TEMPE – Rob Likens, who spent this past season as the Co-Offensive Coordinator and Wide Receivers coach at Arizona State, has been named the Sun Devil Football Offensive Coordinator and Quarterbacks Coach as announced by Head Coach Herm Edwards today.
In addition, Assistant Head Coach and Running Backs John Simon will continue in his current role in both of those positions while also taking on a more prominent role in the program's leadership structure moving forward.
"There was no doubt in my mind that Rob Likens was the man we needed to step up and fill this role as offensive coordinator," Edwards said. "Coach Likens provides much needed consistency and stability as we continue to build our staff. He has been heavily involved in the offensive game planning and play-calling and the improvement on offense this season with Coach Likens as Co-Offensive Coordinator speaks for itself. I have quickly learned that Rob cares deeply for these young men. I am excited to work with Rob as we continue to build upon this program."
This will be the sixth offensive coordinator position of Likens' career.
"The biggest thing that sticks out to me in why I chose to pursue this position was our student-athletes," Likens said. "When I thought about guys like Manny Wilkins, N'Keal Harry, Jalen Harvey, Kyle Williams and Sam Jones after seeing what they've gone through, I knew that I had to take this opportunity. To be a source of stability for these young men and to have the chance to see them develop and grow as individuals is the reason I got into this business. I'm going to be able to be there for those guys."
"It's also an opportunity to work with Coach Edwards and I am thankful for this opportunity. We hit it off instantly when we met and had discussions about the future and the direction we both saw this program going. Between his energy and mine, I don't know if kids will be ready to handle us both in the same room," Likens added. "I'm so excited to learn from him and the experience he has had will be shared with the kids and with my self. It excites me that he has been in the business for so long and I think he will learn from me a little bit as well as it pertains to college football."
Likens currently has seven former players in the NFL at the wide receiver position, including Bryce Treggs (Philadelphia Eagles/California), Kenny Lawler (Seattle Seahawks/California), Chris Harper (San Francisco 49ers/California), Maurice Harris (Washington Redskins/California), Trevor Davis (Green Bay Packers/California), Quinton Patton (San Francisco 49ers/Louisiana Tech) and Myles White (Tampa Bay Buccaneers/Louisiana Tech).
A veteran orchestrator on the offensive side of the ball, Likens has 25 years of experience of collegiate coaching to his credit and has served as the offensive coordinator at five different schools prior to arriving in Tempe.
In Likens' first season with the Sun Devils working with the wide receivers and as Co-Offensive Coordinator, ASU had the 10th highest-graded passing attack in the nation. This is notable as ASU was graded 54th in the nation in total offense last season and 86th in the passing game on the year. The 76-spot swing in the passing game rankings was the third highest in all of the FBS (second among Power Five schools).
The passing game was elevated by Likens' receiving corps that was the 30th-highest graded group in the country this season according to PFF - improving 11 spots from its 41st-place ranking last season.
At 1,000 yards thus far this season, N'Keal Harry is second in the conference and 16th nationally en route to Pac-12 All-Conference honors. With 73 catches this season, Harry is seventh in receptions in Sun Devil single-season history. The single season record is 87 by Shaun McDonald in 2002.
Harry has proved himself as a valuable possession receiver as well and has 69 receptions on 103 targets this season - both totals good for first in the Pac-12 this season and 13th and 18th nationally on the year. The sophomore has appeared in all 24 games at Arizona State - starting 23 of those - and has a catch in all 24 games. He is the only true sophomore in the country to have a catch in the first 24 games of their career.
The Sun Devils have had 5 different receivers with 100+ yards in five games this season, a total it had never reached in an entire season prior to this year. Only six times in school history has ASU had four different players with at least 100 receiving yards in a game in a single season (2004, 2005, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2017).
Among those with big seasons were Jalen Harvey, who has 45 first downs on 58 career catches (77.6 percent) and 26 of his 33 catches this season while he has averaged 16.6 yards per catch average in career. Harvey is a perfect 14-for-14 on third down receptions and conversions this season.
