Blake Anderson's latest twist to Arkansas State's final spring scrimmage came the way a lot of his ideas to create excitement around his team do -- late at night when he lets his mind wander.
"Oh, something hits me at 2 in the morning when I should be sleeping," Anderson said. "I just wanted to do something different than what we've done."
At a glance
WHAT Arkansas State spring game
WHEN 6 p.m. tonight
WHERE Centennial Bank Stadium, Jonesboro
ADMISSION Free
In an effort to upstage, or at least deviate from, the last two spring games in which ASU auctioned off the right to coach the team, Anderson handpicked three celebrity coaches. The school also sold the rights to fans to serve as guest assistant coaches for tonight's scrimmage.
When ASU gathers for its final spring scrimmage at 6 p.m. at Centennial Bank Stadium in Jonesboro, the defense will be led by former Red Wolves and current Cleveland Browns Demario Davis and Don Jones, and the offense will be led by Sports Illustrated reporter Thayer Evans.
Both sides will be helped by six guest coaches who paid $1,000 each to take part in the experience. Anderson said they'll likely split those coaches up evenly on each side, but their roles for the scrimmage haven't been decided.
Even with all that's going on around the game, Anderson wants a solid scrimmage to finish a spring that has been hard for him to gauge because of injuries.
"We're going to get out there and run our offense and our defense, and we're going to play live football," he said. "For me, the celebrity coaches and the guest coaches are all about creating some excitement around the game and having some fun around what's happening. But we're still going to get work -- or not depending on how the guys respond and show up."
Anderson isn't quite sure where his offense is right now. Injuries on the offensive line have made it hard to judge a three-man quarterback race after the departure of Fredi Knighten, or the progress of a running game after the loss of leading rusher Michael Gordon.
When the game begins, Anderson said he'll be lucky to have eight healthy offensive linemen with Jemar Clark (shoulder) and Austin Moreton (ACL) having missed the entire spring, and Colton Jackson, Robert Maxwell and Brandon Berg dealing with minor injuries.
"It has made it really difficult to get a real picture of what we're going to look like on offense, which quarterback is more comfortable," Anderson said. "It has affected the entire spring process, and all you can do is get through it."
It's made it so there likely won't be any more clarity about a quarterback race after tonight. James Tabary, Cameron Birse and Justice Hansen have all taken snaps and are competing for the job. Birse is the oldest, Tabary has the most game experience at ASU, and Hansen looked perhaps the best in last week's scrimmage in Little Rock.
"Considering the circumstances up front, we want to make sure that it's fair," Anderson said. "Regardless of whether we name one or don't, the competition is going through the summer and early few weeks of camp in the fall. We've discussed it a good bit and really haven't answered what our next step is going to be."
The running game has been affected, too. Johnston White, ASU's most experienced running back, won't play tonight because of a lingering foot sprain, leaving Warren Wand and Logan Moragne as the only backs who had carries last season available. Jamal Jones, who redshirted last season, and Chauncey Mason, a safety last year, also have worked at the position.
It's so much of a question mark that Anderson wasn't sure late Thursday afternoon the format for the scrimmage. If there are enough linemen, he said they'll play two normal quarters and a second half with a running clock. If not, they may break off into other types of drills and competitive periods.
ASU will head to the summer and prepare for a fall camp in which Anderson hopes to find the answers that evaded the Red Wolves this spring. But first comes tonight's cap to spring practice with another format developed by Anderson.
"We're going to have a competitive night regardless -- 11 on 11, or one on one -- we're going to have fun," he said. "The kids are either going to respond and play the way they need to, and to really just show us what we've gotten done over a 15-day period, or they won't."
Sports on 04/15/2016