ASU Football: Three thoughts from Wednesday’s media availability

Herm Edwards, Manny Wilkins and Danny Gonzales each spoke at ASU football’s media availability on Wednesday. Here’s what they had to say.

It’s hard to believe what’s transpired within the Arizona State football program.

Nine months ago, Tempe was in shock. Vice President for University Athletics and Athletic Director Ray Anderson made the decision to fire Todd Graham, a move that brought Herm Edwards aboard as the conductor of a train with lofty aspirations.

Not a lot of people believed in those goals. The hire was blasted around the country, citing Graham’s winning record and Edwards’ coaching inactivity as primary concerns. By this time, the project was supposed to be a disaster.

Now, Tempe is still in shock, but in a different way. ASU enters their matchup against San Diego State with a 2-0 record, a mark that’s lifted the team to their first AP Top 25 ranking since 2015.

Here’s a stranger part about it: this isn’t how the success would be thought to come by. It’s not the Sun Devil offense, but the defense that has carried the team through first two games, leading the nation in rushing defense with 32.5 yards per game and allowing just two touchdowns.

These stats are coming from the same program that gave up almost 522 yards and five touchdowns per game in 2016. The turnaround speaks for itself.

But if you talked to most coaches and players on the ASU roster, they’d all say they have room to grow. That message was reiterated Wednesday by Edwards, quarterback Manny Wilkins and defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales in the team’s final media session before facing San Diego State on Saturday.

Each man spoke differently in their time at the podium, but let’s take a look at one idea that stuck out from each of them.

Edwards’ strategy for road games

Playing road games in college football are tough. No matter who the opponent may be, a challenge will arise from the opposing team’s energy and fan noise.

Edwards knows the atmosphere will be loud at SDCCU Stadium. He said he knows ways to suppress the noise on the sidelines.

“I’m always explaining things in a way that is very calm, very direct,” Edwards said. “I’m almost opposite to the reaction to the crowds and everybody in the crowd. As people get loud, I talk real soft. And that makes them [the players] focus in.”

The thought may seem simple, but the intricacy speaks to what Edwards has brought as a head coach. He doesn’t appear to be short of motivation, life values or tips for his players, and this strategy is an additional strength for his team.

Wilkins admits he wants to throw to N’Keal Harry every play

Who wouldn’t, right?

Wilkins understands that Harry is special. At 6 feet 4 inches tall and 213 pounds, he possesses skill along with the size and strength that make him one of the deadliest weapons in college football.

Unfortunately, other teams know that, too. But Wilkins said Harry can still make an impact without the ball in his hands.

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“I’d be the first to tell you, I want to throw N’Keal the ball every single time,” Wilkins said. “That’s a guy that needs to get the ball in his hands as much as you possibly can.

“But when they’re going to bracket him and things like that, Kyle [Williams] stepped up and had a huge game. N’Keal has said it and I’ve heard him talk about it early on in all this media stuff, is if somebody is going to bracket him, somebody else is going to have an opportunity to get off and do something special.”

Against Michigan State, Williams caught seven balls for 104 yards. Wilkins was also able to target six other players for two or more receptions.

The diversity carried the Sun Devils to three key scoring drives in the second half. Harry got his touch too, reeling in the game-tying touchdown in the fourth quarter.

He might not be able to get the ball on every down, but his presence alone makes the ASU offense more dynamic.

Gonzales still doesn’t think his defense is good

It’d be expected after limiting their first two opponents to 20 total points, 65 rushing yards and two touchdowns, Gonzales would admit he has a good defense.

Update: he still doesn’t think so.

“We still have a long way to go before we consider ourselves good,” Gonzales said. “Those stats– those are two weeks, No. 1 in the country, we’ve only played two games. So really, go a whole season and see where we stack up.

“They believe in what we’re doing, they’re playing hard, but we’re not very good yet. We still have a long way to go to reach the standard we want to reach.”

The comments may seem rigid, but they speak to the standard Gonzales hopes his players will achieve. So far, the defense has answered the call of duty, but with Pac-12 opposition and elite offenses looming, there are plenty tests remaining to ace.

ASU will face one of those challenges in San Diego State, where Gonzales once used the same 3-3-5 defensive scheme.. If the Sun Devils can succeed against a team prepared for their style, it’ll be another step toward meeting their defensive coordinator’s expectations.

All quotes in this article were obtained firsthand by Devils in Detail unless otherwise noted.