, Calhoun posted five tackles. On his second defensive series, he lined up on the edge and blitzed, crushing Weber State running back Zach Smith for a 2-yard loss. According to Graham's post-game comments, we should see Calhoun blitzing a lot this season.

THREE TAKE-AWAYS

1. Offensive coordinator Mike Norvell didn't use senior quarterback Taylor Kelly as a rushing threat (just two carries outside of a sack), which makes sense. Why show it, and why risk it? Through the air, Kelly was average. He completed 18 of 27 for 238 yards and a touchdown, all coming in the first half. More than half of Kelly's completions were short dump-offs. He was 11 of 12 on passes under 10 yards, 4 of 7 on passes of 11-19 yards and 3 of 8 on attempts over 20 yards.

2. ASU didn't get much production from its Devil-backer position. Sophomore Edmond Boateng started at the hybrid position – which lines up as a rush linebacker – but he traded series with junior Antonio Longino. Boateng didn't register a tackle. Longino had three. Senior tight end De'Marieya Nelson played four defensive snaps (by my count) and teamed with sophomore spur linebacker Viliami Moeakiola for a sack. This was one of Graham's priorities during preseason camp, and entering Thursday he felt good about his personnel, but this was a slow start. Keep in mind: Carl Bradford – who excelled at Devil for two years before leaving a season early for the NFL – had just one tackle in his first start at Devil-backer.

3. It will be interesting to see how Graham and Norvell split Nelson's playing time as the season unfolds. The senior tight end/Devil-backer is ASU's most versatile player, a top contributor in all phases. Although he didn't catch a pass Thursday, Nelson delivered key blocks on offense. Defensively, he posted his first career sack (teaming with Moeakiola) and on special teams he might have delivered the hit of the night on a kickoff return.

OFFENSE

ASU leaned on its stars. Outside of Strong and Foster, Kelly didn't target any receiver more than twice (see list at bottom). Nearly half of his 27 attempts (13) went to Strong. "Like I told Taylor, 'You just got to take what they give you' You can't start reading all the articles about how great one player is and then start looking to him (all the time)," Graham said. The Sun Devils ran the football on 53.6 percent of 84 plays. (Norvell, however, considers many of those quick-strike passes to the perimeter rushing plays). … Behind an offensive line that returned three starters, ASU rushed for 5.9 yards per carry and gave up just one sack. ... Anybody who questions D.J. Foster's toughness should do so no longer. On his 57-yard touchdown run in the third quarter, Foster spun off two defenders coming head on and then broke clear for his career-long run. Before he spun off, at least two ASU blockers pulled up, thinking Foster was about to do down. He showed otherwise. Foster finished with a career-best 147 yards rushing and three touchdowns.

DEFENSE

Overall, the Sun Devils were solid, but not dominant, and maybe that's to be expected from a group so young. ASU held Weber State to three-and-outs on three consecutive possessions to open the contest, but did so only once the rest of the way. For the first time in two-plus years under Graham, the Sun Devils did not force a turnover, although on replay, it did look like they forced and recovered a fumble. The starting defensive front (Marcus Hardison, Tashon Smallwood, Jaxon Hood and Edmond Boateng) combined for just five tackles, none for a loss. Pressure had to come from elsewhere. … The positives: A second-quarter goal-line stand was impressive. Calhoun, Hood and senior Marcus Washington all had key stops, which pretty much squashed Weber State's hopes. (Interesting thing about Washington's stop: Two plays earlier, Graham had to call time because the Sun Devils had only 10 players on the field. Washington hadn't realized he was supposed to be out there). … Overall, Graham was pleased because he threw a lot at the newcomers schematically and they picked it up with few significant mistakes.

SPECIAL TEAMS

ASU showed improvement, but there's still work to be done. Freshman Armand Perry blocked a punt. Also, the Sun Devils twice downed punts inside the 2-yard line (sophomore Cameron Smith downed the first, redshirt freshman James Johnson downed the second). The biggest negative: In the first quarter, senior Alex Garoutte kicked a line drive that seemed to confuse the cover team. The Weber State up-back fielded the ball and ran right past both Garoutte and linebacker D.J. Calhoun for 30 yards. It didn't look like they realized he had the ball. Graham also wasn't thrilled with sophomore Matt Haack, who averaged 40.8 yards on five punts.

PERSONNEL

-ASU played nine true freshmen. Calhoun, Smallwood, linebacker Christian Sam, cornerback Armand Perry, cornerback Chad Adams, defensive back DeAndre Scott, tight end Brendan Landman, running back Kalen Ballage and running back Demario Richard. "Their eyes were really, really big and then I put them in there and they kind of settled down a little bit," Graham said. After the game, Graham said there's a good chance freshmen defensive tackles Renell Wren and Emanuel Dayries will play sometime soon.

-Redshirt freshman safety Marcus Ball – cleared just this week for full contact – played most of the second half. Ball – limited for all of preseason camp because of an undisclosed medical issue – likely will challenge for a starting spot once he gets up to speed. He had two tackles.

-Graham said he "found some guys" Thursday, and he put redshirt-freshman safety James Johnson at the top of the list. Johnson, playing with the second team, broke up two passes. During preseason camp, he battled junior Jordan Simone for first-team bandit safety. "He did some really quality things," Graham sad. ASU grades each defensive player in several categories. Thursday's top producers: 1. Sophomore linebacker Salamo Fiso; 2. Calhoun; 3. Sophomore linebacker Viliami Moeakiola; ... and fourth was Johnson.

-Sophomore Viliami Latu worked at both defensive tackle and defensive end.

-Junior receiver Eric Lauderdale didn't play, which likely means ASU intends to redshirt the junior-college transfer.

BY THE NUMBERS

-Kelly targeted Strong a team-high 13 times. He went to Foster six times, followed by sophomore receiver Cameron Smith (two), junior receiver Gary Chambers (two), redshirt freshman receiver Ronald Lewis (one), sophomore tight end Kody Kohl (one), freshman running back Kalen Ballage (one) and redshirt freshman receiver Ellis Jefferson (one).

-ASU was flagged four times for 30 yards. On his first play on the college level, freshman defensive tackle Tashon Smallwood jumped off-sides. "He probably won't do that again," Graham said. ASU's other infractions: Junior cornerback Solomon Means (facemask); redshirt freshman defensive tackle Corey Smith (off-sides); and redshirt freshman tackle Jack Powers (false start).

FINAL WORD

"Obviously we won 45-14, but it should've been that at halftime. And they probably shouldn't have scored on us." – Graham

UP NEXT

The Sun Devils return to practice Sunday in preparation for next Saturday's contest at New Mexico. The Lobos host UTEP on Saturday.

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UP NEXT

Who: ASU (1-0) at New Mexico (0-1)

When: Saturday at 4 p.m.

Where: University Stadium, Albuequerque.

TV: CBS Sports Network

Radio: 92.3 FM KTAR