ASU Football: Offensive line vital to balanced attack

ASU football has had success on the ground or in the passing game this season, but the Sun Devils are trying to figure out how to accomplish both at the same time.

ASU head coach Herm Edwards continues to emphasize how necessary it is for his team to have balance on offense. So far, the offense has struggled to pass and run in an effective unison.

“You keep a defense honest when you’re able to run the ball three, four times in a row and gain positive yards out of it,” ASU center Cohl Cabral said. “Being able to bring guys up in the box and then taking a shot downfield, it keeps them honest.”

The Sun Devils finally established a strong running game against Washington. The team finished with more yards on the ground than through the air, and it was the first time ASU had more than 44 rushing yards in a game since its win over UTSA in Week 1.

“I thought we ran the ball better last week,” ASU offensive line coach Dave Christensen said. “If we continue to make progress in running the ball and improve on it, and continue to protect the passer, then that’s what we want to do. So far, so good.”

But the Sun Devils only mustered 104 yards through the air in last week’s loss. It was the lowest total quarterback Manny Wilkins has ever had in his career at ASU when he attempts at least seven passes or more.

More from Devils in Detail

However, the offensive line is not to blame there. The unit up front has only allowed five sacks through four games and Wilkins hasn’t faced a ton of pressure.

And now that the running game is seeing better development, more opportunities to air it out will arise in the young season.

The ASU offense has stuck to basic schemes at this point of the season. Christensen wants his group to be able to execute what’s already in place and then add more schemes week by week.

Zone schemes proved to be effective in the ground game for the Sun Devils versus Washington.

“We’re still working on things that we had in, and it was time to add more to it. It worked out well for us,” Christensen said. “We will continue to keep developing different things within the run game from a schematic standpoint. It will be a little different each week, but the main concepts remain the same.”

The offensive line has formulated a rotation this season. Different players are moving around and playing in spots they may not necessarily be accustomed to.

“It’s harder because you are trying to get cohesiveness inside and getting used to guys who come off and make the same type of blocks with you all week, and then all of a sudden, it’s someone else there,” Cabral said.

But Christensen has made it a point of emphasis for his guys to learn every position on the line.

“We are going to play the five best players,” he said. “It doesn’t matter what position they play, where they line up, or what is on the depth chart, the five best players are gonna play.”

Cabral explained it’s just something him and his teammates learn to work with on the fly in games.

“We did a good job with being able to rotate guys and we’ve done it the last couple of weeks, so we’ve gotten used to it,” he said. “You’re getting reps with each guy next to you.”

The most important thing that unifies the offensive line is the element of trust. Without believing in each other, the offense would accomplish nothing.

“Everyone’s trust has gotta be elevated just because you’ve got a new guy out there and someone else may not know what they’re doing to an extent,” Cabral said. “So, you have to communicate well or if not more than when you have your starters out there. Get the job done, but you have to know what to do.”

Now, the group is working toward finding the right balance for the offense to be successful in every ball game.

“I think they are up for the challenge,” ASU running back Eno Benjamin said. “We’ve got some great guys, some great run blockers in place. And just how everything is going right now, I think we are going to continue to run the ball successfully.”

The key for Christensen and his group is how they approach practice and preparation each week, something they believe they have continuously done well.

Next. ASU Football: Despite skid, no need for Sun Devils to panic. dark

“When you invest the time, then you have a chance to have success as an offensive line and have consistency.”

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

Home/ASU Football