Amidst special teams turmoil and flashes of all-around excellence, ASU football senior kicker Zane Gonzalez has seen it all.
Gonzalez is the 108th ASU player to earn a Pac-12 Player of the Week Award since its inception in 1983, it was announced Monday. He is now the Pac-12's all-time leading scorer after making four field goals in ASU's 32-28 win over UTSA last Friday and was also named a Lou Grouza Award Star of the Week.
So as Gonzalez continues to make history, the Sun Devils (3-0) will turn their focus to their conference opener against Cal — the same team that dashed ASU's hopes of finishing above .500 in their last game of the regular season, a 48-46 loss at California Memorial Stadium in Berkeley.
Graham weighed in on the controversial fumble just before reaching the goal line on a 54-yard run by junior running back Vic Enwere (1:58 in video below) that took away an easy touchdown and added drama to Cal's 50-43 win over then-No. 11 Texas.
"Our guys hand the ball to the official," Graham said. "We always have. That's something that we started doing a while ago obviously because you don't want something like that to happen."
Injury Updates
Graham said redshirt senior linebacker Salamo Fiso will be back this week, and anticipated that Fiso might not be at full speed. However, he expects Fiso to play well in his 2016 debut.
Also expected to be back at full strength are redshirt senior Tim White, redshirt freshman left tackle Zach Robertson, and redshirt freshman defensive lineman George Lea.
White was limited last week, missing the first half against UTSA.
Another defensive development along with the re-insertion of Fiso is redshirt senior Laiu Moeakiola returning to the Spur linebacker position after spending time at safety. Graham said Moekiola will likely remain at the Spur position throughout Pac-12 play.
The shift of junior offensive lineman A.J. McCollum to center has also caught Graham's eye over the course of nonconference play.
"I tell him he's an old-school center," Graham said. "He's just a tough, blood and guts kind of guy...He really brings a lot of physicality in the run game."
Regarding redshirt sophomore Manny Wilkins and protecting himself and the football, Graham said he likes his quarterback's edge but wants him to play smart and avoid putting himself in dangerous situations.
"He really has to protect himself there," Graham said. "But the turnover ratio is our number one focus right now. It's a long time since I've been minus three and been successful in a game.
"I would rather him hurdle someone than get cut by him... You just don't want to take a straight shot like that."
Reach the reporter at smodrich@asu.edu or follow @StefanJModrich on Twitter.
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