CAMP TONTOZONA — The Arizona State football scrimmage here at Camp Tontozona on Saturday, Aug. 9, produced a day in which the offense struggled until late, but some of the struggle can be attributed to the absence of three primary offensive weapons.
Wide receivers Jordyn Tyson and Malik McClain were sidelined with minor ailments, while tight end Chamon Metayer is in concussion protocol.
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Coach Kenny Dillingham said all issues are minor and the team was proceeding with caution.
ASU football depth shows
ASU has more depth in its receiving core than it has had in years past. The fact that Tyson and McClain were held out gave an opportunity to others.
One of those taking advantage of the chance was Alabama transfer Jaren Hamilton, who has been impressive in the two weeks of fall camp.
Hamilton caught a 28-yard touchdown pass from Sam Leavitt on the final play of the scrimmage.
Arizona State pass rush making its mark
One of the only question marks had coming in to this season was how much the Sun Devils pass rush would improve.
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During camp, the unit has done a good job of getting to the passer, but did not do a sufficient job of bringing him down. At the scrimmage, however, the defense brought plenty of pressure and made things difficult for quarterbacks Leavitt and Jeff Sims.
Among the more visible standouts on a warm day at Camp T was defensive tackle Justin Wodtly, who was particularly strong.
Adrian “Boogie” Wilson intercepted Leavitt early in the scrimmage, and Dillingham admitted the day was “dominated by the defense.”
ASU football special teams look much improved
Jesus Gomez was brought in to address last year’s Achilles heel, the kicking game. He easily made a field-goal attempt from 27 yards after a drive stalled. Carson Kieffer later made one from 25 yards.
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The team has two true freshmen who have been impressive: wide receiver Harry Hassmann and tight end A.J. Ia, who had the game’s first touchdown on a 27-yard pass from Sims.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: 3 takeaways from ASU football scrimmage at Camp Tontozona
