ASU football notebook: Devils all set to return home

CAMP TONTOZONA • Arizona State took the practice field on Wednesday with the look of a football team that was about to break camp.

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The Sun Devils worked out without pads, wearing jerseys that a number of players exchanged with one another. For example, running back Keegan Herring wore the No. 10 of receiver Jeff Gray, and quarterback Rudy Carpenter donned the No. 1 of wideout Michael Jones.

It had all the makings of a practice in which focus would be lacking, and offensive line coach Gregg Smith chided one of his charges for “looking too forward to getting back to Phoenix and not on football.” Still, coach Dennis Erickson felt the workout was a productive end to the Tontozona stay.

“I thought we were focused better than most of these kind of workouts I’ve been a part of,” Erickson said. “I’ve seen it. At the college or NFL level, the last practice is hard. But I thought we got things done.”

Special teams and the two-minute drill were emphasized during the Wednesday workout, which lasted about 90 minutes.

“We had a good team session,” Carpenter said. “I can only speak for the (first-team) offense, but we completed every pass and moved down the field, so it was a useful day.”

ASU practices tonight in Tempe, then has an intrasquad scrimmage at 7 p.m. Friday at Sun Devil Stadium. The team is off on Saturday and Monday, the first day of classes.

INJURY REPORT

Punter Jonathan Johnson pulled a muscle in his leg, which has limited his practice participation. Kicker Thomas Weber has booted most of the balls during punt drills.

“I saw enough of him in the spring to know he’s a good punter,” Erickson said.

“He’s pretty much healthy now, so he’ll get more involved.”

CAMP STANDOUTS

No camp awards were handed out; however, Erickson cited starting defensive linemen Dexter Davis, Michael Marquardt and David Smith among those who made an impression in the pines.

“We talk so much about developing depth on the defensive line we forget that the guys starting there are pretty (darn) good,” Erickson said.

Travis Smith, buried on the depth chart at cornerback during his previous two seasons at ASU, has made enough plays in recent days to earn inclusion in the conversation at the position.

“I started noticing him a few days ago,” Erickson said. “I’ll tell you, he has really jumped out at me.”

Other players Erickson said had a noteworthy camp: receivers Kyle Williams and Kerry Taylor, tight end Brent Miller, running back Ryan Torain, linebacker Travis Goethel and safety Josh Barrett.