(Photo: Reece Andrews/WCSN)
After an offseason that saw 18 players depart from Arizona State Football and an NCAA investigation still brew over the program, senior offensive linemen LaDarius Henderson remains positive about the Sun Devils’ chances in 2022.
“If you’re a really big media guy, really into following all that stuff, the consistent word that you hear is ‘lost, lost, lost, lost,'” Henderson said. “And you hardly ever really hear a ‘gain, gain, gain.’
“I’ve focused a lot on the people that want to be here, the people that are here now and the people that we’ve gained. To be quite honest, every loss isn’t a bad loss, and [I’m] not saying every gain is a great gain, but we sure do have some good ones.”
That kind of mindset has allowed Henderson to grow closer to the people who will be wearing the maroon and gold this season rather than the ones who will not be. The camaraderie that has been built during the offseason has given the players a sense of what their potential could be this year. In Henderson’s eyes, “the mentality of this offensive line might be the best” during his tenure at ASU.
“I think offensive line is all about mentality,” he said. “That’s really what it is like: ‘Do you want to obliterate the guy in front of you or do you not,” Henderson said. “We have guys like [senior] Des Holmes, who we just got from Penn State, [redshirt senior] Emmit Bohle, [junior] Joey Ramos, [sophomore] Isaia Glass. Just all these guys, they’re dogs and I love that.”
While focusing on the players who are in Tempe, Henderson explained how the offensive linemen have a “brotherly love” for one another, but the love just fuels competition. Before Bohle transferred to ASU, Henderson believed he was the fastest linemen but admitted that he hasn’t won too many races since Bohle’s arrival.
“But there’s this level of just respect and love for one another that you just want to be great,” Henderson said. “We all have a common goal. I’m pretty sure everybody in that room has aspirations of playing in the NFL, so it’s easy to motivate these guys.”
The competitive spirit between the linemen could help the Sun Devils establish their offensive identity this season. Henderson expressed that as a lineman, he hopes that the running game will be used, which could be a realistic option for ASU. Headlining the running back room is senior Xazavian Valladay, who rushed for over 1,000 yards at Wyoming last season, and redshirt sophomore Daniyel Ngata, who spent time backing up go-to running back in Rachaad White last season.
Henderson also spoke about the passing game and said that junior quarterback Emory Jones “has been really impressive.” However, Henderson didn’t elaborate past that. In fact, he seemingly stopped himself mid-answer because he was unsure if he could continue and didn’t “want to say too much.”
If one thing is for certain, Henderson’s level of confidence for this season’s Sun Devils is high.
“I just feel like the thing that has remained on the incline since I’ve got here is the mesh of the team, how we come together, how we love each other, [and] how we just fit together,” Henderson said. “Our culture here has been on the climb no matter what outside noise we’ve ever had.”
