Anybody who has heard Todd Graham speak knows the head coach of the Arizona State Sun Devils hails from Texas.

Because of Graham’s history and relationships within the state, Texas has become one of Arizona State’s top recruiting areas, with over a dozen players on the ASU roster hailing from the Lone Star State.

“Obviously that’s my home state and we recruit there and have a lot of players on our football team from the state,” Graham said at his weekly press conference.

Saturday’s game against UTSA marks the third time in the last four years that the Sun Devils have played a game in Texas. In 2013, the Sun Devils played against Notre Dame in Dallas and ASU opened last season in Houston against Texas A&M.

Next season, the Sun Devils will play Texas Tech in Lubbock and in 2022 the Sun Devils will play a road game against Oklahoma State, which boarders Texas.

“It’s hard to recruit a place you don’t play,” Graham said. “And our third-largest alumni base is in Texas. We always have great turnouts and support when we go there. We played Notre Dame in Dallas and Houston were both great turnouts.”

In 2016, Arizona State signed three recruits from Texas, including four-star quarterback Dillon Sterling-Cole. In their 2017 class, ASU already has three commitments from the Lone Star State.

“Obviously our home base is in this state (Arizona) and a gas tank away in Southern California but I think if you look at outside of our base of area, that (Texas) is a very significant area for us to recruit, Graham said.”

New Faces on Offensive Line Impress

There were plenty of standouts on the offensive side of the ball in Arizona State’s victory over Texas Tech but one unit that Graham was particularly impressed with was his offensive line.

Starting right tackle Zach Robertson was forced to miss the game with a lower leg injury and that forced RG Quinn Bailey out to tackle and starting center Stephon McCray to guard.

Junior college transfer A.J. McCollum made his first career start at center last Saturday night.

“You wanna know a person I’m excited about? I’m excited about A.J.,” said Graham. “A.J. played really well. The physicality he played with, we were really knocking them (Tech) off the football.”

The two primary statistics that an offensive line is judged off of are sacks allowed and rushing yards. Against Texas Tech, Manny Wilkins was not sacked one time and ASU tallied 301 yards on the ground.

“With four new starters up front, the potential of that group is extremely high,” Graham said.

Sun Devils on the Move

Arizona State is working with a new technology this season that helps track their players during games. There is a chip implemented in the shoulder pads of ASU players that tracks the distance the players are moving throughout the game.

“Our two corners (Gump Hayes and Kareem Orr) in that game did the equivalent of four miles,” Graham said. “Where you are going to feel the effects of that is not in week four, five and six. It’s in week eleven, twelve and thirteen.”

Graham said that with this new technology they might change practice habits and the amount of times they sub players during games.

“We might need to have Kareem cover a few less punts or a few less kicks or maybe on first down we sub him out,” Graham said.

Besides the ASU defensive backs, Graham noted that tight end Kody Kohl, wide receiver Tim White and running backs Kalen Ballage and Demario Richard are all covering over four miles per game.

Notes

• The September 24 game between ASU and Cal will kickoff at 7 p.m. PT and be televised on ESPN2.
• Kalen Ballage, to nobody’s surprise, has won Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week. Ballage was also named to the Paul Hornung Award Honor Roll and also honored as the Rose Bowl Game Pac-12 Player of the Week, and CBS National Player of the Week.
• Graham told reporters that Jay Jay Wilson is expected back this week and they “hope” to have RT Zach Robertson available for Friday’s game. Linebacker Salamo Fiso is not going to play Friday but could return for the start of conference play on Sept. 24.

After a long, anxious offseason full of coaching turnover and position battles, game week is finally here for the 2016 Arizona State Sun Devils. The regular season begins this Saturday against Northern Arizona - a formidable FCS opponent coming out of the Big Sky. Here is your first look at the Lumberjacks.

Head Coach - Jerome Souers

After serving as defensive coordinator with Montana for nine seasons, Souers was named the head coach of Northern Arizona back in 1998. It's a position that he has held ever since.

Souers has posted a 107-97 record in his time in Flagstaff, taking his team to the postseason four times.

The Lumberjacks will run a pro-style, no-huddle scheme offensively for a second straight season. On defense, where Souers' teams have traditionally shined, Northern Arizona will throw a lot of Cover 3 and Cover 4 looks at Arizona State.

