The proliferation of two-way players in college football has emanated mostly from the Pac-12 -- from UCLA's Myles Jack to Washington's Shaq Thompson and, most recently, USC's Adoree' Jackson, it's largely a West Coast phenomenon. Now add to that*Kalen Ballage* of Arizona State.
This from ASU coach Todd Graham: "The young man's going to play both ways for us. He's going to rush the quarterback, an outside linebacker on defense. Obviously, carry the football and be a playmaker for us on offense as well as return kicks ... we're going to get our money's worth out of him."
Jack has been moving away from his two-way role and played very little running back at UCLA last season. The way Graham is talking, Ballage just might split his time a little more evenly.
Here are five other things we learned from Pac-12 Media Days:
2. Cravens focused. USC linebacker/safety Su'a Cravens is one of the elite underclassmen in the nation. As an ultra-athletic linebacker who has the speed and agility to play safety, the 2016 NFL Draft isn't far from his mind. But it won't be in the front of it until the time is right.
"Of course that's in the back of my mind," Cravens said, according to the Los Angeles Times. "But I can't put too much focus on that until I see how the season goes and how we really do this year."
That's a stock answer shared by most top underclassmen at this time of year, but the lure of pro football will be strong this winter if Cravens has a season similar to the one he had in 2014: a team-high 17 tackles for loss, five sacks and a team-high three interceptions.
3. Quotable I. "We didn't choose 12 in a row, but I'm not going to complain about it after today. Unless we're not winning." -- Arizona coach Rich Rodriguez on his team having to play 12 consecutive weeks without a bye week.
4. Quotable II. ""Well, really nothing has changed. It's just been business as usual, really. We got a new lock on the weight room, but that's it." -- UCLA center Jake Brendel on how things have been different since Sean "Diddy" Combs was involved in an altercation with UCLA strength coach Sal Alosi over treatment of Combs' son, Justin, who is a reserve defensive back.
5. Fun with Kessler. It was supposed to be relatively easy for a blindfolded USC quarterback Cody Kessler to destroy a pinata Friday. It wasn't, thanks to Trojans coach Steve Sarkisianoperating the game.
6. Status quo on Hatfield. Word on dismissed Utah cornerback Dominique Hatfield was that he might be returning to the team after charges of aggravated robbery and theft were dropped. And while his return remains a possibility, Utes coach Kyle Whittingham said that as of now, Hatfield is still off the team, according to the Deseret News. Hatfield was expected to be a starter this fall for the Utes, and his absence would be felt on the field in a league filled with strong quarterback play.
*Follow Chase Goodbread on Twitter **@ChaseGoodbread*.