Kyle Williams is currently the top rated receiver in the Pac-12 in terms of a quarterbacks NFP QBR when targeting a certain receiver, grading out at 124.0 with 61 catches on 77 targets (79.2 percent, easily the highest reception percentage in the Pac-12) with six touchdowns.
John Humphrey introduced himself to the Sun Devil nation in a big way in the opener, catching seven passes for 123 yards and a touchdown. The debut was the second best for a first collegiate game in Sun Devil history, trailing only Calvin Demery's 1969 school record of 201 yards in his first game.
Likens spent one season as the offensive coordinator at Kansas after his second season as the assistant head coach and receivers coach at the University of California with Sonny Dykes in 2014, and his first with the additional responsibilities of passing game coordinator.
In 2014, Likens' Cal passing game, led by the 2016 NFL Draft No. 1 pick Jared Goff, ranked sixth in the NCAA in passing yards with 346.0 yards through the air per outing on its way to rewriting the Golden Bear single-season passing yardage record in 2014 with 4,152 yards. Additionally, three of his top four receivers were Biletnikoff Award candidates in Chris Harper, Kenny Lawler and Bryce Treggs.
Cal's passing game during Likens' first season with the Golden Bears in 2013 set single-season school records for passing yardage (3,977), pass completions (368) and pass attempts (622), while also establishing new single-game marks during the campaign for passing yardage (521 vs. Washington State) and pass attempts (65 vs. Northwestern).
Prior to his arrival in Berkeley, Likens served as an assistant head coach and wide receivers coach at Louisiana Tech from 2010-12, including a final campaign in Ruston in which Louisiana Tech posted a 9-3 record and led the nation in scoring offense and total offense by averaging 51.50 points and 577.92 yards of total offense per game.
Likens coached 2012 second-team AP All-American and Biletnikoff Award semifinalist Quinton Patton, who was a major contributor to the team's prolific scoring offense and currently a member of the San Francisco 49ers after being selected by the professional team in the fourth round of the 2013 NFL Draft.
The Sun Devil's also saw one of the largest turnarounds in the running game in the second half of the season in recent John Simon, leading to one of the top rushing attacks in the nation. According to Pro Football Focus, the Sun Devils finished the regular season with the 30th-highest graded rushing game this season after having the 41st worst-graded attack in 2016.
ASU has 26 rushing touchdowns this year as it reached 25 rushing touchdowns for the fourth time in the last six seasons. Those four times are notable as the Devils had just three previous seasons with at least 25 rushing touchdowns from 1980-2011 (1985, 1986 and 1996).
The Sun Devils had an incredible month of November running the football, finishing seventh in the country in averaging 297.00 yards per game in the month - notable as ASU was 114th in the month of October in the same category at 108.00 yards per game. ASU rushed for 1,188 yards in the final four games of the season (297 yards per game), 55.0 percentage of the team's total yards on the year. Demario Richard led all Pac-12 running backs with 598 rushing yards in November (149.50 yards per game) - good for fourth nationally, as were his seven touchdown runs during the month.
Richard became the fifth running back in school history to surpass the 3000-yard career rushing mark, doing so against Arizona. At 3,152 career yards, he is second in the Pac-10/12 era in ASU history and needs 147 yards in the bowl game to become ASU's leading rusher all time in the era (J.R. Redmond at 3,299).
Richard recorded his 13 career 100-yard rushing game this season, becoming the first Sun Devil in the Pac-10/12 era to reach 13 such games. He is now in sole possession of fifth place in school history with his 13 100-yard rushing games.
Richard has a touchdown rush in nine of his last 11 games and has 33 touchdowns overall in his career (rushing and receiving) - good for eighth in Sun Devil football history.
With 23 more yards, Richard would become the first Sun Devil with multiple 1,000-yard seasons since Freddie Williams in 1974-75 and thus the first Sun Devil in the Pac-12 era to do so. In fact, he'd be one of just three players ever to accomplish the feat, with only Woody Green joining he and Williams on the list.
Kalen Ballage has six rushing touchdowns this season and now has 27 in his career, creeping up on ASU's all-time Top-5 in the category (the threshold being 28 rushing TDs). Ballage became the 26th Sun Devil to eclipse 3,000 career all-purpose yards and his 29 career touchdowns overall are 10th in Sun Devil History .The senior has accepted an invitation to play in the Reese's Senior Bowl following the season.
