ASU Football: Manny Wilkins must save this transitional phase

Manny Wilkins must prove that he is a top tier college quarterback in order for ASU football to have a chance at making a bowl game appearance in 2018.

After going 5-7 in 2016, quarterback Manny Wilkins led the Sun Devils to an improved 7-5 campaign in 2018 as the junior threw eight more touchdown passes while posting a nearly identical completion percentage from the previous year on 99 more passing attempts.

In result of Wilkins improvement on the field, ASU earned a trip to the Sun Bowl in Todd Graham’s last season in charge.

As impressive as Wilkins was in 2017, the Sun Devils signal caller will need to take his game up another level in order for his team to contend for another bowl game in 2018.

Although Todd Graham’s tenure at ASU needed to come to an end, a transitional phase for the Sun Devils now results in Graham’s departure with Herm Edwards taking over as head coach.

Edwards certainly has experience around the game of football, but the now former ESPN analyst has never been a head coach or even a coordinator at the collegiate level and the last time Edwards was a head coach at any level was in 2008 with the Kansas City Chiefs.

Not only is Edwards inexperienced in and around college football, but the 64-year-old has also been removed from the sidelines for a decade.

The newfound insecurity at head coach is just the beginning of ASU’s potential growing pains of inexperience.

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On the defensive side of the ball, losing the Pac-12’s leading tackler Christian Sam to go along with the losses of linebacker DJ Calhoun and defensive lineman JoJo Wicker and Tashon Smallwood now creates more holes in a defense that was already suspect in 2017.

Linebacker Koron Crump and cornerback Chase Lucas are certainly two key defensive pieces returning for the Sun Devils, but even with Lucas and Crump returning ASU’s defense may have to rely on former offensive players such as former running back turned linebacker Nick Ralston and former tight end turned safety Jalen Harvey.

Manny Wilkins does not play on the defensive side of the ball, but added pressure and potentially high scoring totals from opponents certainly does not help a senior quarterback who is already playing underneath a head coach who is still trying to learn the college game.

On the offensive side of the ball for the Sun Devils, Wilkins will have arguably the best wide receiver in the conference in N’Keal Harry, but the loss of wide receiver John Humphrey for the season to an achilles injury shortens Wilkins’ options even more as Jalen Harvey, who had 560 receiving yards last season, is now playing defense.

In addition to Humphrey’s injury, the losses of Kalen Ballage and Demario Richard in the backfield may be significant as the ASU backfield now rests on the shoulders of Eno Benjamin who is explosive, but unproven on the big stage.

To make matters even more unsettling for Wilkins, the Sun Devils will also force the senior to work under a fourth different offensive coordinator in four years.

In college football, change is constantly surrounding teams with many players graduating their way out of eligibility while others deciding to pursue a career in the NFL.

For ASU football, 2018 will not be just a change from the 2017 squad, but instead a total transformation in coaching philosophy, personnel and team chemistry.

Change that is this significant may help a program in the 2-4 year long run, but in the near future there are more likely to be growing pains in Tempe for the 2018 season.

Senior quarterback Manny Wilkins is heading into his last season in Tempe. With most of his team in a transitional phase, Wilkins may need to step up his level of play to a star-studded level similar to Arizona quarterback Khalil Tate.

Next: ASU Football: JoJo Wicker signs with Detroit Lions

Change and uncertainty is swirling around Tempe in 2018 and if the Sun Devils wish to make a bowl game this season they will need one of the few constants on their roster in senior quarterback Manny Wilkins to be an elite FBS quarterback in his final season at ASU.

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