JONESBORO -- Trevian Thomas didn't wait around to make an impact Saturday.
"I got off the rush, looked back, saw the ball in the air and I saw No. 9 come out of nowhere to snag it," defensive end Kivon Bennett said.
Thomas' interception return for a touchdown in the opening minutes was perhaps the highlight of Arkansas State's two-hour scrimmage under the lights of Centennial Bank Stadium as the Red Wolves' defense asserted itself early and often.
"We just had a lot better general energy and loving each other a little bit more," Bennett said of the defense's bounce-back following an offense-dominated scrimmage a week ago. "When we make big plays, instead of everybody looking like they're dog tired and just wanting to get off the field, we turn up with our boys out there."
ASU's first-team offense wasn't able to string together much during the first hour.
Coach Butch Jones attributed some of that to the effectiveness of the Red Wolves' defensive line but also pointed to a lack of intensity on the other side of the ball.
"Tonight, our defense was the aggressor," Jones said. "We started the scrimmage off with a negative play, [then] we had a pre-snap penalty. Those are catastrophic."
The script flipped over the second half of the scrimmage. Quarterback James Blackman and the offense successfully executed a coming-out period from inside their 10-yard line, with running back Brian Snead breaking off a 50-plus yard run on third down.
Both Snead and Johnnie Lang Jr. found the end zone in late periods and sophomore tight end Seydou Traore hauled in a 25-yard touchdown during one of the simulated overtime periods.
"There are going to be times like this," Blackman said of the message he delivered to get his offense back on track. "I don't want to go back to some of the habits that we had last year, so we've got to find a way to lock arms ... come together and just fight through the adversity."
With Monday's practice being the last of ASU's 14 fall camp sessions and two weeks until the season opener against Grambling State, Jones said he still sees multiple areas in which he needs his team to improve.
He spoke specifically about a lack of maturity and competitiveness after Saturday's scrimmage, noting that the Red Wolves need to hone their "snap and clear" mentality -- putting one play behind and moving to the next.
Even with several positive takeaways, ASU's second-year coach said he didn't see enough guys playing winning football.
"You find out about the character of your football team...when you're at your worst," Jones said. "We have to come in here with a critical eye. We have to be able to have the ability to self-assess and be better for it."
Back on the line?
Moving Kivon Bennett from defensive end to outside linebacker has been in the cards for more than a year and a half.
Coach Butch Jones said he knew he needed depth on the line last season, and Bennett filled the role -- he was on the field for more than 90% of ASU's defensive snaps in 2021 and led the Red Wolves with 8.0 sacks.
But linebacker was going to be Bennett's path to the NFL, so the fifth-year senior began the transition in the offseason, playing there throughout the spring and the first week-plus of fall camp.
Which made Bennett's presence with the defensive line during both Monday and Tuesday's practices surprising.
"He's still at linebacker," Jones said after Tuesday's session. "We'll mix the days up, but we had some of our sub-packages in. So that's why you saw some different that ways and different personnel groups as we continue to install."
Bennett had his hand in the dirt during defensive line position drills, then did the same during team periods.
Thurman Geathers was absent those days, working his way back from an ankle sprain. That opened up a spot on the first-team unit, with Bennett slotting in alongside defensive tackles T.W. Ayers and John Mincey as well as edge rusher Dennard Flowers.
Rather than just filling Bennett's spot at linebacker, true freshman Javante Mackey and sophomore Ethan Hassler joined that grouping as they surrounded middle linebacker Jordan Carmouche.
Bennett noted last month that Dallas Cowboys outside linebacker Micah Parsons as one of the players he's watched in learning the linebacker spot.
Despite generally playing off the line of scrimmage, Parsons ranked sixth in the NFL in sacks last season with 13, and even if Bennett's football future is with the title "linebacker," getting after the quarterback remains one of his best assets.
"It's just him kind of keeping his tools fresh," Jones said of Bennett. "Being able to [step in] if ever injury situations came in, but also a lot of it was sub-packages."
Cornerback shuffle
Other than at kicker, the most-wide open competition this preseason has been between ASU's outside cornerbacks.
Butch Jones and his staff haven't given much indication as to how they see their options shaping up, but their practice rotations may provide a little insight.
Five guys who have gotten reps with either of the top two units: Samy Johnson, Leon Jones, Kenneth Harris, Drew Rawls and Denzel Blackwell. The latter two, however, now appear to be on the outside looking in.
Johnson and Harris, who began camp as a starter opposite Blackwell, were initially with the first-team defense Tuesday. Jones later took snaps with both Johnson and Harris.
Rawls and Blackwell were both a part of different combinations with the second-team defense.
Though multiple guys have experience playing inside, Taylon Doss -- who's primarily worked as a second-team safety this preseason -- is the likeliest option when the Red Wolves send an extra defensive back or two onto the field.
"Outside of football, we hang out with each other a lot," Johnson said of the cornerbacks. "We know what we expect from each other, what we want from each other. ... We know what plays we can [and can't] make, so learning that really helps us."