ASU football notes: Lineman on verge of 1st start

A little more than a year ago, Zach Schlink wasn't worried about eventually starting for Arizona State.

He was just hoping he still had a scholarship lined up.

The four-star offensive lineman from Peoria Centennial High School verbally committed to the Sun Devils early in the recruiting process, but a season-ending knee injury in the middle of his senior year left him a bit anxious.

A quick call to coach Dennis Erickson cleared that up.

"The thing that went through my mind was, 'What's going on with my scholarship?'" Schlink said. "I called (Erickson) and let him know. He's like, 'Don't worry about it, just get it taken care of.'"

Schlink had microfracture surgery on the knee, then worked his way back during fall camp and saw his first collegiate action on special teams against Georgia.

This week he took snaps with the first team and looks like a prime candidate to get the start at left guard against Washington on Saturday.

"It'd be awesome," Schlink said. "I'm excited to get out there and play. I haven't started in a game for a year and a couple weeks. It's been a while."

Erickson knew Schlink would need some time to rehab from the knee injury but saw enough early to pull his redshirt and has seen enough lately to let him battle for a starting job.

"It's been a while coming," Erickson said. "Going into fall camp it was bothering him a little bit. Obviously he's 100 percent now."

Shawn Lauvao will likely start at right tackle with Schlink moving in at left guard, although Erickson wouldn't fully commit to that lineup just yet.

"We really haven't decided," he said. "We'll sit down and talk about it."

RETURN MAN

Nate Kimbrough will return punts again on Saturday after an impressive job against Oregon State.

Kimbrough had three returns for 85 yards last week, including a 58-yarder.

"He catches it and gets straight up the football field and makes some things happen, so I'm not going to change it," Erickson said.

Kyle Williams had been the punt-return man but missed last Saturday's game with a concussion. He has been cleared to play against Washington and will play wide receiver and go back to kick-return duties.

EXTRA POINTS

Defensive end James Brooks (foot) will play against the Huskies. ... Erickson was unaware that former Arizona State running back Ryan Torain was getting his first NFL start on Thursday night with the Denver Broncos. "He is? No kidding," Erickson said. "Cool. I've got something to watch tonight."