Dennis Erickson put the heat on his newly-appointed starting kicker on Friday night, having the entire Arizona State team surround Thomas Weber and scream as he attempted 52-yard field goals.
The exercise was the final element of ASU’s mock game, which took place at Sun Devil Stadium.
A few hundred fans in the stands helped yell.
“You can’t put much more pressure on a kicker than I just did,” Erickson said.
“The first game will be easy. The only way I could have made it more of a pressure situation is if the team had to run if he missed.”
Fortunately for Weber — who on three kicks was wide left, wide right and short — that was not the case.
“That was interesting,” said Weber, a redshirt freshman. “I should’ve made those kicks. But those are a little extreme circumstances. But I’ll learn from it and be ready.”
ASU FOOTBALL NOTEBOOK
TIGHT END TOGGLE
Dane Guthrie was the No. 2 tight end when he was moved to defensive end, and Erickson will now use a handful of players behind starter Brent Miller — Tyrice Thompson, Brady Conrad, Andrew Pettes and Jovon Williams. “We’ll do it by committee, other than Brent,” Erickson said.”
MOCK GAME
Friday’s format had the players in full pads — Erickson changed his mind after first indicating that only helmets and shorts would be worn — but there was no tackling. The Sun Devils worked in several down-and-distance and special-teams situations.
Scout-team players wore yellow jerseys, with numbers corresponding to the personnel of San Jose State, ASU’s opponent on Sept. 1.
