22nd Annual Pat’s Run and ASU Football Scrimmage creates the perfect day for Sun Devil fans

(Photo: Jack Simon/ WCSN)

TEMPE – Saturday, April 11, was a day that embodied community for Arizona State football.

The day began at 7 a.m. MST. Retired United States Marine Officer and Emmy-nominated actor Rob Riggle, the official race starter, got the proceedings of the 22nd annual Pat’s Run underway. Pat’s run was held in honor of the late ASU and Arizona Cardinals star safety Pat Tillman, and ended with an open practice under the lights at Kajikawa Practice Fields.

“This is one of my favorite days of the year; Pat’s Run into our night scrimmage,” head coach Kenny Dillingham said. “We had the alumni golf outing on Friday, the alumni dinner on Thursday. So, the last three days have really just been awesome. Sun Devil Brotherhood.”

The Valley community and Sun Devil fans showed up in great numbers for both events. More than 21,000 racers took on the 4.2-mile Pat’s Run course to start the morning, and fans packed the Kajikawa sidelines – some still wearing their bright yellow race shirts from earlier in the day – to watch ASU’s full-contact scrimmage to close it out.

Dillingham reflected on how the day may have helped contextualize Tillman’s influence on the community for his players, someone they may know only through folklore or as the statue they pass while running out of the tunnel on game days.

“For our guys to see how impactful he was,” Dillingham said. “And they see everyone in this city, in this state, is focused on Pat Tillman today, it really puts into perspective for a lot of the news guys, how impactful he was to the program.”

The entire Sun Devil team lined the starting stretch of the Kids Run, wearing the “PT 42” jerseys, giving high fives and cheering on the young runners.

After a morning which featured ASU players cheering on young kids, the evening featured a role reversal, as fans came to cheer on the Sun Devils.

Following post-practice media availability, Dillingham was pulled aside by a young boy wielding a retro ASU football helmet twice the size of his own head, asking for an autograph. As Dillingham knelt down to sign the helmet, he looked at the boy, gave him a fist bump and said, “Go Devils!”

Throughout the day, there was a true sense of comradery following the team.

Whenever one of ASU’s running backs would break off a long run, sidelines cleared and players mobbed the ballcarrier in celebration. As the practice progressed, this became a near-regular occurrence as ASU repeatedly broke off explosive plays.

Fifth-year Marquis Gillis, sophomore Demarius Robinson, redshirt sophomore Jason Brown Jr. and freshman Cardae Mack all had lengthy touchdown runs. Mack’s rush highlighted the evening, as the Humble, Texas native’s touchdown scamper totalled more than 70 yards.

Despite a strong showing in the run game, Dillingham was not pleased with his squad’s overall performance.

“We ran the ball probably for 400 yards in the scrimmage and then had like 97 sacks,” Dillingham said, in hyperbole. “It goes both ways. We got to get a lot better on both sides of the ball.”

ASU’s hefty pass-rush left quarterbacks scrambling to find checkdowns, let alone downfield targets. Even when the offense would complete a pass, a defensive back or linebacker was right there to deliver a nasty hit.

Junior linebacker Owen Long – the nation’s leading tackler in 2025 – made several pad-popping tackles that left the crowd stunned.

As ASU gears up for its annual Fan Fest on April 17 at Mountain America Stadium, it aims to put on the best show possible for the Sun Devil faithful. But regardless of how the team looks on the field, they know they’ll have the entire fanbase behind them.

Quarterback Cutter Boley, who has only been at ASU for four months, is just now learning about how much the Sun Devils – and Pat Tillman – truly mean to the Valley community. He was truly amazed by the Pat’s Run turnout.

“That’s what we try to do everyday… Try to represent him and honor him in everything we do,” Boley said. “This is just one of those events that helps support that. It’s just awesome to have this many people out here.”