In addition, Assistant Head Coach and Running Backs John Simon will continue in his current role in both of those positions while also taking on a more prominent role in the program's leadership structure moving forward.
"There was no doubt in my mind that Rob Likens was the man we needed to step up and fill this role as offensive coordinator," Edwards said. "Coach Likens provides much needed consistency and stability as we continue to build our staff. He has been heavily involved in the offensive game planning and play-calling and the improvement on offense this season with Coach Likens as Co-Offensive Coordinator speaks for itself. I have quickly learned that Rob cares deeply for these young men. I am excited to work with Rob as we continue to build upon this program."
This will be the sixth offensive coordinator position of Likens' career.
"The biggest thing that sticks out to me in why I chose to pursue this position was our student-athletes," Likens said. "When I thought about guys like Manny Wilkins, N'Keal Harry, Jalen Harvey, Kyle Williams and Sam Jones after seeing what they've gone through, I knew that I had to take this opportunity. To be a source of stability for these young men and to have the chance to see them develop and grow as individuals is the reason I got into this business. I'm going to be able to be there for those guys."
"It's also an opportunity to work with Coach Edwards and I am thankful for this opportunity. We hit it off instantly when we met and had discussions about the future and the direction we both saw this program going. Between his energy and mine, I don't know if kids will be ready to handle us both in the same room," Likens added. "I'm so excited to learn from him and the experience he has had will be shared with the kids and with my self. It excites me that he has been in the business for so long and I think he will learn from me a little bit as well as it pertains to college football."
Likens currently has seven former players in the NFL at the wide receiver position, including Bryce Treggs (Philadelphia Eagles/California), Kenny Lawler (Seattle Seahawks/California), Chris Harper (San Francisco 49ers/California), Maurice Harris (Washington Redskins/California), Trevor Davis (Green Bay Packers/California), Quinton Patton (San Francisco 49ers/Louisiana Tech) and Myles White (Tampa Bay Buccaneers/Louisiana Tech).
A veteran orchestrator on the offensive side of the ball, Likens has 25 years of experience of collegiate coaching to his credit and has served as the offensive coordinator at five different schools prior to arriving in Tempe.
In Likens' first season with the Sun Devils working with the wide receivers and as Co-Offensive Coordinator, ASU had the 10th highest-graded passing attack in the nation. This is notable as ASU was graded 54th in the nation in total offense last season and 86th in the passing game on the year. The 76-spot swing in the passing game rankings was the third highest in all of the FBS (second among Power Five schools).
The passing game was elevated by Likens' receiving corps that was the 30th-highest graded group in the country this season according to PFF - improving 11 spots from its 41st-place ranking last season.
At 1,000 yards thus far this season, N'Keal Harry is second in the conference and 16th nationally en route to Pac-12 All-Conference honors. With 73 catches this season, Harry is seventh in receptions in Sun Devil single-season history. The single season record is 87 by Shaun McDonald in 2002.
Harry has proved himself as a valuable possession receiver as well and has 69 receptions on 103 targets this season - both totals good for first in the Pac-12 this season and 13th and 18th nationally on the year. The sophomore has appeared in all 24 games at Arizona State - starting 23 of those - and has a catch in all 24 games. He is the only true sophomore in the country to have a catch in the first 24 games of their career.
The Sun Devils have had 5 different receivers with 100+ yards in five games this season, a total it had never reached in an entire season prior to this year. Only six times in school history has ASU had four different players with at least 100 receiving yards in a game in a single season (2004, 2005, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2017).
Among those with big seasons were Jalen Harvey, who has 45 first downs on 58 career catches (77.6 percent) and 26 of his 33 catches this season while he has averaged 16.6 yards per catch average in career. Harvey is a perfect 14-for-14 on third down receptions and conversions this season.
Kyle Williams is currently the top rated receiver in the Pac-12 in terms of a quarterbacks NFP QBR when targeting a certain receiver, grading out at 124.0 with 61 catches on 77 targets (79.2 percent, easily the highest reception percentage in the Pac-12) with six touchdowns.
