ASU Football: Impact Players Not Practicing

Heading into week two, the ASU football team is in full swing.  Optimism and high praise is the order of the day.  This is typical and by all accounts it is legitimate.  The newcomers to ASU are apparently acclimating very well.  The veterans are in good shape and have more command of their trade.

There are however, a few exceptions.  As of Saturday, redshirt freshmen safety Marcus Ball is still not 100%.  His condition is not being disclosed by the coaching staff.  It’s a good assumption that he is being bothered by a nagging injury stemming from being hurt in camp last year.  In 2013, Ball was running with the starters as a true freshman at safety.  He broke his collarbone in the scrimmage in Camp Tontozona.

The hype surrounding Ball was significant.  He was a highly touted recruit and his signing at ASU was considered a major victory.  He dazzled the coaches in camp until his injury.  He never played last season and he hasn’t really been able to participate in spring or fall camp.  Still, he is being mentioned as the owner of a starting safety position and a force to be reckoned with as a defensive back.

There doesn’t appear to be a timeline for his return, but the rumors around the program are that he will try to practice full speed after the team returns from Tontozona.

Junior running back DJ Foster has also been out since Tuesday.  His condition is also not being disclosed.  It appears that Foster might either just be sick or he is a little banged up and the coaches don’t want to push him too hard.  He is expected to be the workhorse at running back.  Starting running backs take a beating and Foster might be being held out for precautionary reasons.

Foster’s durability is the only question mark about his ability to be the featured back for ASU.  He was brilliant in all three games he started at the end of the season.  But he got banged up against Stanford in the championship game.  Him leaving that game hurt ASU’s chances for a comeback.

And then there is defensive tackle Jaxon Hood.  Hood is not injured.  Nor is he running around with a no-contact jersey like Foster and Ball.  Hood isn’t here at all.  His absence is for what coach Todd Graham says is “personal issues”.  It’s unfair to speculate what that issue is.  But his absence is not a good thing for this team.  He is the only veteran defensive lineman.  And he is missing important work days that he can’t get back.

There doesn’t appear to be any real alarm with these three players missing work.  That’s good news.  But it’s never a good thing to have impact players not getting reps in camp.

In any event, if these players do in fact return soon at full strength, it will be a big boost to the team.  And the rest of the PAC-12 can stand by.