Red Wolves report

ASU deals with long stretch off

Arkansas State University's focus will soon shift entirely to Nevada.

ASU's recruiting session hits a dead period Sunday, three days before the Red Wolves begin their game-week preparations for the Wolf Pack in the Arizona Bowl at 12:15 p.m. Central on Dec. 29.

"They're good," said ASU Coach Blake Anderson of the Wolf Pack. "They're good enough to give you tons of trouble. They've got big guys up front. They throw the ball really well. We'll have our hands full."

The Red Wolves (8-4) have not played since earning a fourth consecutive victory in their season-finale Nov. 24 at Texas State.

With the Dec. 29 bowl game, ASU will go 35 days without playing a game. It is the Red Wolves' second-longest layoff between the regular season and bowl game since 2014-15.

ASU had 36 days from Nov. 29, 2014, to Jan. 4, 2015, before the Red Wolves lost 63-44 to Toledo in Mobile, Ala, for the GoDaddy Bowl.

"The energy at our practices before we gave them a break was really good," Anderson said. "I think the break did them some good, too. We didn't have an open week. So most of these guys have not left town all year. Typically they would get a break somewhere and they haven't. I think it came at a good time. I believe they'll come back hungry and excited to go."

Anderson expects starting redshirt sophomore tight end Javonis Isaac to return to full speed during ASU's preparation for Nevada. Isaac, who suffered a deep thigh bruise Nov. 3 against South Alabama, was held out of practices early in December and did not play in ASU's final three games.

Isaac caught 12 passes for 210 yards and 4 touchdowns -- all career highs -- before his injury.

Seidnaly to miss spring

ASU redshirt junior right tackle Nour-Eddine Seidnaly, who needed surgery to repair a torn ACL, will not return for the Red Wolves' spring practices and is expected to be back in the summer.

In his first year at ASU, Seidnaly started the Red Wolves' first 10 games at right tackle and missed the final two following the injury.

A 6-5, 325-pound tackle, Seidnaly redshirted the 2017 season after transferring to ASU from ASA College in New York last spring.

"He should be back by the summer," Anderson said. "But he will miss the spring."

ASU coaching staff

As of Thursday, ASU isn't expecting coaching staff shake-ups as the end of the 2018 season nears.

In the next two months, however, that could change.

"As of right now, I'd say yeah," Anderson said when asked if he expects his entire coaching staff to return in 2019. "But I know I've got a good staff and there's going to be some guys that have other opportunities. But we'll just have to wait and see. That's the nature of the hiring cycle. It's going to go all the way through probably February.

"You never really know until the smoke clears. I'm always prepared for a guy or two to leave when they have opportunities, maybe coordinator opportunities or maybe Power 5 opportunities, but that's just part of it. You can't really prepare for it until it happens."

Sports on 12/15/2018

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