ASU Football: Checking In On Sun Devils Around The NFL
After months of aimlessly flipping through television channels, sports are finally back to fill the empty spaces in our day.
This past week saw the return of the king - the NFL. It was an exhilarating first week of games, with a lot of teams not showing the rust we might have expected.
Even though there is no Arizona State football right now, there were quite a few Sun Devils making an impact on their respective teams. So let's check-in on those former ASU players around the NFL.
N'Keal Harry
Harry had a solid but unspectacular debut to the season.
Harry and Cam Newton seemed to have built a pretty good rapport through the offseason. Newton targeted Harry six times and even gave him a look in the redzone. Unfortunately, Harry fumbled the ball through the back of the endzone for a touchback, as he stretched his arms out for a potential touchdown.
On the day, Harry finished tied for the most catches (5) and second in receiving yards (39). If you play fantasy football, I would try to buy-low on N'Keal Harry as he was on the field for 15 more snaps than Edelman. This new look Patriots offense will continue to feed Harry in the redzone, potentially setting him up for a huge second season.
Lawrence Guy
The second former Sun Devil on the Patriots was recently named captain for the first time in his NFL career. Guy was only on the field for 36% of his team's snaps, but he made an impact when he could. His 4 tackles helped keep the Miami Dolphins out of rhythm all day, holding them to just 11 points.
Guy will need to make his presence felt against a physical Seattle Seahawks team in week 2.
Matt Haack
As the third Sun Devil in the Patriots game, we saw Haack more than his Dolphins team probably wanted. Whenever a punter has a great boxscore, that typically means the offense was stagnant, and you would be right in making that assumption.
Haack boomed three punts for an average of 50.7 yards, trying to pin the Patriots as far back as possible. In week 2, the Dolphins go up against a stout Bills defense, so Haack better start warming up his leg now, because he should be seeing the field a lot in that game.
Zane Gonzalez
The all-time NCAA points leader for kickers struggled on Sunday.
While he made all three of his extra points, he only made one of his three field-goal attempts. Thankfully, the one he hit was a 56-yard bomb to cut the San Francisco 49ers lead to 13-10 as they entered halftime.
After an up-and-down first couple of years in the NFL, Zane found his footing with the Arizona Cardinals last season, hitting 31 of 35 field goals. Hopefully, he continues to build off 2019, because Sun Devil fans know how clutch Zane Gonzalez can be.
Eno Benjamin and D.J Foster
Benjamin won the third running back spot on the Cardinals, but he was ruled inactive on Sunday. It will most likely take an injury for Benjamin to see significant playing time.
Foster was a surprise promotion to the active roster, replacing the spot of KeeSean Johnson. He didn't make an appearance on Sunday, but you could be seeing him on special teams in the near future.
Injured
Brandon Aiyuk 49ers - Missed Sunday's game with a hamstring injury, but he was questionable to play heading into the game. With a very likely return against a porous Jets defense, you better pick up Aiyuk on your fantasy waiver wire if available.
Renell Wren Bengals - Placed on injured reserve after a quadriceps injury, Wren is in danger of missing his entire 2020 season. A tough start to this former Sun Devil's career.
Jamil Douglas Titans - After being a limited participant in practice on Saturday, Douglas was ruled out of Monday night's game with a hand injury. The injury is not expected to keep Douglass out for an extended period of time.
Practice Squad
Quinn Bailey Broncos - Second season for Bailey on the Broncos practice squad after making his debut for the team in their last game against the Raiders in 2019.
Cohl Cabral Rams - The undrafted free agent signed with the Rams and earned his way onto the practice squad.
Tommy Hudson Titans - Like Cabral, Hudson was an undrafted free agent who had to fight his way onto the Titans practice squad as well. He now joins another former Sun Devil in Jamil Douglas.
Recently Signed
Kalen Ballage was signed by the New York Jets today, after placing RB Leveon Bell on the IR. Frank Gore is expected to be the lead-back with Josh Adams as the primary back-up. Jets tried to trade for Ballage on August 27th, but he was returned to the Miami Dolphins after a failed physical and subsequently released. Ballage now reunites with his former Dolphins coach Adam Gase.