The expectations were high for the next quarterback to take over at Arizona State, but success wasn’t completely unattainable.
From improvised plays to the reintroduction of the passing game, Florida transfer Emory Jones did just enough in his ASU debut to give a glimpse of the star power he can possess for the rest of the season.
Thursday’s opener saw Jones and the offense breeze through Northern Arizona with a 40-3 win with newer players taking over in key roles.
“We had 43 new players and sometimes we didn’t know what type of team we would be. We’ve been practicing and going against our team, but it’s different when you go out here with all the lights on. We played pretty good and there’s definitely things we need to clean up on. I’m really excited about where this team is going,” Jones said.
With Jones coming in at such a crucial position, the eyes were on what direction he could take ASU in.
Luckily for him, he possessed considerable calmness while under pressure and had good decision-making during the game.
“You sensed it on the sideline. There was no panic. The quarterback was very calm. I thought he stood in the pocket pretty well, made a couple of throws, missed a couple, but that has something to do with the familiarity of receivers and the young receiving core,” ASU head coach Herm Edwards said.
Although it was his first game on the field at Sun Devil Stadium since joining the team in May and missing the spring practices completely, Jones completed 72 percent of his 18 passes and finished with 13 completions.
It was a solid debut for an area ASU lacked depth in last season as Jones passed for 152 yards with his longest reception coming from a 21-yard pass to Giovanni Sanders.
ASU’s offense overall had 24 first downs and averaged 11.7 yards per completion.
Even with Xazavian Valladay’s speed moving the run game forward, Jones mixed it up with four different receivers combining for 120 yards in the first half. Both Messiah Swinson and Elijhah Badger received three targets for a combined 77 yards in the first half.
“I put the ball in everybody’s hands. We have a lot of talented guys in the receivers room and I definitely have to rotate and get different guys in there,” Jones said.
While first game jitters were evident on the opening drive as the offense settled for a field goal, shaky nerves wore off and Jones quickly found his confidence. Once he did and put the game on his feet from him, ASU was able to reap the benefits with two touchdowns on 48 rushing yards.
Confidence from the interception from Kyle Soelle on the previous play gave way for ASU to flex its dangerous combination of Valladay and Jones in a two-play scoring drive that finished with Jones’ 17-yard touchdown scamper.
Fearless as he was at times, Edwards hopes that Jones will remain more polished in his improvisational plays and slide to minimize the contact he faced in the game.
“I’m going to ask if he ever played baseball because in baseball, you slide. I don’t want him taking hits, it’s just not worth it. You got to play the next play,” Edwards said.
Jones paid the price for improvisation in the final minute of the second quarter when he was taken down for a loss of eight yards and the ball was recovered by NAU.
Jones said he had a receiver wide open, but was “trying to get something bigger.”
“That’s just a learning experience. That’s on my end and something I have to clean up,” he added.
With only one game under his belt with ASU, Jones already showed where ASU’s offense could go.
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George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism