ASU practice report: Todd Graham responds to Mike Leach accusations
Arizona State returned to the practice field Tuesday to prepare for Saturday's homecoming contest against Washington State.
My report
From coach Todd Graham: "We went out and challenged our guys to practice with a lot of energy and enthusiasm, and we had a solid practice today."
Attire: Pads.
Media-viewing period: 14 minutes.
PAC-12 POWER RANKINGS:Where is ASU? Washington State?
Personnel
Limited: OL Tyson Rising (76 days); LB Christian Sam* (ankle, 44 days); QB Manny Wilkins* (ankle, 15 days); CB Kareem Orr (knee, eight days); FS Armand Perry (lower leg, eight days); LB DJ Calhoun* (one day); WR N'Keal Harry. (one day).
Out: QB Bryce Perkins (neck, likely out for the season); QB Brady White (foot, out for season); LG Sam Jones* (foot, one day).
Notes: Manny Wilkins was dressed, but didn't participate in individual drills during the portion of practice open to media. Armand Perry and Kareem Orr dressed, but did not work with ASU's first-team defense during its initial team-tempo period. DJ Calhoun participated, but wore a green no-contact jersey. Sam Jones wore a protective boot on his right foot and watched from the side. DB J'Marcus Rhodes arrived late to practice for unknown reasons, but appeared fine. N'Keal Harry left last week's game in the fourth quarter because of an unknown issue. He was held out of of the initial team-tempo period.
Graham responds to Leach accusations
Washington State coach Mike Leach on Monday accused ASU of breaking rules in regard to signal stealing.
Graham's response:
"Make this perfectly clear: We do everything exactly by the rules. Period. Obviously, we take a great deal of pride in the integrity that our program has. I'll just leave it at that. I'm not going to get involved in things like that that are ridiculous. We're very open and honest about how we do things."
This marks the second consecutive season in which a Pac-12 school has questioned ASU's tactics. Signal stealing is legal as long as audio and video equipment are not used to do so. Last year, Oregon and Washington went as far as to shield their sideline signals with curtains during their contests at Sun Devil Stadium.
VIDEO:Watch Todd Graham's response to Mike Leach
RELATED: Mike Leach questions ASU's signal stealing
'Just got to play better'
Manny Wilkins has not shied from taking blame for ASU's offensive struggles. Tuesday was no different.
"I just got to play better,'' the sophomore quarterback said. "I got to put the ball in guys' hands, be more decisive in locations. And like I said earlier season, just getting things rolling faster."
Wilkins – recovering from a high-ankle sprain suffered Oct. 1 – was limited during the portion of practice open to media, but he told reporters he practiced later in the session.
"It's just correcting little things,'' he said of rebounding from last week's loss. "Making sure we're all together and not separate. We just got to come together when things start going bad and we can bounce back from it like we did against UTSA."
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News, notes & observations
- Senior linebacker Salamo Fiso has not played at a high level since returning from a three-game suspension to open the season. Graham's explanation: Fiso is not in game shape. "That's one of the one things we have to work on – our conditioning," Graham said, mentioning how Colorado's tempo affected the Sun Devils in last week's loss. "But yeah, he's not in playing shape yet. He probably came off his best game against UCLA, and I don't think any of us played (well) defensively this last game." In four games, Fiso has 31 tackles, including 2.5 for loss. He also has intercepted a pass. Graham suggested that his linebackers are playing too many snaps.
- Graham on ASU's final five regular-season contests: "This thing can go a lot of different directions, but all we can control is the one in front of us."
- Wilkins on senior receiver Tim White: "He plays his heart out. That's what you get from guys like that, which is why he'll be successful and be playing on Sundays here soon. He gives his all every single play. Even if we're losing by three touchdowns and it's a kick return, he's going to give his all to take that kick return back."
- Junior safety James Johnson intercepted freshman quarterback Jack Smith during the team-tempo period open to media.
Depth chart
Here's how ASU lined up during the team-tempo period open to media.
Offense
WR Ellis Jefferson
WR Frederick Gammage
LT Evan Goodman
LG Stephon McCray
C AJ McCollum
RG Quinn Bailey
RT Zach Robertson
QB Dillon Sterling-Cole/Jack Smith
RB Nick Ralston
WR Tim White
WR Jalen Harvey
Notes: With Wilkins limited, Sterling-Cole ran with the first team. Freshman WR N'Keal Harry left last Saturday's contest with a minor injury, which might explain his absence during this period. With Sam Jones out, ASU shifted senior right guard Stephon McCray to Jones' spot at left guard. Sophomore right tackle Quinn Bailey moved to McCray's spot at RG and redshirt freshman Zach Robertson moved up to right tackle.
Defense
Devil Koron Crump
DT Tashon Smallwood
NT George Lea
End JoJo Wicker
WILL DJ Calhoun
SAM Salamo Fiso
Spur Laiu Moeakiola
CB De'Chavon Hayes
DB Chad Adams
DB Marcus Ball
CB Maurice Chandler
Notes: Chad Adams was in for Armand Perry at safety. (He also replaced Perry after Perry left last week's game with an injury.) De'Chavon Hayes was in for Kareem Orr. George Lea lined up in place of Viliami Latu.
RELATED:How Arizonans in college football fared last week
Up next
ASU is scheduled to practice at 9 a.m. Wednesday. All sessions are closed to the public.
Contact Doug Haller at 602-444-4949 or at doug.haller@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on Twitter. Download and subscribe to the ASU Pick Six Podcast, available on iTunes, Google Play Music and Stitcher.
