Arizona State Football: End of Season Report Card for the Sun Devils

While the Arizona State Sun Devils came in with high grades at the halfway point of this past season, their end of the year results were not quite as pretty.

The Sun Devils started out this season playing like a potential BCS team, but in the end they looked like a team that should have been in the FCS. While that is an exaggeration, the Sun Devils were just not what they were written up to be.

Whether that was because of an inability to keep things together throughout the year or if the team was just not as good as perceived, one thing is for sure: This team just flat-out stunk when all was said and done.

After a long 2011 season, here is how the Sun Devils fared in their grades.

Brock Osweiler, Quarterback

If there was one sign of hope following this season for the Arizona State Sun Devils, that would be the play of quarterback Brock Osweiler.

Osweiler, who is a junior, was playing in his first season as the full-time starter, and he really shined. He threw for 4,036 yards while hitting his receivers for 26 touchdowns. The funny thing is that he could have had an even better season if the Sun Devils could have found some consistency throughout the year.

This season, Osweiler actually set the Sun Devil record for most passing yards in a season. If he can keep the magic going, he could really make his senior year a special one.

Osweiler is amongst the tallest players in college football—standing at 6'8"—and he should be able to develop his skills to make himself become a force to be reckoned with in 2012.

Grade: B+

Cameron Marshall, Running Back

It is really tough to determine what kind of year running back Cameron Marshall had for the Arizona State Sun Devils. While his overall numbers were phenomenal, especially considering he had a lingering ankle injury, he wasn't exactly productive week in and week out.

Marshall didn't exactly wow people by barely eclipsing 1,000 yards, but his 18 touchdowns were a nice addition to what was considered to be a pass-heavy offense.

The Sun Devils were without backup running back Deantre Lewis, so it came down to Marshall to carry the rushing attack throughout the entire year.

While it remains to be seen if Marshall will return for his senior year, one would have to assume he will, as he could have had a much better season than he did.

Marshall failed to surpass 70 yards in seven games this season, including a 12-yard performance against the Boise State Broncos at the MAACO Bowl. This game did not properly represent his talents, so a return is necessary for him to prove that he could be a legit back in the NFL.

There is still room to grow, but 2011 was not a terrible year for the Sun Devils back.

Grade: B-

Wide Receivers

One place where the Sun Devils failed to find consistency in 2011 was with their wide receivers. On any given night, it was maybe Gerell Robinson, Aaron Pflugrad, Mike Willie or Jamal Miles taking the load for the team.

Robinson was the most consistent big-play threat, catching 77 receptions for 1,387 yards with seven touchdowns. Unfortunately, though, Robinson really helped those numbers in the Sun Devils' bowl game, when he had 241 yards and a touchdown.

Between Willie, Pflugrad and Miles, quarterback Brock Osweiler was able to find the three of them for only 1,487 yards combined. They were able to bring in 14 touchdowns, but the three of them were barely effective like Robinson was.

The Sun Devils could have really benefited from finding some consistency from their other targets. If they had been able to, who knows how far this offense could have gone in the passing game?

Besides Miles, the other three of these guys will be gone in 2012. The Sun Devils will have to hope that someone will be able to pick up on the load left behind by Robinson.

Grade: C+

Linebackers

The Arizona State Sun Devils were hoping to have a big season out of junior middle linebacker Vontaze Burfict, but what they got was more trouble than results.

After recording 90 tackles in 2010, many hoped that Burfict would surpass the pathetic 69 tackles he managed to make this past season.

Burfict was essential in the Sun Devils being a force all season on defense, but he was unable to come through and provide the fear that many had hoped he would give opposing offenses.

The problem was that he became a cause for concern at season's end. He was on bad terms with head coach Dennis Erickson, and it became clear that Burfict was in his "doghouse." Erickson didn't allow him to see much time in the Sun Devils' game against the Boise State Broncos, and it was apparent that Burfict wasn't going to be the savior many sought him out to be.

The Sun Devils also saw some production from Colin Parker and Shelly Lyons, but only Parker seemed to be the most effective within their corps of linebackers.

Parker recorded 75 tackles this season, which led the entire team. While that mark exceeded his previous season numbers, those came nowhere close to the numbers that Burfict provided to lead the team just a year ago.

Burfict has already declared for the 2012 NFL draft, while both Parker and Lyons are seniors and will be moving on to the next part of their lives.

Grade: C-

Secondary

An exciting part of the Arizona State Sun Devils' first half of the season was the play of their secondary. Unfortunately, they just couldn't keep it up.

The Sun Devils forced 13 interceptions in September and October, while only forcing three during both November and December. Throughout the month of November, they actually failed to intercept the opposing offense even once.

Whether it was youth or just a lack of ability, the Sun Devils were no longer looking like the dangerous defense that they were to start out the season.

The Sun Devils were also very good at stopping their opposition in scoring through the air, but towards the end of the season they were just constantly getting beat (see picture).

It was a poor showing from what was a strong defense to start out the year, and it was pretty much one of the main reasons for why the team saw the collapse that it did.

Grade: D

Alex Garoutte, Kicker

It wasn't an easy year for freshman kicker Alex Garoutte. He missed a total of seven field goals on the year, including an 0-of-3 game against the UCLA Bruins that pretty much cost the Arizona State Sun Devils their spot in the Pac-12 title game.

The Sun Devils were definitely hurt by Garoutte's inability to make a field goal, including a three-point loss to the Illinois Fighting Illini back in Week 3. In that game, Garoutte missed his only attempt. His struggles likely resulted in many mixed decisions down the stretch about going for it on fourth down. 

One place where he was effective this season was extra points. On the season, Garoutte was 52-of-53. His only miss came against the Missouri Tigers, a game that was forced to go to overtime because of the missed extra point.

Grade: D

Special Teams

Special teams came up big for the Arizona State Sun Devils throughout the year. Most prominent was the work of kick returner Jamal Miles.

The Sun Devils averaged 25 yards on kickoff returns this season, while Miles ran it back to the end zone twice and Rashad Ross brought back one of his own.

They were also effective on punt returns. This year, the team averaged 15.3 yards per return. Miles also took one back against the Oregon State Beavers, but that was the only punt return touchdown on the season.

Next season, the Sun Devils will have to hope that Miles and Ross will be able to provide a similar threat when the opposition kicks off the ball to them.

Grade: B

Coaching

Well, here is where it gets especially bad for the Arizona State Sun Devils. This past season, head coach Dennis Erickson failed to take advantage of what was going to be a great season for his Sun Devils.

The team was in position to win the Pac-12 South, but it failed to claim its spot atop the division because Erickson was unable to keep his team moving into the right direction following a loss to the Oregon Ducks in its sixth game.

The Sun Devils were one of the most undisciplined teams in the league, being penalized 104 times for a grand total of 1,037 yards.

One of the main things Erickson failed to do over his five years with the Sun Devils was get his team to be disciplined; they were constantly being penalized for making stupid mistakes.

The team needed to make adjustments, but it failed to do so. For that reason, Erickson was rightfully fired at the end of the season.

Grade: F