Three ASU Players Who Impressed Even in Defeat to Houston
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ASU's 24-16 loss to the Houston Cougars had a lot of negative elements; however, there are some players who did a really nice job and should get their credit and flowers.
Malik McClain
With superstar receiver Jorydn Tyson out for this game, the rest of the receiving core needed to step up, and McClain did exactly that. In this game, McClain had 159 receiving yards on 7 catches. McClain had a more of quieter season before this, so it is very promising that he had a really good game.
Hopefully, for ASU Offensive Coordinator Marcus Arroyo, this can be a sign of things to come in the coming weeks, and that when Tyson does return, Tyson and McClain can be one of the best receiving duos in college.
Cameron Harpole
Harpole continues to be one of ASU's more consistent players on the offensive side of the ball. Looking at the numbers, catches for 24 yards and a touchdown, it might not seem like much, but Harpole just continues to make the right plays at the right time.
The touchdown that Harpole had was a really nice route. Harpole is a tight end who is strong and has great hands, but his route running is also very impressive.
With the home stretch of ASU coming up, it will be interesting to see if Arroyo uses more of Harpole in the passing game. ASU's other tight end, Chamon Metayer, also had a very nice game, so it will be interesting to see if Harpole is used more with Metayer in some two-tight-end sets.
Elijah O' Neal
O'Neal somewhat profiles to Harpole, except on the defensive side of the ball, where O'Neal, an edge rusher, is not used all the time, but when he is, he is very effective. O'Neal had a very solid outing against the Cougars. In this game, he had four total tackles. O'Neal has shown himself to be an athletic player who can be a headache in the backfield.
ASU's defense played very well against Houston's running backs, as Head Coach Kenny Dillingham mentioned, and O'Neal is a big part of that for sure. It will be intriguing to see how he is used in the future for Defensive Coordinator Brian Ward's defense.
Overall, there are players who stepped up for ASU and it is a big credit to the depth of the team.
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Tanner Cappellini holds a mass communications degree from Arizona State University and is pursuing his dream of being the person at the games, practices, and events who takes others inside the team they love.