(Photo: Scotty Bara/WCSN)
The Arizona State football team held its first practice in El Paso, Texas in preparation for the Sun Bowl.
The team arrived at 10:30 a.m. MT, and was preparing for its matchup against Duke a couple of hours later on the Montwood High School football field.
“For me personally, I’m from Texas. Born and raised. I played Texas high school football, and coached Texas high school football so it means a lot to me to come to my home state with a team that means so much to me,” head coach Todd Graham said.
Arizona State and Duke will play in the 81st edition of the Sun Bowl on December 27. As part of Sun Bowl tradition, both teams are greeted at the airport with folklorico dancers and mariachis.
“I’m enjoying it a lot. They welcomed us at the airport and we had a lot of fun,” quarterback Taylor Kelly said. “They grabbed some of the players and coach to do some of the dancing. It was a lot of fun, it was different, and it was a great time.”
For several key Sun Devil players, this will be their last collegiate game. Graham said these players are approaching the game with a great focus and want to go out on top.
“They’ve been great Sun Devils, we’ve talked a lot about how this team — in particular the guys that are leaving us — have done a lot for this program,” Graham said. “These guys just have tremendous hearts, and the only fitting way to end this thing would be with a championship and hoisting that trophy up. We’ve got four days left together, so there’s only one that we’re focusing on.”
One of the biggest players the Sun Devils will miss next season is wide receiver Jaelen Strong. Strong announced on Monday that he would forego his senior season and declare for the 2015 NFL draft.
“It was a very tough decision for him. I think it was 50/50 probably most of the time,” Graham said. “At the end of the day I told him, ‘Hey this is your life.’ This is an opportunity for him and his family. I remember sitting in his living room in Philadelphia and talking to his granddad and his mom. I told them we would put him in position to be a first-round draft pick, and I think we’ve done that. I’m really, really proud of him.”
Preparing for Duke
Graham has put an emphasis on protecting the football, because he said Duke is one of the best-coached teams he’s seen this season.
“They’re not going to beat themselves. That’s the key in this game — no penalties, take care of the football, win the turnover battle, and special teams,” Graham said.
On defense, the team is keying in on neutralizing Duke quarterback Anthony Boone. Boone has scored 22 touchdowns this season and only thrown seven interceptions.
“He’s a great player,” safety Jordan Simone said. “In the Pac-12 we’ve faced a lot of great quarterbacks so we just have to go out there and do what we’re coached to do.”
The Sun Bowl matchup will feature two schools with devils as mascots, but that’s not the only similarity these two teams have.
“We’re very similar teams,” Graham said. “We’re both going for back-to-back double-digit win [seasons]. We’re both 9-3, and we’re both programs that are built on a strong foundation. So, it’ll be a heck of a football game.”