Souers and company finished the 2015 season with a record of 7-4, with all three of their losses against FCS opponents coming by two possessions or less.

Quarterback Case Cookus is back from that team, as is their top receiver and second-leading rusher in the ground game. That high-powered offense figures to be just as explosive again this season, which is a big reason why the Lumberjacks were voted 18th in the preseason FCS Coaches' Poll.

Quarterback - Case Cookus

Things couldn't have gone much better for Cookus in his freshman campaign a year ago. The 6-foot-4, 200-pound quarterback threw for 37 touchdowns and ran for three more, earning him the honor of being named the FCS STATS Freshman of the Year.

His best game came in a 63-21 victory on Halloween against Northern Colorado, in which Cookus threw for seven touchdowns and 363 yards. He has played just one contest against an FBS opponent - last September at Arizona - in which he completed eight of 13 passes before sitting out the second half of the blowout win for the Wildcats.

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Key Defensive Players

Linebacker Jake Thomas - Thomas led Northern Arizona in sacks a season ago, posting four and a half to go along with 68 total tackles. The senior from Mesa figures to lead Souers' defense in 2016 and will definitely be a player to watch on Saturday as he returns to the Valley.

Cornerback Maurice Davison - The young Lumberjacks secondary should be bolstered by sophomore corner Maurice Davison, who was tied for second on the team in his freshman campaign with five pass breakups despite only playing in 11 games.

Competition, competition, competition.

Competition was certainly the buzzword for Arizona State Sun Devils head coach Todd Graham after Thursday morning’s practice.

"There’s been a lot of competition everywhere," says Graham. "Offensive line, quarterback, secondary. There’s competition at linebacker. There’s competition up front."

While position battles may still be heated at numerous positions for the Sun Devils, no contests are more hot, and important, than the ones at quarterback and throughout the offensive line.

Under center (and in shotgun), the race between freshman Brady White and sophomore Manny Wilkins is still about as tight as it can be. The pair continue to alternate reps with the first team offense, and Graham wasn’t about to give away any information on who may or may not be pulling ahead in the competition.

"Sometimes when they walk on the field, there’s a little bit of space in between them," Graham deadpanned. "That’s it."

It’s a good bet that whoever ends up starting the maroon and gold’s season opener on September 3 will be the quarterback who controls the ball best.

After only turning the ball over 13 times and finishing sixth in the country in turnover margin two years ago, Arizona State took a step back in its 2015 campaign. That number spiked to 19 last season, and with just 21 turnovers forced, the team finished outside of the top-50 in turnover margin.

Graham and company have identified a return to their ball security ways of the past as one of their top focuses as fall camp presses on.

"Waking up tomorrow," joked Graham when originally asked what worries him the most.

After pausing, the head coach then continued.

"Making sure we get back to turnover ratio football is the biggest thing. So obviously, that is at that quarterback position. Our main three focuses are still the quarterback, offensive line, and secondary. And waking up in the morning."

Competition remains stiff on that young but intriguing offensive line as the season fast approaches. While senior Evan Goodman has the left tackle spot locked up, nearly every other spot on the line continues to be battled for.

"Evan is the guy I’ve really been impressed with," Graham says. "You can tell he's in his fifth year - his last year - and I'm really liking his maturity. But all of those guys have impressed me at one point."

Left guard Sam Jones, center Stephon McCray, right guard Quinn Bailey, and right tackle Zach Robertson were all immediately identified as guys who have looked good as of late to Graham, and coincidentally or not, all four played with the first-team offense in the 11-on-11 drill that was open to the media on Thursday.

Those positions are far from locked down, however, as guys like freshmen Steve Miller and Cohl Cabral, sophomores Alex Losoya and Connor Humphreys, and JC transfer A.J. McCollum continue to work their way into two-deep and situational roles.

"We just have to get steady everywhere," says Graham. "We've had some consistency but there's been competition at the center position, tackle positions, and the guard positions. So we'll have a big evaluation in Saturday’s scrimmage and kind of settle in there before we get prepared for the first game."

After using the 2015 season to adjust from the move from defensive line to offensive line, Graham says Humphreys is competing hard for a two-deep spot at guard.

