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Enthusiastic Yarno captures line's attention at spring practice

By Matt Simpson

State Press

George Yarno was ready for spring to begin.

"God dang, it's finally time for some football!" ASU's new offensive line coach bellowed as he walked onto the practice field yesterday for the first day of spring practice.

The question was, were the Sun Devil linemen ready for Yarno?

The colorful, boisterous coach, who replaced Dan Cozzetto in the offseason, jumped on his players from the start of strecthes, usually jokingly but at times quite seriously.

When he saw an athlete lagging on his runs, Yarno reminded him that "You're on my time right now. Don't waste my time."

Later, when he noticed one of his linemen exhibitting a lack of interest in strecthing, he joked "You're not a slave to flexibility, are you?"

Junior center Scott Peters said his teammates are impressed by Yarno's wealth of knowledge and intensity that stemmed from 13 years as a professional lineman in the NFL and USFL.

"I like him a lot," Peters said. "I like that he's intense and that he has a lot of knowledge in the game of football."

That intensity came out during one-on-one drills when senior tackle Levi Jones went up against senior defensive end Quincy Yancy. The battle had Yarno jumping up and down, pounding on Jones' helmet with excitement.

Trejo to fullback

Senior Stephen Trejo has turned in his white defensive jersey for the maroon shirt of the offense.

Trejo, who has played linebacker each of his three seasons in Tempe, practiced at fullback along with sophomore Darrell Turner.

They are the only two fullbacks on the roster right now, although incoming freshmen Mike Karney and Terrell Suggs will compete at the position this fall.

Trejo played both defense and offense at Casa Grande High School, so he said the transition will not be difficult.

"It's like being a freshman again, learning everything new," Trejo said. "(But) it's not totally foreign."

The hardest part of the position change might be the ribbing he'll receive from his former defensive teammates.

When he slipped while trying to catch the bus back to the lockers, one of his teammates yelled out "Must be the shirt color."

Faces in the crowd

Standing out in the crowd -- and at 6-5 it's hard not to -- was incoming freshman quarterback Andrew Walter, who chose to spend his spring break in Tempe to take in practice.

The father of the signal caller from Grand Junction, Colo., works for Southwest Airlines, so Walter flew into Phoenix on standby for free.

He was joined on the sideline by fellow freshman Riccardo Stewart, who is listed as an athlete. He is from La Verne, Calif.

Both athletes said they were enjoying Tempe and they looked forward to Camp Tontozona this summer, where head coach Bruce Snyder will determine whether or not to redshirt them.

"(The coaching staff) hasn't said anything about (redshirting)," Stewart said. "We're just going to come out (to Tontozona) and compete."

Also in attendance was former Sun Devil Courtney Jackson, who played cornerback for ASU last season.

Jackson, who was sporting a Seattle Seahwaks t-shirt, is currently wrapping up a degree in interdisciplinary studies and awaiting April's NFL draft.

Junior tight end Todd Heap was missing from practice. He was in Raleigh, N.C., playing for Rob Evans' basketball team in a second-round NIT loss to North Carolina State.

To the victors go the jobs

Several battles for positions on the ASU depth chart, particularly on offense, began yesterday.

The losses of Tariq MacDonald (NFL), Joey Graves (transfer) and Justin Taplin (suspension) have left the receiver positions wide open. No fewer than seven players saw action at the position yesterday, including junior Donnie O'Neal, who transferred to ASU from Coffeyville Community College in Kansas this semester.

The backup quarterback spot is equally open, as four players rotated into the position throughout the day. Senior Griffin Goodman, junior John Leonard, redshirt freshman Jeff Krohn and sophomore Matt Cooper are all competing for the opportunity to backup the oft-injured senior Ryan Kealy.

Matt Simpson can be reached by e-mail at matthew.simpson@asu.edu.

Michael Todd of the State Press

New offensive line coach George Yarno teaches the ASU line proper technique during Tuesday's practice.