ASU Football: Thoughts from Pac-12 Media Days

ASU football head coach Todd Graham spoke at length at Pac-12 Media Days about the upcoming season and here are some takeaways.

ASU football head coach Todd Graham spoke to reporters at length at Pac-12 Media Days about the upcoming season.

Graham reflected on last season and what needs to improve for Arizona State to be contending for championships, which has been his goal since taking over the program.

Heading into his sixth season, Graham is ready to move on from last season’s disappointment and turn the page as Arizona State begins the season next month.

Here are some takeaways.

1. Todd Graham loves Arizona State’s new football facility.

If you haven’t heard, Arizona State opened up their new football facility last week and Graham made sure to rave about it to reporters.

One of the many reasons Graham loves the new facility is the teaching and nutritional part.

When asked about the importance of having linebacker Christian Sam healthy, Graham talked about the benefits of the new facility.

“From a nutritional standpoint, we’ve gone from I think the bottom to the top in how we can take care of our players as far as how we feed them, how we can maintain and be on a cutting edge from a nutritional standpoint, from an athletic training standpoint, an injury prevention standpoint as far as our strength room,” Graham said.

He also spoke to the obvious recruiting benefits on Pac-12 Networks as he said it showed how much they care about the players and winning, but he did say winning is what attracts recruiting with the facility also playing a big part.

2. Expect to see Kalen Ballage and Demario Richard play a lot together.

Last season, Arizona State started Richard at running back and then brought Ballage in for short-yardage, goal-line and obvious passing situations.

That’s why Ballage led the team with 14 rushing touchdowns while Richard only had three rushing touchdowns despite having 29 more carries than Ballage.

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Graham explained how he plans to best utilize Ballage.

“One of the things we talked to Kalen is about getting a guy that can play 80 plays a game,” Graham said. “Him and Demario will play a lot together. I think you’ve got to put your best personnel on the field.”

Graham talked about the depth ASU has at running back, mentioning running backs Nick Ralston, Jacob Brimhall, Eno Benjamin and Trelon Smith, and how Ballage can even be used as a slot receiver this year.

Because of depth and talent at the position, Graham has a lot ways to make the offense dynamic and versatile to make it tough on opposing defenses to game plan.

3. Jay Jay Wilson and JoJo Wicker are going to play big roles.

Wilson is taking over as the starting tight end after the graduation of Kody Kohl.

The junior tight end received praise from Graham of how he’s improved over the offseason and why he’s “one of the most talented players we have.”

“He’s grown from a maturity standpoint, and he’s a guy that I think has benefitted from the culture of the program and a guy that’s really talented,” Graham said. “He’s stronger, faster, and I think more mentally mature. So he’s a guy that I think will play a big role in what we’re doing.”

Another player to keep an eye making a jump in development is linebacker JoJo Wicker, who made the second-team All-Pac-12 last season.

Graham raved about his leadership as he was elected a captain with Ballage and how he has not reached his potential yet.

“He’s so explosive. He’s powerful. He’s a very instinctive player, and he’s a guy who can play every snap,” Graham said. “He’s a guy that very seldom do you have to rotate somebody else in there on him. He’s just really gifted with his explosive power. He’s a guy that can really move down inside and I think could even be more disruptive. So he’s a really versatile player.”

Some quick thoughts:

Graham raved about freshman kicker Brandon Ruiz as he’ll have the tall task of replacing Zane Gonzalez. Graham said he doesn’t think he’s missed one yet kicking them “high and very deep” saying “we’ve got an extremely talented young man.”
Graham said he would like to redshirt quarterback Dillon Sterling-Cole if he’s not playing this season after being forced to remove it last season because of the litany of injuries.
Quarterback Brady White’s injury he suffered versus UCLA was more serious than anticipated as he suffered a Lisfranc injury. Graham said it’s a 12-month recovery and won’t be medically cleared until late October-early November.

Next: ASU Football: Sun Devils picked fifth in Pac-12 South in Media Poll

The excitement is palpable for Arizona State as the Sun Devils get ready to head to Camp Tontozona before the season opener August 31 versus New Mexico State.

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