Arizona State spent Aug. 22 sorting out jobs that could decide how it starts the season, and the clearest signs came on special teams and in the pass rush. At Mountain America Stadium, the Sun Devils got 52-yard field goals from Carson Smith and Carston Kieffer, five punts from Kanyon Floyd and Nick McLarty that landed inside the 20, and a defense that produced four sacks.
That work matters because the Sept. 5 season opener against Morgan State is close enough now that every kick, block and route looks like a test run. Kenny Dillingham said the competition at the specialist spots has been strong, with Jaren Hamilton handling returns, and he pointed to the kind of pressure Arizona State wants to carry into the opener.
Dillingham said the offense finished with really good drives on the ground in the last 30 minutes, including solid runs from Jason Brown and Demarius “Man Man” Robinson and pile-moving work from true freshman Cardae Mack. The biggest play came when sophomore Grayson Rigdon caught an 80-yard scoring pass from Mikey Keene, the longest play of the night, and Smith added a 38-yard field goal late.
The same scrimmage also showed why Arizona State still has unfinished business. Dillingham said the defense opened with an interception and that he would like to see more takeaways, while the offense still needs better pass protection to let the passing game breathe. Tight ends especially struggled with blocking assignments, and Dillingham moved Clayton Smith to defensive end earlier in the week to create more competition at the edge, where Joshua Shanklin, Emar'rion Winston, Roman Pitre and Tristan Bacon all registered sacks.
The injury news cut through the rest of the day. Dillingham said Nigel Pringle will be out for the season after hurting himself in the Camp Tontozona scrimmage a week before Aug. 22, leaving the sophomore defensive back and Arkansas transfer out of the plan before the first snap that counts. Arizona State has one more week to settle the jobs that are still open, and after this scrimmage the clearest edge may belong to the players who can hold up under pressure, kick cleanly and protect Keene long enough to make the offense more than a collection of flashes.
