Arizona State OL Ben Scott shows poise, confidence going into preseason

Arizona State redshirt junior offensive lineman Ben Scott figures to take over starting duties at center for the Sun Devils this season.

Scott was ASU’s starting right tackle last year, but following the departure of starting center Dohnovan West to the NFL and former four-star recruit Ezra Dotson-Oyetade transferring to TCU, there’s a gaping hole in the middle of ASU’s offensive line.

“I think center will be the best position for me at the moment. … I got to prove that I am the best center in the Pac-12, which I believe I will be,” Scott said Wednesday. “I feel like I am a lot more athletic than a majority of nose tackles.”

Scott was named to Athlon Sports’ 2022 preseason Pac-12 Football All-Conference Third-Team Offense.

And with new transfers coming and going for Arizona State football, Scott noticed one thing that has pleased him thus far during the offseason.

“The chemistry is a lot better than I anticipated. … A while back we all went to Topgolf and it was fun getting that chemistry going between all of us,” Scott said.

Last season as a collective unit, the Sun Devils ranked 35th in the entire country in rushing yards per game at a 191.4 clip.

And with a mostly new running back room set to take the field this year after the departures of Rachaad White (NFL) and Deamonte “Chip” Trayanum (transferred to Ohio State), Scott is noticing a new and improved run game following Xazavian Valladay’s transfer from Wyoming to Arizona State.

“I think we have four running backs that can rotate in,” Scott said. “Our defense put up a good fight in the run game and we got some good plays on them almost every practice.”

Although he doesn’t watch film on West — who was a starter in each of his three seasons in Tempe — Scott mentioned that he likes to model his game over three starting centers in the NFL.

“I like to watch [Los Angeles Chargers’] Corey Lindsey, [Kansas City Chiefs’] Creed Humphrey and [Tampa Bay Buccaneers’] Ryan Jensen,” Scott said. “I like to watch how their strengths are individually and see how my film compares to theirs.”

Scott also gave a preview as to who could be the team’s starting quarterback with Emory Jones transferring from Florida to Arizona State.

“He is getting better and better every day,” Scott said. “He is coming in here to prove he is the starter. We didn’t bring him in here to be a backup.”