At Tuesday's ASU football practice, redshirt freshman wide receiver Rudy Burgess took reps at tailback to help the team's depth at the position.
"Rudy is at the top of the league in both (kick) returns, so let's get his hands on the ball more," head coach Dirk Koetter said. "Instead of moving someone from defense, he knows all the formations. He'll be fine."
Burgess will continue to play wide-out and return kicks. Koetter said he considered about 10 players to move to tailback after a suspension to sophomore Loren Wade and a season-ending injury to sophomore Randy Hill.
Junior tailback Hakim Hill will still start Saturday's game at Oregon, and walk-on Preston Jones will serve as backup. Quarterback Chad Christensen also took snaps at tailback, but Koetter said the junior has done so all season. Freshman tailback Price Wilks will also travel to Oregon, although the coaching staff hopes to redshirt him this season.
-- Chris Drexel
Ike Diogu named Playboy Preseason All-American: ASU junior forward Ike Diogu has been named to the 10-man Playboy Preseason All-American team for the second straight season. The Garland, Texas, native has twice earned Associated Press Honorable Mention honors and will enter this season as the nation's third-leading returning scorer. He also is the first Pac-10 scoring leader to be back on campus the following season since Reggie Miller won the honors in 1985-86 and returned in 1986-87.
