ASU football coach Todd Graham said he entered this season, his fourth as head coach, expecting to install his new scheme in six days.
Three days into camp, he said he's done it already.
"It's amazing how they've handled it," Graham said. "There's some mistakes out there. A lot of athleticism. You've got to get guys in the right spots and things like that, but every day its been better and better and better."
Graham said this unit's ability to pick up style and scheme has done something few have — surprised him.
"People say, 'Are you surprised?' and I'm usually not, but I have been with this job," Graham said. "Our coaches have done a great job of getting the right guys and taking the guys here and transforming them. Now it's just so much easier because we're so much more advanced in the things that we're working."
Graham said he feels his stamp on this program has been made.
"It doesn't even feel like year four," Graham said. "I don't think I've ever been at a place where I've progressed as fast as what we've had here."
Much of that, however, involves the fact that Graham has already held several head coaching positions at Rice, Tulsa and Pitt before coming to ASU.
"I guess I haven't been at a place for more than four years since Allen High School (in Texas), so never mind on that," he joked.
Additional Notes:
- Three players wore camouflage "PT42" jerseys Friday: redshirt senior cornerback Lloyd Carrington, redshirt sophomore safety James Johnson and redshirt junior linebacker Laiu Moeakiola.
- The following players wore "Flame" helmets Friday: Carrington, Johnson, Moeakiola, senior wide receiver D.J. Foster, redshirt junior tight end Kody Kohl, redshirt senior center Nick Kelly, sophomore running back/linebacker Kalen Ballage, sophomore defensive back DeAndre Scott, redshirt senior safety Jordan Simone, junior kicker Zane Gonzalez, redshirt senior quarterback Mike Bercovici, redshirt senior guard Christian Westerman and sophomore running back DeMario Richard.
- The following players wore green no-contact jerseys Friday: Simone, freshman tight end Jay Jay Wilson, freshman offensive lineman Dillon Faamatau and junior wide receiver Cam Smith.
- Graham tried several players in different spots Friday, but these were the most notable:
- Ballage, who played defense Friday, lined up at first-team "Devilbacker." Redshirt freshman Ismael Murphy Richardson worked with the second team, while redshirt sophomore Chans Cox (who ran with the first team Thursday) lined up at third-team "Devilbacker."
- Both redshirt junior Salamo Fiso and sophomore Christian Sam saw first-team reps at the "Sam" linebacker spot.
- Senior Kweishi Brown split time with redshirt senior Solomon Means at the field corner spot, with Brown taking the majority of the reps at nickel corner.
- In order to spell Simone, Graham tried seeing Johnson at the boundary safety position and moving sophomore Armand Perry to the first-team field safety spot in certain packages.
Reach the reporter at fardaya@asu.edu or follow @fardaya15 on Twitter.
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