Dennis Erickson Says You Better Run Like Hell
Those wishing the Sun Devils would simply give up on the ground game and let Rudy Carpenter air it out on every play will be sorely disappointed by Dennis Erickson’s comments yesterday.
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Dennis Erickson offered a simple explanation for the Sun Devils’ failure to run the ball against Georgia two weeks ago.
“Against Georgia we didn’t run it. It’s that simple. If I had a do-over, if I had a mulligan, I would just go in and run it more to give us a chance to run. I don’t know if it has anything to do with anything other than saying, ‘let’s make a commitment to running it more,’ and we are going to do that now.”
Erickson’s mission will begin this Saturday against Cal and will be aided by the return of the under-appreciated Keegan Herring. As we pointed out in our tribute to the Sun Devils’ overlooked superstar a few weeks back, Herring entered the season 10th on ASU’s career rushing list with 2,234 yards.
That’s a list dominated by the likes of Whizzer White and the Malone boys, who chewed up Wyoming and New Mexico for six yards per carry back in the WAC (and pre-WAC) days.
The offensive line is going to get shaken up a bit as well. Last week we wondered aloud which Sun Devil would lose his job as a result of the losing streak. It turns out it was right tackle Adam Tello, who will likely give way to junior college transfer Tom Njunge this weekend.
Meanwhile, true freshman Zach Schlink has ascended to the backup spot at both guard positions and redshirt freshman tackle Matt Hustad will see more action as well.
The hope is that an improved running game will help draw defenders closer to the line of scrimmage, allowing Rudy Carpenter to find his receivers for big yardage down the field. Quoth Carpenter: “Those shots aren’t going to be there unless we can establish some type of run game.”
What’s Your Take, Sun Devils?
Will Herring’s return and the shakeup along the offensive line help the running game? Or is this a doomed season? Let us know in the comments below.
Enjoy this article? Buy us a beer for just $4. (Credit Card / Paypal)New to Echo from the Buttes? Don’t miss:
Our lively debate on Tempe’s top five bars.
Our salute to the underrated, overlooked Keegan Herring.
Our introduction to Gerald Munns, one bad motha … shut yo mouth.
Our assessment of the divisive Rudy Carpenter’s legacy.
If Erickson really thinks that they should have run more against Georgia, he’s a little dillusional.
Anybody in the stadium could tell that Georgia’s front seven was athletically FAR superior to ASU’s. All the runs to the edge were worthless. Keegan would have helped there, but it wouldn’t have made a difference in the long run.