Josh Barrett a 73 on Madden

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Depth charts and screen shots courtesy of PastaPadre.com

For your weekend enjoyment

All the talk has been about the cheerleading program being "cut." At least its something to talk about during the slow offseason, but honestly, who cares. Think about it, most cheerleaders who were any good in high school were pipelined directly into the Greek system anyways.

On to stuff that actually matters...

The time of the Georgia game has officially been set to 5:00 PM, on ABC.

Start your tailgates at 2:30. No word on if Georgia QB Matthew Stafford (left) will partake.

If you want to get up to date on the state of Georgia football, check out this video from Dawgpost.com. Be warned, accents are very similar to the KKK meeting from Harold and Kumar 2.




Recruiting news this week has been all about the verbal commitment from Montana QB Brock Osweiler. Osweiler had already given a verbal to Gonzaga for basketball, but felt so strongly about joining the Arizona State program that he was literally losing sleep over it. If you're wondering if he could rescind his commitment a second time, read what he told the Billings Gazette about talking to other football programs:

"Florida State was scheduled to come, (as were) Alabama, UCLA, Washington State, and Stanford and none of that bothers me anymore. I'm going to call those guys and let them know where I'm at and let them know they can move on. That's how solid I feel about this."

Pretty confident we've got another "quarterback of the future."

Josh Barrett talks to Sporting News Radio about his college career and transition to the Broncos. Also, Barrett's former partner at safety Zach Catanese was signed by the Jets.

Baseball takes a half game lead over Stanford in the Pac-10 with a 10-5 win over UCLA. Kipnis (2 HR), Champagnie, Sontag, Wallace and Paramore had 3 hits a piece. Devils Digest has a great comprehensive report on the performance. Dan Zeiger of the Trib had a piece Friday on the road Ryan Sontag has taken to get to this point. The Sun Devils are 11-5 in conference with 8 games left to play. ASU radio announcer Tim Healey talked ASU baseball today with Calling All Sports.

Meet Your Captains

Jeff Metcalfe of the Arizona Republic profiles ASU's four captains, Mike Pollak, Josh Barrett, Ryan Torain and Michael Marquardt. Kind of interesting that Rudy Burgess isn't a captain, even though he has been battling nagging injuries during the offseason.

2007 ASU Preview: Secondary and Special Teams

Now that ASU has named a starting kicker…we can go on with the final preview!

Secondary
If being the top ranked free safety in EA Sports NCAA Football 2008 is wrong, then Josh Barrett doesn’t want to be right. He’s the anchor or a talented and experienced group of defensive backs for Arizona State in 2007.

A group of veteran corners and safeties will be expected to keep big plays to a minimum, a tall order when going up against the likes of Patrick Turner, DeSean Jackson and several other extremely talented wide receivers in the Pac-10.

The biggest contributors in this group are all either graduate students or seniors, giving them three to four years each working through the ASU system and getting ready for their chance to step into the spotlight as starters. However, the marquee player of this group might end up being the kid who held the Pac-10 hostage on signing day as we awaited his commitment.

Cornerbacks
Returning to anchor the corner spots are seniors Justin Tryon and Chris Baloney and graduate Littrele Jones.

Tryon transferred to ASU last season and made an immediate impact, finishing second on the team in tackles and leading the squad in pass deflections. His biggest asset is consistency; Tryon brings the same high energy and athleticism on every play and is probably the Sun Devils’ best man-on-man corner. He’ll draw the most talented receiver from ASU’s opponent every week because of how stingy he is on and off the ball. In a pinch, look for Tryon to be used on special teams as well.

Baloney is a hard luck story from 2006, having a standout first half of the season but missing the 2^nd half due to injury. He made an instant impact right out of the chute, returning an interception against Northern Arizona in the season opener for what ended up being the game’s decisive score. Baloney’s 6’1” frame makes him the tallest and rangiest returning cornerback. He possesses good field vision but lacks the speed and hands it takes to be a dominant corner.

Jones, a graduate student from Southern California, has spent most of his ASU career on special teams, but he will battle for more time as a reserve corner this year. His disruptiveness on the defensive side of the ball and on special teams could become a vital asset in long yardage situations.

Before moving on to the newcomers, we at Pitchfork Nation would be remiss if we did not mention senior Chad Green, who was critically wounded in a car accident in Tempe at the end of the Spring Semester. Chad is recovering near his home in Van Nuys, CA. If you’d like to send a note or words of encouragement to Chad, the ASU Athletic Department requests you send it to:

Chad Green c/o the Sun Devil Football Office
Arizona State University – The Carson Center
P.O. Box 872505
Tempe, AZ 85287-2505

The biggest coup for Arizona State during recruiting occurred when prep standout Omar Bolden, on television in California, tossed away hats from Washington, Oregon State and even USC in favor of donning a maroon Sun Devils cap. Not only did he lead his league in rushing yards (2,003), he also recorded 80 tackles, two blocked punts and an interception. A dynamic, skilled and extremely fast athlete, Bolden has impressed everyone in camp so far and figures to be a major piece of the Sun Devils secondary this season.

Phoenix College transfer Jarrell Holman also could see playing time as a bruising corner with good hands. With his greatest asset being his tackling ability, Holman looks to more than capably fill the shoes of departed corner Keno Walter-White.

