News Taffy

By Mickey Ryan

An estimated crowd of 4,000 showed up at ASU Stadium Saturday evening expecting a fireworks display from Arkansas State’s high-powered offense during the Fan Appreciation Day scrimmage. What they got was a show of force from the other side of the ball.

The Red Wolves defense picked up where they left off in 2011, pressuring the quarterback and snatching up takeaways throughout the 80-plus plays. Coach Gus Malzahn praised his D after the contest. “I’m really excited for our defense. They were flying around…got some turnovers. We’ve been really preaching that. It’s good to see.”

In all, the damage featured three interceptions, three forced fumbles, five passes defended, and a sack…to go with a number of tackles for a loss or no gain.

Safety Sterling Young had a big night, snagging two of the interceptions. “I feel like my game has progressed even more coming into this year. I know a lot of attention is going to be around our offense, but hey, our defense isn’t so bad though.”

Quarterback Ryan Aplin was not pleased with the way the Red Wolves offense performed.

“We did some good things today. We did some bad things…missed a lot of throws…had a lot of things out there I wish we could have back” said Aplin. “Not trying to take anything away from (the defense) but we hurt ourselves more than anything. There were things completely within our control that we just didn’t take advantage of… We just did not come out to play, including myself.”

Aplin finished 14/23 for 102 yards passing, with two interceptions. Freshman Fredi Knighten was 3/8 and 23 yards working with the second team. Rod Smith paced the A-State ground game with 50 yards on eight carries. Freshman QB Dezmond Stegall was second on the team in rushing with 41 yards, on just five carries. Frankie Jackson and newcomer David Oku scored the only two touchdowns of the night. Brian Davis and Freshman Luke Ferguson each booted field goals.

JD McKissic caught four passes to lead all receivers. Julian Jones showed some big play potential, rolling up 76 yards on just two catches. One of those went for 59 yards.

“It was just a play called by Coach Malzahn. He read the defense before we even ran it” said Jones.

Safety Don Jones had some big hits, including a forced fumble, and finished the night with seven tackles. Thirty other Red Wolves recorded at least one stop. CB Artez Brown had an interception. DL Amos Draper registered the lone sack.

With mild temperatures and calm skies, the weather proved perfect for football. A few fans even tailgated—a rare sight in August.

Aplin said the team was pleased to see so much fan support for a scrimmage: “We were all excited. We had smiles on our faces. We want to thank them.”

Malzahn also recognized the Red Wolf faithful: “We’ve got some good film to grade, but overall, the best thing about tonight was our crowd…our crowd coming out and supporting our players.”