As ASU football wide receiver John Humphrey returns from injury Saturday vs. No. 5 Washington, he returns with a new role.
A role that will see John Humphrey doing what he does best at receiver — lining up outside with the ability to take the top of any defense — providing the Devils with their home run threat downfield in the process.
And in addition to his offensive duties, his new, expanded role will see him lining up at cornerback, across from the Huskies receivers as he tries to aid a secondary that ranks 119th in passing defense.
Humphrey, who suffered a left knee injury early in the Week 2 game against San Diego State, has been teased in a defensive role before.
At Camp Tontozona this fall, Humphrey, a transfer from Oklahoma, threw on the white defensive jersey for a few days — but shedding it once back in Tempe. But those few days of practicing with ASU defense in Payson will surely help him make the transition this time around.
“I still remember some of the stuff that they taught me back at Camp T,” Humphrey said. “So I’m kind of familiar with some of the techniques that they’ve taught me so it’s pretty easy.”
And after Arizona State’s first game against New Mexico St. it looked as if nothing would come of that short change before the season. The Sun Devils’ two new starting corners, Kobe Williams and Joey Bryant, played well and Humphrey exploded for a team-high seven receptions for 123 yards and a score.
So, why now? Why have a receiver who is coming back from an injury also play defense for the first time collegiately against the No. 5 team in the country?
Well — in short — injuries.
Linebacker Koron Crump, who racked up four sacks in his first two games, was ruled out for the season after an injury against Texas Tech. And to just add to the Devils’ lack of depth, Bryant, who tore his ACL, was also ruled out for the season following the Stanford game.
Since the injuries, former tight end Jay Jay Wilson has taken his talents over to linebacker to add depth to the group. And although Humphrey will still get his time at receiver, the same action seems to be transpiring.
“Because of the injury to Joey Bryant and our lack of experience and younger guys there,” head coach Todd Graham said. “We’re just taking a look at .”
The 5-foot-11, 174-pound Humphrey would seem to take over for the corner opposite Williams — a position redshirt freshman Chase Lucas has manned since Bryant’s injury – but defensive coordinator Phil Bennett said Humphrey will work into a rotation with Williams.
“We’ve got a couple of different rotations,” Bennett said. “ going to try and play some more guys, just sometimes to get more athletic.”
Bennett also laid out the first, sort of, defensive play count that can be expected for Humphrey on Saturday.
“Kobe has done some great things,” Bennett said. “But we would like to play him instead of 80 percent or 100 percent of the time, we’d like to play him 75 .
“How much better can he be if he can come off and watch something and then come back on the field?”
Williams, a JUCO transfer, is in his first year playing D-I college football. An undoubtedly daunting task — one that gets even harder without much rest or time to adjust mid-game.
And that’s where Humphrey can help both the Devils’ defense and Williams.
The League City, Texas native has played defensive back before, it’s just been a while — high school to be exact. And his corner skills at Clear Falls High School garnered some attention from then Baylor defensive coordinator and current ASU defensive coordinator Bennett.
“I always laugh, I’m not sure he was real excited when I got hired here,” Bennett said. “He committed to me at Baylor as a corner and then Oklahoma convinced him he was a wide receiver.”
Bennett saw Humphrey’s potential at corner early on and now gets to see it come to fruition in a role that will have the redshirt sophomore all over the field.
And in his expanded role, giving him time on both sides of the ball, Humphrey lacks no confidence.
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When asked what the biggest challenge would be in playing both sides of the ball, Humphrey simply said: ““I don’t really see one to be honest.”