Aug. 18, 1997
Notes from Tontozona
Big-Play Scrimmage
Arizona State conducted its first scrimmage Saturday and it produced a number of big plays on both sides of the ball. One play in particular stood out. Sophomore tailback J.R. Redmond took a handoff in the backfield and was immediately hammered by senior linebacker Pat Tillman. Redmond bounced off the hit, redirected his path and raced 80 yards for a touchdown.
Looking for Consistency
Head coach Bruce Snyder liked some of the plays both his offense and defense made, but is looking for more. "We have to be a lot more consistent than we were. I don't think we're good enough yet."
Quarterback Battle
The biggest question coming into camp was who will be the starting quarterback. Junior Steve Campbell and redshirt freshman Ryan Kealy are neck-and-neck and Snyder has already said that both will see time in the Sun Devils' early contests. Kealy had the better scrimmage Saturday, completing 6 of 9 passes for 68 yards while Campbell was 2 of 11 for 55 yards. However, the prettiest pass of the day belonged to true freshman Chad Elliot, who, on his first pass of the scrimmage, hooked up with redshirt freshman Mike Aguirre for an 80-yard touchdown.
Impressive Crowd
Approximately 1,000 people showed up for the Saturday scrimmage with the Highway Patrol having to close off the driveway to camp and have people park along the highway. It was particularly impressive because it was not the traditional full scrimmage. That scrimmage will be held Thursday, beginning at 9:45 a.m. Camp will break following the scrimmage with the Sun Devils returning to Tempe. School starts Monday with the season opener August 30 against New Mexico State at 7 p.m. at Sun Devil Stadium/Frank Kush Field.