John Humphrey introduced himself to the Sun Devil nation in a big way in the opener, catching seven passes for 123 yards and a touchdown. The debut was the second best for a first collegiate game in Sun Devil history, trailing only Calvin Demery's 1969 school record of 201 yards in his first game.
Likens spent one season as the offensive coordinator at Kansas after his second season as the assistant head coach and receivers coach at the University of California with Sonny Dykes in 2014, and his first with the additional responsibilities of passing game coordinator.
In 2014, Likens' Cal passing game, led by the 2016 NFL Draft No. 1 pick Jared Goff, ranked sixth in the NCAA in passing yards with 346.0 yards through the air per outing on its way to rewriting the Golden Bear single-season passing yardage record in 2014 with 4,152 yards. Additionally, three of his top four receivers were Biletnikoff Award candidates in Chris Harper, Kenny Lawler and Bryce Treggs.
Cal's passing game during Likens' first season with the Golden Bears in 2013 set single-season school records for passing yardage (3,977), pass completions (368) and pass attempts (622), while also establishing new single-game marks during the campaign for passing yardage (521 vs. Washington State) and pass attempts (65 vs. Northwestern).
Prior to his arrival in Berkeley, Likens served as an assistant head coach and wide receivers coach at Louisiana Tech from 2010-12, including a final campaign in Ruston in which Louisiana Tech posted a 9-3 record and led the nation in scoring offense and total offense by averaging 51.50 points and 577.92 yards of total offense per game.
Likens coached 2012 second-team AP All-American and Biletnikoff Award semifinalist Quinton Patton, who was a major contributor to the team's prolific scoring offense and currently a member of the San Francisco 49ers after being selected by the professional team in the fourth round of the 2013 NFL Draft.
The Sun Devil's also saw one of the largest turnarounds in the running game in the second half of the season in recent John Simon, leading to one of the top rushing attacks in the nation. According to Pro Football Focus, the Sun Devils finished the regular season with the 30th-highest graded rushing game this season after having the 41st worst-graded attack in 2016.
ASU has 26 rushing touchdowns this year as it reached 25 rushing touchdowns for the fourth time in the last six seasons. Those four times are notable as the Devils had just three previous seasons with at least 25 rushing touchdowns from 1980-2011 (1985, 1986 and 1996).
The Sun Devils had an incredible month of November running the football, finishing seventh in the country in averaging 297.00 yards per game in the month - notable as ASU was 114th in the month of October in the same category at 108.00 yards per game. ASU rushed for 1,188 yards in the final four games of the season (297 yards per game), 55.0 percentage of the team's total yards on the year. Demario Richard led all Pac-12 running backs with 598 rushing yards in November (149.50 yards per game) - good for fourth nationally, as were his seven touchdown runs during the month.
Richard became the fifth running back in school history to surpass the 3000-yard career rushing mark, doing so against Arizona. At 3,152 career yards, he is second in the Pac-10/12 era in ASU history and needs 147 yards in the bowl game to become ASU's leading rusher all time in the era (J.R. Redmond at 3,299).
Richard recorded his 13 career 100-yard rushing game this season, becoming the first Sun Devil in the Pac-10/12 era to reach 13 such games. He is now in sole possession of fifth place in school history with his 13 100-yard rushing games.
Richard has a touchdown rush in nine of his last 11 games and has 33 touchdowns overall in his career (rushing and receiving) - good for eighth in Sun Devil football history.
With 23 more yards, Richard would become the first Sun Devil with multiple 1,000-yard seasons since Freddie Williams in 1974-75 and thus the first Sun Devil in the Pac-12 era to do so. In fact, he'd be one of just three players ever to accomplish the feat, with only Woody Green joining he and Williams on the list.
Kalen Ballage has six rushing touchdowns this season and now has 27 in his career, creeping up on ASU's all-time Top-5 in the category (the threshold being 28 rushing TDs). Ballage became the 26th Sun Devil to eclipse 3,000 career all-purpose yards and his 29 career touchdowns overall are 10th in Sun Devil History .The senior has accepted an invitation to play in the Reese's Senior Bowl following the season.