JONESBORO - On one sideline stood a 25-year-old CEO of a California video game studio. On the other, stood Arkansas State’s winningest all-time football coach.
New ASU Coach Blake Anderson’s first spring game was sandwiched in between at Centennial Bank Stadium, a Friday night as much about the marketing plan to auction off the rights to coach the teams as it was a final spring scrimmage.
The Black team, consisting of the No. 1 offense and defense, finished with a 48-17 victory, but just about everyone got in on the fun in a scrimmage that saw allowed touchdown celebrations after every score, including Fredi Knighten’s three touchdown passes and Andrew Tryon’s 70-yard interception return.
“This spring game was a lot more fun,” senior defensive end Chris Stone said, comparing it to others in his career. “Coach Anderson gave us a lot more freedom.”
If anything can be gleaned from the game that included Larry Lacewell, who coached the Red team, and Nick Bhardwaj, who won the right to coach the first-teamers by placing an online bid of $11,700, it’s this: Knighten has settled into his role as first-team quarterback and the Red Wolves’ top offense is ending the spring with a bit of rhythm.
Knighten, a junior from Pulaski Academy, led the Black team to scores on all six firsthalf drives that did nothing to hurt his run at becoming ASU’s starting quarterback.
He completed 16 of 20 passes for 212 yards and 3 touchdowns, and he also scrambled for a 19-yard touchdown run.
Knighten didn’t throw the ball downfield much when filling in for injured Adam Kennedy late late season, but on Friday, he threw touchdowns of 29, 16 and 15 yards.
Most of Knighten’s 20 passes came in the first half, a load he said he’s comfortable with if it comes next fall.
“That means coach trusts me with something,” Knighten said. “If he trusts me, I want to go out and do the best I can for my team.”Anderson and offensive coordinator Walt Bell are exiting their first spring practice with a few concerns, though. They weren’t pleased with how any of the quarterbacks threw deep passes, the tempo wasn’t as fast as they would have liked and no amount of practices will fix depth concerns at running back, wide receiver and on the defensive line.
“There’s only a couple of positions on the field where you can say that you have considerable depth,” Anderson said. “We’ve got who we’ve got. We’ve got to make it work, and the young guys have to come in and fill in.” The biggest entertainment was brought on by Bhardwaj and Lacewell, who won 68 games at ASU in 1979-1989, including an appearance in the 1986 I-AA championship game against Georgia Southern.
Bhardwaj of San Francisco, with no prior ties to ASU, arrived in Jonesboro on Wednesday, talked scheme with the ASU staff, spoke to classes on campus and gave the team pregame and halftime pep talks.
“One great experience,” Bhardwaj said. “It was eye-opening. Saying I was unprepared is probably being nice. The idea that you’re getting a play call every 8-to-10 seconds, it was crazy.”
Bhardwaj, who had the say in fourth-down decisions and review challenges, decided on two field goals rather than going for it early, before allowing Knighten to throw a 5-yard pass to Dijon Paschal on fourth-and-4 on a drive that ended in his touchdown pass to Mays.
Later, he called for a replay review but the call stood. His highlight, though, was a second-half trick play in which Stephen Hogan tossed to Brandon Cox, who threw to Tres Houston for a 70-yard touchdown pass.
Lacewell, 77, led the Red team thanks to a $2,500 donation placed by former letterman Steve Bryant, of Batesville, and opened with one of his old staples.
The Red team, at its 30, opened up in the Wishbone, then had junior Steven Stevens run a guard-around play for 15 yards.
But Lacewell didn’t coach the second half, watching the last half from beyond the south end zone.
Sports, Pages 21 on 04/19/2014