"Connor’s one of those guys at guard who is right there competing for the two deep," Graham says. "We have got a lot of competition with that group. Saturday is going to be a big evaluation day for everybody (on the line)."

Yes, Saturday’s scrimmage will be important for everyone. Whether it is the young offensive linemen, the two frontrunners at quarterback, or at numerous other spots on the field, the scrimmage will mark the final opportunity for players to show off before game-planning for Northern Arizona begins in earnest next week.

Just as the case has been for all of fall camp, there will surely be a lot of competition.

The Arizona State Sun Devils continued its preseason preparations today outside on the Kajikawa practice fields. The media was allowed to view stretching in addition to individual and 11-on-11 drills.

Mixing it up:

During the “takeaway” period, ASU offense and defense flipped roles as the offensive coaches worked with the defense and vice versa.

Some of it went along just fine:

Some of it... less so:

Saturday scrimmage:

Head coach Todd Graham said the team will conduct a scrimmage on Saturday and that it will be a “big evaluation” for every position, most importantly the quarterback battle between Manny Wilkins and Brady White.

“It’s been very competitive, but Saturday will be a huge evaluation for the quarterback position as well as every other position,” Graham said.

Graham is putting an emphasis, as always, on turnover ratio and is looking for which quarterback takes care of the ball the best. When asked if either QB is putting any distance between the other, Graham said:

“Sometimes when they walk on the field, there’s a little bit of space in between them. That’s it.”

So that reveals a lot.

Injury update:

Junior defensive back Mo Chandler and redshirt sophomore wide receiver Jalen Harvey were both in green but participated in most drills today. Neither were seen during the team period. Redshirt senior Laiu Moeakiola and redshirt senior Salamo Fiso were not seen while the media was at practice.

“We’ve had a lot of, not major stuff, but a lot of missed practices and stuff on the back end,” Graham said. “We just got to get some steadiness there.”

Two-minute Drill:

Media viewed a couple series of 11-on-11 today. The defense worked in a nickel set for a portion as well.

First-team offense:

QB: Manny Wilkins

RB: Demario Richard

WR (outside): Cam Smith, Ellis Jefferson

WR (slot): Tim White

TE (slot): Raymond Epps

LT: Evan Goodman

LG: Sam Jones

C: Stephon McCray

RG: Quinn Bailey

RT: Zach Robertson

First-team defense:

DT: Ami Latu

3-tech: Tashon Smallwood

Devil: JoJo Wicker

SAM: DJ Calhoun

SPUR: Koron Crump

WILL: Christian Sam

Corner: Kareem Orr, Gump Hayes, Tyler Whiley

Bandit safety: Chad Adams

Field safety: J’Marcus Rhodes

The Sun Devils held an afternoon practice session inside of the Verde Dickey Dome Friday.

Media was allowed to view stretches, team drills emphasizing agility, ball security, and stance-to-start, a couple of situational 11-on-11 series, and special teams drills.

Injuries Update

Running back Demario Richard was a full participant in practice, donning a taped right ankle.

Wide receiver Jalen Harvey is out of his walking boot.

Players in Green No-Contact Jerseys

Defensive backs: Maurice Chandler (limited), Laiu Moeakiola (NP), Dasmond Tautalatasi (NP), James Johnson (NP)

Linebackers: Khaylan Thomas (limited), Salamo Fiso (not in attendance)

Offensive linemen: A.J. McCollum (limited participant), Tyson Rising (non-participant)

Tight ends/Wide receivers: Cameron Smith (NP), Grant Martinez (NP)

Quarterbacks: Bryce Perkins (not in attendance)

Situational 11-on-11 Series

Here’s how the first team was assembled during the 11-on-11 set:

Offense

QB: Brady White

RB: Gump Hayes, Nick Ralston

WR/TE: Tim White, Ellis Jefferson (outside); Fred Gammage (slot); Kody Kohl, Raymond Epps

OL: Evan Goodman (LT), Sam Jones (LG), Stephon McCray (C), Quinn Bailey (RG), Zach Roberston (RT)

Defense (appeared to lined up in team’s nickel set)