Safeties
There’s really not much more to be said about Josh Barrett at the free safety position. You’ve read the reviews, you’ve seen him play, you’ve heard about his honors and, yes, you might be a member of his Facebook fan club.

The nation is about to take notice of this skilled, talented and explosive safety. Barrett led ASU with 82 tackles in 2006 along with three picks. Even more impressive might be his 7.5 tackles for loss last season coming from the deep secondary. You wont see many opposing quarterbacks throw toward Josh Barrett if they can help it this season, because he is a quick tackler, a monster in zone coverage and catches whatever comes near him.

With junior college transfer Troy Nolan missing time due to injury, junior Jeremy Payton will get the majority of the reps with the 1^st team at strong safety. Payton bounced in and out of the lineup in 2006, but his versatility earned him more playing time (Payton has played every defensive back position and even spent time at wide receiver early in his career). Nolan burst onto the scene during the Spring and grabbed the top spot on the depth chart as a result of his tackling ability and quickness. When he returns from injury, look for Payton slip back to the corner.

The depth at safety is slim though, as Rodney Cox, Angelo Fobbs-Valentino and Brett Nenaber will see most of their action on special teams.

Special Teams
Four year starting kicker Jesse Ainsworth is gone, as is dynamic return man Terry Richardson. However, there’s still plenty of talent in the kicking and return game.

Kicker
Surprisingly, the most intriguing position battle in 2007 has been for…kicker! Thomas Weber entered the spring as the replacement for Ainsworth, but he was given a run for his money by walk-on Zach Richards throughout Camp Tontozona. Possibly the most fun thing to watch this preseason has been when coach Dennis Erickson has had the entire team gather around Weber and Richards as they try to hit narrowly placed, long and high pressure kicks. Yesterday, Weber was named the starter. Weber possesses a strong leg but needs to work on his accuracy; ironically, those were the same problems that ailed Ainsworth early in his career, but he ended up being one of ASU’s most reliable kickers in history.

Punter
Jonathan Johnson struggled mightily in 2005, having several of his punts blocked, including the decisive miscue against LSU when his rugby-style 4^th quarter punt was blocked and returned for a score. Johnson is regarded as one of the top returning punters in the Pac-10 who has improved his kick length and placement.

Kickoff and Punt Returns
Justin Tryon figures to return a majority of kickoffs for ASU; he’s the team’s returning leader in this department. However, the rest of this unit is a complete toss-up. The favorites are Rudy Burgess and Kyle Williams, but don’t be surprised to see Chris McGaha, Brandon Smith and even Rodney Glass receiving kicks.

Other Positions
Jason Perkins will take care of long snapping, replacing Jason Burke. Jonathan Johnson will serve as the holder, with quarterback Rudy Carpenter also available to hold that duty as well.

8/7 News and Notes

Football
ASU starting strong safety Troy Nolan, the 6'2" junior who transfered from the College of the Canyons and redshirted last year, injured his shoulder in today's practice, according to Jeff Metcalfe of the Arizona Republic.

At this point, head coach Dennis Erickson has speculated that Nolan suffered a sprained shoulder and spent the remainder of practice on the sidelines with the shoulder wrapped in ice. The injury could keep Nolan out from anywhere to a couple of days to a few weeks.

If Nolan has to miss any significant amount of time, look for junior Jeremy Payton, the 1st-string SS out of Spring Practice, to get time at the position next to Josh Barrett.

Basketball
The brackets were set for the 2007 EA Sports Maui Invitational, the tournament in which Arizona State will compete in this season. The Sun Devils will open the tournament against Illinois of the Big Ten Conference in the fourth game on November 19. The game will be televised by ESPN2.

The other three first round match-ups on that day include Chaminade/Marquette, LSU/Oklahoma State and Princeton/Duke.

The Sun Devils will take on a perennial contender in Illinois, a program that went to the 2005 NCAA Title game but lost in the 2nd round of last year's tournament.

Arizona State holds a 7-5 all-time record in the Maui Invitational, including winning the championship in 1994. Their last appearance in the tournament was in 2002.

Ryan Torain and Josh Barrett as NFL Prospects, Sam Keller listed as well

It looks as if Ryan Torain and Josh Barrett could have bright NFL careers ahead of them once this season is over. That's only if you believe what Scott Wright over at NFLDraftCountdown.com has to say in his 2008 draft prospect listings. Torain and Barrett are listed as the #47 and #48 draft prospects for the 2008 NFL draft, with Torain being the #2 rated running back and Barrett the #4 rated safety. Taking a look at the quarterback prospect list, Nebraska and former Sun Devil quarterback Sam Keller is rated #6 at his position. Keller was named Big 12 Offensive Newcomer of the Year, but has found himself in another quarterback contoversy., even though it looks like he will win AND keep the starting position. The prospect list is a rough draft since the 2008 NFL draft is 263 days away, but fun to look at regardless.

This one is for all the ladies out there....

Arizona State is now selling pink jerseys for women to wear to games through the online store. I just hope these aren't our alternate jerseys.





These jerseys sell for $70, which is $5 more than the men's jerseys.