10 Key Players for ASU – 10

Jamal Miles

In Miles’ first two years he’s been a guy who brings a lot of excitement, but not a ton of production. He also hasn’t had a ton of chances. That should change this year.

 

The first thing you notice when watching Miles is he’s explosive. He can make guys miss and can break away in the open field.

Here he shows he can make a difference in the special teams. One thing ASU did really well last year was have success in the kick return game leading the Pac-10 with a 27.5 yard average. Miles, Omar Bolden and LeQuan Lewis all returned kicks for touchdowns, but both Bolden (injury) and Lewis won’t be there this year. That means Miles will likely be the primary return man and his speed can help flip field position and provide the momentum changing plays like seen above.

Miles is also the leading returning punt returner where he averaged 8.6 yards per return last year, but he never broke the big one like in returning kicks.  If he could improve that average and provide some big plays in the punt return department it could provide another big spark.

The bigger question about Miles is whether or not he can make a difference on offense. Last year he carried the ball 27 times for 63 yards and had two rushing touchdowns. He also caught 25 passes for 203 yards and found the end zone four times. Six total touchdowns for a guy who wasn’t an every down player is pretty impressive.

This year they should call his number more often. Offensive coordinator Noel Mazonne is on record saying that getting Miles the ball will be a point of emphasis and with RB Deantre Lewis out for at least part of the season Miles should become one of the big play threats for the offense. The great thing about guys like Miles is that they can hit the homerun on the routine plays, it’s something that the offense will rely on him to do, especially while Lewis is out.