DL: Tashon Smallwood, Ami Latu, Renell Wren

LB: Christian Sam (weak side), D.J. Calhoun (strong side), JoJo Wicker (Devilbacker)

DB: df Kareem Orr (boundary corner), Bryson Echols (field corner), J’Marcus Rhodes (field safety), Armand Perry (bandit safety), Tyler Whiley (nickel)

Notes

• It took one play before the defense ended the first possession—defensive lineman Ami Latu dropped back into middle-zone coverage from his nose tackle position, intercepted a Brady White pass, and then ran the ball back the other way for a pick-six. The defense was supposed to be hypothetically trailing by 2 points during the situation.
• Quarterback Brady White is still growing into the position; he was “sacked” by Wicker after holding the ball too long. On his lone completion, he stepped up and then was flushed out of the pocket, rolling right before connecting with Tim White, who needed to make an acrobatic catch to keep the play in-bounds.
• Defensive coordinator Keith Patterson is assuming greater play-calling abilities this season. There were multiple plays were nose tackle Ami Latu dropped back into coverage from the nose tackle spot, seemingly fulfilling Graham’s request to utilize more zone coverages as he alluded to installing at Pac-12 Media Days.
• In their nickel set, the safety position has some length in Rhodes and Perry, who are each listed at six-foot. On the first team’s final possession, Rhodes tracked back to deep middle of the field to deflect a pass which Texas transfer Bryson Echols managed to haul down for an interception.
• To answer a question previously posed in our comments: Tyler Whiley saw time as the nickel corner in the first-team nickel set.

Kick Return Drills

Receivers Kyle Williams and Tim White, and Gump Hayes were back fielding kicks on Friday.

PT-42 Jersey

Tim White once again sported the jersey, and is still the lone player to do so.

NFL at Practice

The San Francisco 49ers had a scout in attendance at today’s practice. He said he’ll be back for ASU’s home game vs Washington State on October 22.

Quotes

Todd Graham

• “Game day tomorrow. Pretty fired up.” Saturday’s practice will include a scrimmage that Graham says will be the team’s first opportunity to play in gameday-like atmosphere with full-live tackling.
• Tyler Whiley, who’s seeing time at nickel cornerback, has been a “pleasant surprise.”
• Defense is “still attacking” despite incorporating more zone pressures.

J’Marcus Rhodes

• “It’s just football, man.” Rhodes has seen time at both cornerback and safety, but says the transition has essentially been seamless. “I can handle (the safety spot). It’s just the more reps I get, the better and better I get.”

Graham named Rhodes as one of the defensive standouts to this point in the offseason.

The new college football season is nearly here.

With that said, along with the scrutiny of fans and critics, players are now under the watch of NFL organizations almost daily.

During the second week of fall training camp alone, the Sun Devils have had scouts from the Atlanta Falcons, Tennessee Titans, New York Jets, New Orleans Saints and Washington visit practice.

But who are they looking at exactly?

While the senior talent doesn’t boast the same type of recognizable name power as last year’s class did, there are still some intriguing prospects to keep a watch on throughout the 2016 campaign.

Redshirt seniors in their final year of eligibility

Tim White, WR/RET – 12 (5’11”, 185 lbs)

Edmond Boateng, DE – 97 (6’4”, 265 lbs)

Tramel Topps, DL – 92 (6’2”, 280 lbs)

Frederick Gammage, WR – 89 (5’11”, 185 lbs)

Kody Kohl, TE – 83 (6’3”, 235 lbs)

Stephon McCray, OL – 77 (6’3”, 314 lbs)

Salamo Fiso, LB – 58 (6’0”, 230 lbs)

Evan Goodman, OT – 57 (6’4”, 310 lbs)

Brandon Matthews, LB – 51 (6’0”, 216 lbs

Carlos Mendoza, LB – 43 (6’1”, 231 lbs)

Laiu Moeakiola, LB/S – 28 (6’1”, 215 lbs)

De’Chavon “Gump” Hayes, DB/RET/RB – 16 (5’11”, 190 lbs)

Eric Lauderdale, WR/CB – 14 (6’2”, 194 lbs)

Most Intriguing Names:

Tim White — White pushes Oregon’s Devon Allen and USC’s Adoree’ Jackson for most-athletic player in the Pac-12, if not the entire country. He quickly became ASU’s most dynamic playmaker last season, and if he improves fundamentally as a receiver in 2016 (most notably his hands), he’ll be almost a surefire selection on draft day.

