The key to the Texas A&M-Arizona State game this Saturday may lie in how well Sun Devil tackles Evan Goodman (left side) and William McGehee (right side) are able to block Aggie defensive ends Myles Garrett, Daeshon Hall, Qualen Cunningham, and Jarrett Johnson.

If the Sun Devils can't get the ball downfield against cornerback De'Vante Harris, it could be a long night for Arizona State

A&M defensive coordinator John Chavis builds his defenses around his ends and cornerbacks and he has two of the better ends around in Hall and Garrett. McGehee has SEC size but in watching him he has difficulty dealing with get off and quick twitch athletes. Goodman was injured during the spring with a hamstring problem. He’s probably the best athlete that the Sun Devils have up front in terms of his overall coordination and lateral mobility. Physically, the only thing that he really lacks in his battle with the likes of Garrett is that he’s 6 foot 4. However, he missed the spring and he didn’t start last season. As a result, he’s going to have to deal with one of the country’s best defensive ends in a hostile environment. Redshirt freshman Sam Jones could spell either one if they struggle. He has pretty good feet but struggles to an extent in space with his balance. Nonetheless, he may be the best of the three in pass protection.

The interior of the Sun Devil’s line is expected to be their strong suit. It’s comprised of three returning starters, all of them seniors: Nick Kelly at center and Christian Westerman and Vi Teofilo at guard. They are all in the 290 to 300 plus pound range, are tough players who have gutted out injuries throughout their careers, and are physical. They come off the ball low, use their hands well, stay with their blocks, and can pull and block the right people on short traps and fold blocks. In addition, they’re very used to dealing with stunts and blitzes. Arizona State’s interior will be going up against experienced players such as seniors Julien Obioha and Alonzo Williams and junior Hardreck Walker. They also probably haven’t faced anyone like freshman Daylon Mack who offers a prodigious combination of size and athleticism. However, if Arizona State is going to get anywhere on the ground, it’s probably to be in the A and B gaps on inside zone and power.

Speaking of the running game, sophomore Demario Richard has taken over for senior D.J. Foster (5 foot 11, 195 pounds) who had over 1,000 yards last season. Foster was moved to the outside to compensate for the loss of Jaelen Strong to the NFL. DeMario Richard (5 foot 10, 220 pounds) and Kallen Ballage (6 foot 3, 222 pounds) are the running backs. Richard is thick and built low to the ground so he has good balance and doesn’t go down at first contact. Ballenge is taller and doesn’t quite have the same burst but he’s also going to be able to run through first contact if you take him too high or try to arm tackle him.

Foster is playing receiver this season after lining in the backfield and playing slot. Thus, he’s having to make an adjustment to being covered by corners as opposed to safeties and linebackers and also having to face press coverage. He’s still learning how to get separation and so he’ll probably be better at this later in the season than at the start of it. They’ll be looking to get him the ball on go routes and crossing routes where he can use his speed. If you press him, there’s no margin for error…he’s strong for his size and can get down the field quickly. Devin Lucien (6 foot 1, 200 pounds) can get down the field as well. Ellis Jefferson and Gary Chambers are bigger receivers who can take advantage of smaller corners with their size. De’Chavon Hayes has more or less taken over the slot from Foster and he can get downfield in a hurry. Like Foster, he’s also making an adjustment of sorts but moreso in terms of looking the ball into his hands. They’ll motion him into the backfield like they did Foster last season to create lots of two back looks. Tight end Kody Kohl comes across the formation as a blocker and spends most of his time as a H back. He’s not really an in line tight end capable of taking on a defensive end head up and is more like a big Y in that regard.

Senior Quarterback Mike Bercovici (62% completion rate, 7.8 yards an attempt, 12:4 touchdown interception ratio) started four games last season and put up some good numbers. He beat USC (on a Hail Mary) and Stanford and lost to UCLA and Arizona. He likes to hold the ball and get it down the field. He’s not as a mobile as the departed Taylor Kelly or backup Manny Wilkins in terms of being able to run the option although he will move around and buy time. He’s accurate when he’s able to set his feet but is less accurate on the move. He has a good but not great arm and a quick release. He also sees the field relatively well which makes him dangerous in his ability to get the ball deep. Wilkins offers of a change up at this point in his career as he’s mobile and can make rushers miss. However, he’ll tend to turn upfield faster and try to make something happen with his legs.

Thoughts

The Sun Devils run a variety of formations and plays. They’ll go under center and out of the gun, use a H back, and motion a slot into the backfield for some two back looks. Despite the fact that Graham got his start as a high school coach in Texas, they’re not an up tempo team in the strictest sense of the term, certainly not on the order of an Arizona or Oregon.

Their running game is akin to what you see out of a lot of teams that run the spread these days….short traps to the play side or interior, zone, and zone read. They don’t run a lot of slow developing plays with linemen who pull across the formation although Kohl will trap people behind the line of scrimmage.

In addition, they’ve gone the direction that many college teams have with big backs as the primary ball carriers who can also help out in pass pro. They’ll motion one of the slots into the backfield for handoffs on jet sweeps and zone plays with the bigger back going the opposite way which serves as misdirection.

The big questions I have going into this game are as follows:

Can ASU pass protect so that Bercovici can hold the ball and take shots down the field? The interior of the Sun Devils’ line should be able to hold up but the tackle spots are suspect and this shapes up as a mismatch in A&M’s favor. If A&M can slow down ASU on first down and get them into predictable passing downs, you’re turning loose one of the better sets of pass rushers in the country against inexperienced offensive tackles. You’re also allowing John Chavis to get his Mustang defense on the field which may not garner sacks with a three man rush but doesn’t allow teams to generate first downs either.

How will ASU’s offense unfold? Do the Sun Devils attack the A and B gaps via inside zone and power, stay patient with that approach, and then throw down the field off of it? Or like most offensive coordinators does Mike Norvell eventually lose patience of gaining yardage that way and start trying to establish the passing game?

Overall, based on everything we’ve seen and heard, there’s really two ways to attack A&M. One is to go right at the interior in the running game. Not only does this play into ASU’s strength in the interior line with its big backs and veterans at both guard spots and center, A&M’s offense has had some of its best success in the spring and fall camp when the inside backers have overrun interior runs, there’s only one high safety or the two high safeties are too far apart to provide much run support, and the back busts it for a big gain.

The other is that you go play action, slow the pass rush, and then get A&M’s corners down the field in man situations. However, the Aggies are much improved among the starters and backups at these positions and while the Sun Devils might be able to generate one or two long plays off of a busted coverage or being unable to play the ball in the air, there shouldn’t be a steady diet of it like we’ve seen in past seasons. That’s particularly true given the potential of A&M’s pass rush (which won’t permit them to get the ball down the field consistently) and the lack of experience that ASU has at outside receiver. If A&M can’t cover even with a pass rush, then it’s going to be a longer night than one suspects.

Finally, Arizona State is a well coached team. They’re not going to beat themselves with penalties or turnovers. They’re going to play hard under Graham and stay after you for four quarters. However, they’re lack the talent associated with most SEC teams and so have a lower margin for error.

As a result, if Arizona State can’t get generate any explosive plays and keeps winding up in third and long situations, that won’t bode well for them because the biggest mismatch in the game is A&M’s ends versus ASU’s tackles. The Sun Devils may score some points given the fact that A&M’s defense is still evolving but A&M’s defense is far more likely to control the game and keep the score down.

