ASU Football: What to expect in game one of the Herm Edwards era

The larger than life personality of Herm Edwards has finally arrived in Tempe. What, if anything, can Sun Devil fans expect from the new ASU football coach in the opener?

Despite having 20 years of coaching experience and 10 more in studio, nothing can prepare Arizona State football coach Herm Edwards for what he will encounter on Saturday night in Tempe.

The 64-year-old Edwards makes his college head coaching debut against a University of Texas-San Antonio team that went 6-5 last season under third-year head coach Frank Wilson.

Edwards enters his first game in charge with the comfort in having a quarterback that’s familiar with the bright lights of opening night.

Quarterback Manny Wilkins enters his senior campaign in Tempe with mile-high expectations. The Sun Devils’ veteran signal caller made the Davey O’Brien award preseason watch list this July after posting a 142.6 passer rating a season ago.

Wilkins leads an offense that is expected to be the strength of the Sun Devils this season.

The return of wide receivers N’Keal Harry and Kyle Williams give ASU a formidable passing attack against the Roadrunners. On the offensive line, the addition of graduate transfer Casey Tucker from Stanford gives Wilkins the blind side protection that he will need against UTSA.

With a total of eight returning starters on offense, Edwards knows that his new team will not have much trouble in scoring points this season.

For UTSA the loss of star defensive end Marcus Davenport, a first-round draft choice at the 2018 NFL Draft, is a huge blow to the Roadrunners pass rush and talent among the front seven.

Even with Davenport now playing for the New Orleans Saints, the Roadrunners still have a formidable front seven with the likes of defensive tackle Kevin Strong Jr., defensive end Eric Banks, and linebacker Les Maruo.

It was only a season ago when UTSA finished eighth in the country in opponents points per game. Minus Davenport, the Roadrunners still head to Tempe with a proven defense that was statistically one of the best in the country in 2017.

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At face value, ASU’s offense may look to pick apart the UTSA defense with a balanced attack.

UTSA sports a defense without its top three linebackers and top two corners from a season ago. The array of inexperience on the field may tempt ASU to establish the run with Eno Benjamin, enabling offensive coordinator Rob Likens to get creative within his playbook.

Expect Benjamin, a first-year starter, to get a healthy amount of reps in the backfield for the Sun Devils. As a senior in high school, Benjamin put up superhuman statistics at Wylie East High School in Texas with 2,604 rushing yards and 32 touchdowns.

Considering how comfortable Edwards should be regarding his offense, his feelings toward the defense might be the opposite.

Also new to Tempe, defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales will be heading into his first game in charge of the Sun Devil defense with only a handful of defensive contributors from a season ago.

With the likes of Alani Latu, Christian Sam and Taeshon Smallwood gone, Sun Devil fans will need patience before ASU’s defense shapes up the way Gonzales and Edwards seem fit.

For now, raw talent may be enough to slow down a UTSA offense that heads into 2018 with a new quarterback and very few weapons. In fact, this unit only averaged 23.5 points per contest in 2017.

In his first start for the Roadrunners, junior college transfer Cordale Grundy will likely see a very aggressive ASU defense that still features two returning starters at cornerback in Chase Lucas and Kobe Williams and an inexperienced but talented pass rush led by Malik Lawal, Doug Subtyl and Jalen Bates.

The overwhelming strength of this UTSA offense comes from the backfield where Jalen Rhodes calls home. In limited carries a season ago, Rhodes made his presence known in the Roadrunner offense, averaging an astounding 4.9 yards per carry.

Expect Rhodes to get more than his fair share of carries against an ASU defense that allowed five yards per rushing attempt on the season.

Gonzales’ new look defense will need to stop Rhodes in the running game and force the inexperienced Grundy to beat them with his arm.

After months of anticipation and curiosity, Edwards’ proverbial train is about ready to leave the station.

What will band his brand and tenure at ASU together is winning, something that has eluded Sun Devil fans for far too long.

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A 12-13 overall record in the last two seasons combined is simply not good enough, but Edwards said it best after all, “You play to win the game.”

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