5 key questions as Sun Devils begin spring football

TEMPE, Ariz. — The Arizona State football team opened spring practice on Monday with a host of fresh faces on the coaching staff and a host of fresh faces lining up at key positions.

“I loved our spirit and our attitude today,” coach Todd Graham said. “When there’s newness it creates an energy and synergy.”

The challenge for Graham is to bring all those energetic yet disparate parts together to form a cohesive unit.

“Our goal is to re-establish our identity; The PT-42 mentality,” he said. “Lay it on the line every day for the guy next to you… and make sure everybody coming in that’s new understands that.”

As the Sun Devils embark on their fifth season under Graham, and coming off their worst season on his watch, we look at five key questions the Devils must begin to answer in their 15 spring practices.

1. Will a QB emerge? ASU’s biggest concern this spring and fall will be identifying a starting quarterback from among inexperienced candidates. Redshirt sophomore Manny Wilkins, redshirt freshman Brady White and redshirt freshman Bryce Perkins (and perhaps true freshman Dillon Sterling-Cole when he arrives this summer) are all in the mix. Graham was in this same situation in his first season in Tempe when Taylor Kelly won the right to replace early departure Brock Osweiler, beating out Mike Bercovici and Michael Eubank.

“They’re all different in the way they lead and the way they play, but they don’t need to modify themselves to be like anybody else. They’re all great human beings. They need to be themselves. That’s going to be the whole key to being successful,” Graham said. “Whichever one can get all those elements together and get his teammates to follow him and have respect for him is the one that will win out.”

Graham noted at a recent luncheon that he chose Kelly in part because he was able to make or extend plays with his legs once the initial play broke down. ASU isn’t expected to alter its offense much under new offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey, so that is one element to watch as spring ball unfolds with Wilkins perhaps having a leg up. On the other hand, Graham said he doesn’t need to know who his QB will be by the end of spring ball and he said all three are even at the moment. For example, Kelly was his third-string QB after spring ball in 2012, and then won the job in training camp.

“Everybody’s even,” Graham said. “It’s a process we will go through that is very simple. We have to find the guy that separates himself and elevates everybody else on the field.”

2. How will the secondary respond to key losses? ASU lost both its starting cornerbacks (Lloyd Carrington and Kweishi Brown) and its bandit safety (Jordan Simone) off last season’s team.

“Probably not a bad thing,” Graham said. “I can tell you we’re not going to be any worse.”

Sophomore Armand Perry, a medical redshirt that missed most of last season with an ankle injury, and sophomore Kareem Orr are the probable safeties. Orr was named to several publications’ freshman All-America teams and set the school record for interceptions by a freshman with six. Keep an eye on junior-college transfers J’Marcus Rhodes and Maurice Chandler, who enrolled early and will participate in spring ball. That will afford them critical reps as they try to replace Carrington and Brown, but the Sun Devils’ decision to go the junior college route again is a troubling move at such a critical position. Chad Adams, De’Chavon Hayes and Dasmond Tautalatasi are also in the running.

3. How will the coaching turnover impact the team? Graham chalked up the loss of six assistants to normal attrition. In a landscape where coaches increasingly jump at the opportunity for promotions and higher-paying jobs, it’s a fair explanation. Graham could have kept one or two of his assistants, but chose to go in another direction, implying that he is upgrading his staff through higher pay and the better choices that pay affords him. It’s a subtle slap at his former staff, but if it proves true nobody will question it. On the other hand, successful coaches in other programs have managed to keep their staffs largely intact, which raises a couple other possibilities. Is Graham too hard on his assistants? Is ASU still simply viewed as a launching pad for greater opportunities?

Those answers will play out over time, but at least Lindsey got the opportunity to work with the team at its bowl game so he has a leg up on the other new assistants, who must learn their personnel and the intricacies of the system in five short months.

Perhaps the biggest impact in those staff changes will be on recruiting.  Former OC Mike Norvell, former tight ends coach Chip Long and former safeties coach Chris Ball were arguably ASU’s best recruiters. They are all gone. Graham believes the additions of receivers coach Jay Norvell, defensive line coach Joe Seumalo and defensive backs T.J. Rushing will negate those losses in the long-term, but ASU may feel a sting in next season’s recruiting class.

4. What will the revamped offensive line look like? Graham must replace starting offensive linemen guard Christian Westerman, center Nick Kelly, guard Vi Teofilo and tackle William McGehee. Only tackle Evan Goodman returns. Talented sophomore Sam Jones will likely man one of the tackle spots and senior Stephon McCray could land one of the interior spots. Sophomore Quinn Bailey, redshirt sophomore Corey Smith and juco transfers Tyson Rising and A.J. McCollum are in the mix.

5. Can the Devils get their mojo back? The 2015 team was ASU’s most hyped under Graham. ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit tabbed the Sun Devils to make the college football playoff and Graham didn’t shy away from those predictions. Instead, the Devils fell flat, posting a 6-7 record, which was the same mark Dennis Erickson posted in his fifth and final season in Tempe. More than a few Sun Devil faithful are taking a wait-and-see approach to Graham’s program. For the first time since his arrival, it is fair to question whether the Devils are still moving forward or if Graham has reached that same shelf life as his predecessors. This is a vital season for Graham to restore confidence in the direction and strength of his program, and that starts with developing the talent he has and renewing the belief system that existed in his first three seasons.

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