Salamo Fiso — The inside linebacker was highly disruptive in 2015, racking up 20 tackles for loss. He’ll need to replicate that sort of production to prove his numbers aren’t solely a byproduct of scheme as opposed to skill set.

Evan Goodman — Sure, fans will find it near impossible to forget how he was torched against Myles Garrett in his first career start (for what it’s worth, most of the country struggled against him, too). But with experience, Goodman has seemingly grown more and more comfortable, and if he continues to develop, could become one of the better tackles in the conference.

True seniors entering their final year of eligibility

Daniel Groebner, WR – 88 (5’9”, 182 lbs)

Matthew Thompson, LB – 47 (5’11”, 200 lbs)

Ami Latu, NT – 41 (6’2”, 290 lbs)

Frederick Gammage, WR – 89 (5’11”, 185 lbs)

Matt Haack, P – 26 (6’1”, 199 lbs)

Zane Gonzalez, K – 5 (6’1”, 190 lbs)

Most Intriguing Names:

Ami Latu — JoJo Wicker and Tashon Smallwood will soak up the attention, but Latu’s role as the nose tackle is very important to the defense’s success. Latu can move very well for his size, and should his statistical production improve, he’ll be someone to keep a true eye on.

What about the other guys?

Yes, juniors and redshirt juniors are omitted from this list because there’s not many (if any) who would logically forgo their final year of eligibility. Running backs Demario Richard and Kalen Ballage are better suited by staying for their senior years so teams can have more tape of them.

The season could possibly bring some true excitement, but if it doesn’t, don’t expect many juniors to consider moving on to the NFL. However, this senior group has potential, so don’t be surprised if they contribute in a big way for ASU and parlay that into an NFL gig.

The Arizona State Sun Devils opened up their second week of training camp Monday at the Verde Dickey Dome in Tempe.

The media viewed opening stretches, individual drills, two series of two-minute drills, Oklahoma drills, and special teams drills before being removed. Players wore shells (just helmets and shoulder pads).

Twelve players were honored for their outstanding work over the summer: tight end Kody Kohl, defensive back Gump Hayes, receiver Ellis Jefferson, linebackers Malik Lawal, Carlos Mendoza and Christian Sam, left guard Sam Jones, defensive ends JoJo Wicker, Renell Wren and Jalen Bates, and running back Kalen Ballage.

Things became intense when several offensive and defensive linemen took part in a shoving match during the Oklahoma drill portion of the practice. No punches were thrown, however.

Redshirt senior offensive lineman Evan Goodman was at the center of it.

After Brady White directed the first team during Saturday’s two-minute drill session, Monday it was Manny Wilkins who headed the first unit under center. White took snaps with the second team, as both groups worked through ASU’s two-minute offense facing no defense.

Here’s how the offenses lined up:

Team 1

QB: Manny Wilkins

RB: Kalen Ballage

WR (outside): Ellis Jefferson, Jalen Harvey

WR (slot): Tim White

TE (slot): Kody Kohl, Raymond Epps

LT: Evan Goodman

LG: Sam Jones

C: Stephon McCray

RG: Zach Robertson

RT: Quinn Bailey

Team 2

QB: Brady White

RB: Nick Ralston

WR (outside): N’Keal Harry, Cameron Smith

WR (slot): Frederick Gammage

TE (slot): Raymond Epps

LT: Mason Walter

LG: Connor Humphreys

C: Cohl Cabral

RG: Cade Cote

RT: Steven Miller

Notes: Running back Demario Richard is not injured; he did not take part in any of the two-minute drill reps, just as Ballage did during Saturday’s practice.

• An Atlanta Falcons scout attended Monday’s practice.
• Tim White once again sported the coveted, camouflage PT42 jersey, and is the only player to do so.
• Media caught a glimpse of one 11-on-11 play before being removed. It appeared the team is still experimenting with sophomore JoJo Wicker at Devilbacker with Edmond Boateng manning the defensive end role.

The Sun Devils will practice again tomorrow as fall practices continue.