Dubious honor for two Sun Devils
Jun 12, 2012, 8:49 PM
It’s June, and that means college football annuals from
Lindy’s, Athlon Sports and others have hit the newsstands,
marking an unofficial start to the 2012 campaign.
Most of the periodicals on the shelves have the Arizona
State Sun Devils struggling under first year head coach
Todd Graham. And most cite a loss of talent as the reason
why ASU will be lucky to be bowl-eligible this season.
Yahoo! Sports is on board with the magazines, as Mike
Huegenin has written an article highlighting the nation’s best players who
play on teams that will struggle this season. And
wouldn’t you know it? The Devils have not one, but two
players on that list.
Both senior running back Cameron Marshall, who ranked
second in
the
Pac-12 in touchdowns a year ago, and senior jack-of-all-
trades
Jamal Miles have landed on Huguenin’s rundown.
Writes Huguenin on Marshall:
Marshall, a senior, is heading into his third
season as a starter. He became an every-down back last
season and responded by rushing for 1,050 yards and 18
touchdowns. He also is a good receiver, a facet of his
game that should be used more by the Sun Devils’ new
coaching staff. He looks to be a good fit for the new
offense, and for a guy who weighs 225 pounds, he has a
nice burst.
And on Miles:
Miles, a senior, is one of the most dangerous
big-play guys in the nation, and you can bet Arizona
State’s new coaching staff is working on ways to get Miles
the ball a variety of ways in the Sun Devils’ version of
the spread. One troubling aspect for Miles is that he has
averaged just 7.9 yards on his 91 career receptions. Given
his speed and shiftiness, that is an embarrassingly low
number. Still, he has scored via the run, pass receptions
and on kickoff and punt returns, and also has thrown a TD
pass in his career.
One could certainly look at things differently — if
Marshall and Miles are that good, pressure will certainly
be taken off whomever wins the starting quarterback job
for the Sun Devils. And having two outstanding offensive
weapons makes winning immediately possible.
ASU was one of four schools to land two players on
Huguenin’s dubious list, joining Washington State,
Vanderbilt and Colorado.
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