Saturday can't come soon enough for the ASU football team.
So far, the Sun Devils have had 14 practices this spring, and every one has been in preparation for their 15th — this Saturday's spring game.
"We're excited for the spring to come to an end," junior linebacker Mike Nixon said. "The spring game is definitely the best part of all of this, and now it's almost here."
But the Sun Devils are doing more than just talking about their eagerness for the game; they're showing it on the practice field.
ASU practiced only twice this week, and the energy levels on Tuesday and Thursday were very high.
Coach Dennis Erickson said the team practiced "really well" on Tuesday, ASU's final practice in full pads, and Thursday's practice ended with the two squads for this Saturday's game circled up, jumping, chanting and taunting one another.
"I don't know [what that was]," Erickson said about the end of Thursday's practice. "They're getting in each other's face. It's good for them."
The format for Saturday will be for the No. 1 offense to go against the No. 1 defense and then have the No. 2 squads go against each other.
Erickson plans to have four 12-minute quarters with the clock stopping just like it would in a regular game. However, those plans could quickly change.
"If we get somebody hurt or something happens, I might just run the clock through," Erickson said. "The biggest thing on this, I just want to see a game simulation. In practice, you can hold a guy on offense, or you can hold a guy on defense, or you can get beat on a deep ball, and it really doesn't make any difference because nobody is keeping score. Now you're keeping score, so when you get beat on a deep ball, it means something."
Saturday's game at Sun Devil Stadium is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m., however, that is contingent upon when Pat's Run ends.
The race starts at 7 a.m. and will conclude on the field at Sun Devil Stadium.
If the field is cleared and the team is ready, the spring game could start as early as 12:30 p.m.
Changing ways
All spring, Erickson has praised senior quarterback Rudy Carpenter.
He has talked about Carpenter's dedication to learning new plays that the offense is implementing for next fall, but perhaps what has pleased Erickson the most has been Carpenter's willingness to change the mechanics of his throws.
Erickson said Carpenter's throwing motion is "totally different" than it was last season.
Carpenter said he has been working on holding the ball a little bit higher and releasing it quicker.
But he admitted that, "Sometimes, in the heat of things, I'll revert back to my old throwing style."
"[Changing my throwing style] has been something I have been working really hard on," Carpenter said. "I think I have changed it a lot and it's going to continually get better between now and Aug. 1."
Besides his throwing motion, the four-year starter still has a lot of things he will be working on in the spring game.
At the top of Carpenter's list is to get the No. 1 offense off to a quick start — something that will be very difficult without his top two targets from a year ago.
"[Getting off to a quick start] is one thing we've been trying to work on all spring, and this is another opportunity for us to try and get that going," Carpenter said. "It's going to be a little bit harder for us. Obviously, Chris [McGaha] is out and we don't have Mike Jones."
McGaha, a junior, is sidelined for the spring, out with a fractured toe. He is scheduled to see a foot specialist Friday. Erickson said the doctors will most likely put a screw in his toe and that McGaha will be able to practice by mid-June.
Jones, a senior, has not played all spring because he is on ASU's baseball team.
Reach the reporter at: samuel.good@asu.edu.
