(Photo: Reece Andrews/WCSN)
Arizona State Football endured an offseason that some telenovelas would call too extreme. Departures from critical players and coaching staff, whether for the NFL or the transfer portal. It is safe to say that ASU has been through the wringer since the end of last year.
The beginning of the 2021 season was filled with hope and aspirations for an experienced Sun Devil program to take that next step that ended with never realizing those goals. Flash forward a year, and those high expectations that hung heavy over ASU have dropped to the depths of mediocrity, with many experts predicting the team to finish in the bottom echelon of the PAC-12.
Vegas Insider also placed the over/under for the Sun Devils at only 5.5 wins this upcoming year, a mark they haven’t gone under in an entire season since 2016.
All that exterior noise looked to have left a lot of players motivated on Monday as ASU held their first media day of the 2022 season, where many voiced the same mantra to wait and see.
“Everybody in this building knows where we can go and what we can do this year,” redshirt senior defensive end Michael Matus said. “If people outside of this building don’t think so, then alright, let’s go and get it. See you on Saturday.”
The coaching staff has trusted Matus to be one of the leaders on this team, a responsibility he has taken to heart. The outside noise can be brutal, especially for the younger guys. Matus has made it a priority not to affect ASU’s play on the field, a problem that may have plagued it in 2021.
“It can get real noisy,” Matus said. “You got 50,000 people watching you play, not to mention the other 50,000 watching from home critiquing you. Realistically it can get real loud. You have to mature really quickly. It’s a kind of trial by fire. Having older guys like myself, [redshirt fifth-year linebacker Kyle] Soelle, guys that have been around, [former ASU defensive back] Chase Lucas, all those guys, to kind of help you to give you confidence and help pull you along, and I just want to return that favor.”
Losing multiple starters on the defensive side of the ball has caused the remaining veterans on the team to step up and take charge. A task Matus takes seriously, as well as another player he mentioned in Soelle. The Scottsdale-native led the team tackles in 2021 and won the Frank Kush Captains Award, and on Monday looked determined to prove the doubters wrong.
“We do take it personal,” Soelle said about the low expectations. “We work hard every day. We’re looking forward to proving everybody wrong. We’re confident.”
Soelle scoffed at the predicted win total for ASU being 5.5, claiming that he and his teammates used that as motivation. The shared underdog mindset has overtaken the whole team, making the roster much closer-knit compared to past seasons.
“This team, compared to all the other teams I’ve been a part of, not discrediting anything we’ve done in the past, but we’re a lot closer,” Soelle said. “We’ve gone through a lot. Everything outside this building, the few games that got away from us last year, we’ve learned a lot.”
The trials and tribulations from last year’s campaign have fortified the bond between returning players. Since spring ball, many players have mentioned how close the roster has become. However, it’s not just on the field that has strengthened this core. Senior defensive back
Kejuan Markham credits the “heated lunch debates” and the “late-night battles on the PlayStation 4 playing Call of Duty” as big a part in building that chemistry with one another.
ASU didn’t build the camaraderie overnight, but the process was made more convenient by how the different personalities on the team blended. Leadership from the head of the team like Matus and Soelle, or more lighthearted characters like redshirt junior defensive back Jordan Clark, who compared himself to 1987 red leather suit Eddie Murphy.
The characters on the team have meshed well together, appearing to correct the bumps after a rough offseason. One of those bumps was the rise of NIL deals that caused many ASU players from last year to leave looking for compensation, something Soelle never considered.
“I’m a hometown kid,” Soelle said. “I’m loyal to my roots here. I’ve always wanted to see ASU win a Rose Bowl, and if I can put my name on that, I can be proud.”
Many players echoed that loyalty, wanting to etch their name into the history books, immortalizing themself in Sun Devils’ lore. Redshirt senior defensive back Timarcus Davis made a point of emphasis to describe the legacy he wants to leave behind in Tempe.
“I want to be great,” Davis said. “I want to be remembered as a Sun Devil. I don’t want to be remembered as someone who just went here. In the hallways, they have all the famous Sun Devils, and every time I walk by it, [I say] ‘I want to be on that wall.’ I want to be remembered.”
Fellow defensive back, redshirt sophomore Macen Williams shared that drive to be engraved as a Sun Devil great. The departure of two players last year, Lucas and Jack Jones, to the NFL opened room for him and many other defensive backs to follow in their footsteps.
“I’ve been real hungry,” Williams said. “I really want to have a big impact on the team this year. I want to lead our group of DBs. My confidence is on a whole other level.”
Williams being from Southern California, the same as Jones, opened a connection early on between the two that has helped him grow into a more mature player. One of the key lessons Williams learned from Jones is yoga and working on flexibility to have better releases. Being behind two pinnacles of the program has taught Williams a lot of what he needs to do off the field to recreate their play on it.
Although Lucas and Jones are no longer active players for ASU, their mark on the program is still apparent, especially in the secondary. Arizona State has a next-man-up mentality and knows that injuries can derail a season, so from top to bottom of the depth chart, the team is ready to go.
That mindset isn’t strictly reserved on the defensive side of the ball, as the quarterback situation is also undergoing the same mentality. During spring practices, redshirt junior Paul Tyson and redshirt junior Trenton Bourguet seemed to be the early favorites for the job. However, redshirt junior Emory Jones arrived in Tempe via the transfer portal after the spring practices, making him the sixth quarterback on the roster and complicating the situation.
Senior fullback Case Hatch detailed that the two are both leaders differently. Hatch made it clear that even with Jones just arriving this past spring, he hasn’t been shy about making his voice heard amongst his new teammates.
“We were doing a walk-through with the coaches, and it wasn’t the best walk-through. Kids were messing up different plays that we shouldn’t be messing up, but when coach brought us together, Emory was the first one to say something,” Hatch said. “He said, ‘Hey, we don’t come out there to do that. We come here to do business.’ Then he broke us up. When that happened, I was like, ‘Alright, things are a little different,’ he’s more on the talkative side, which is great.”
As one of the team’s captains, Hatch was impressed early on by Jones’ willingness to make an impact. However, he later clarified that Bourguet is just as effective in his leadership and thinks the competition for the starting spot will be a good one.
The mentality for the entire program is simple – hungry. Many Sun Devils talked about their desire to have their moment to shine finally. That competitive edge has created an ASU team that many players within have never felt. However, the program has treated the outside noise as just that, outside noise.
“We all have the same mindset,” Williams said. “It’s really one team, one heartbeat.”
