Arizona State Missing Needed Weapon Against Fresno State in Las Vegas Bowl

Fresno State will have one more weapon than Arizona State in Saturday’s Las Vegas Bowl, and it could be a difference. The No. 21 Bulldogs opened as a 3.5-point favorite, but the line moved a point when Sun Devils wide receiver N’Keal Harry made the announcement he was sitting out the postseason game to concentrate on next year’s NFL Draft.

Harry is ranked as the second or third best receiver available, and a projected first-round pick. The junior is skipping his senior year to turn professional, and has signed with an agent.

The decision by Harry to skip the bowl game is an occurrence that purists are decrying. The trend began in 2016 when LSU’s Leonard Fournette and Stanford’s Christian McCaffrey said they were missing their university’s postseason game to protect against injury.

While the two future NFL players were seen as ominous trailblazers, the practice is now commonplace. There are at least nine college players that aren’t playing past the regular season.

Fresno’s Johnson Ready

One player that isn’t missing this game is Fresno’s KeeSean Johnson. The wide receiver already owns school records for career receptions (273) and receiving yards (3,430).

He is a projected fifth round selection in the NFL Draft, and no one would criticize him for wanting to skip the game to focus on moving up the board, but Johnson would not hear of deserting his teammates.

“I just want to play football and any chance I get I’m going to go out there,” Johnson said. “You never know when your last game might be, so I’m going to go out there and play and give it all for my team.”

While the knock on Johnson is a lack of speed, coach Jeff Tedford said what he does after he catches the ball is his biggest asset.

“I see a guy that has learned to really compete with the ball in his hands after he catches it,” Tedford said. “I’m not sure he had that at the very beginning of last season. He was always a quality receiver, but now you can see he’s on a mission.”

Tedford said Johnson will be a huge part of the offensive scheme against the Sun Devils, who finished 5-4 in the Pac-12 and 7-5 overall. The Bulldogs won the Mountain West Championship, finishing 11-2 overall, 7-1 in conference.

Harry’s Absence Felt

ASU could use the help from Harry, who had 73 catches for 1,088 yards and nine touchdowns this season. He finished his career with 213 receptions for 2,889 yards and 22 touchdowns.

Coach Herm Edwards said Harry will definitely be missed.

He’s one of those guys who you have to find ways to get him the ball,” Edwards said. “In the big moments, he came up with big plays. You need a play and he makes one that ignites the team. He catches it at moments of big games and when the momentum needed to be switched, he made those plays.”

As much as Edwards would like him on the field, he understands Harry’s decision to end his collegiate playing career.

He’s still raw as far as things for the next level,” said Edwards, who coached in the NFL from 1992 to 2008, “but the talent’s there and the work ethic is there. He’s going to put in the work, you don’t have to worry about that.”