ASU Football: Shaped by father’s 7-on-7 league, Bourguet battles

(Photo Courtesy Toby Bourguet)

For most people, the Xs-and-Os of football is something that is taught with both physical and mental repetitions. It’s a process that spans one’s entire life. 

However, some pick up on the game quicker than others. 

Arizona State junior quarterback Trenton Bourguet started to learn the game at a high level from his dad, Toby Bourguet, who played and coached 7-on-7 and flag football across the country since the late 1990s. Trenton studied Toby’s playbook, and the two could be found running plays together on the practice fields of Toby’s flag football team.

“Growing up, we used to watch SportsCenter,” Trenton said. “I wasn’t a big cartoon guy, but I remember watching SportsCenter with my dad. He [was] a quarterback as well. I grew up watching him play quarterback …he understands the feel of things and who I should read, [three or five or seven-foot] drops and stuff like that.”

Toby has spent over three decades coaching football, with the majority of his experience coming in 7-on-7. In 2004, Toby created a 7-on-7 program – Tucson Turf Elite Football – which competes in high-level tournaments across the country with high school football players.

When Tucson Turf started, it only had one team, which was made up completely of Toby’s family. However, the program quickly grew and now consists of multiple boy’s and girl’s teams, ranging in levels that span from kindergarten to high school.

“It’s been a family since the beginning, which is a cool thing,” Coben Bourguet, Trenton’s younger brother and a redshirt freshman wide receiver at ASU, said. “So that culture has always been like a family culture. Everybody’s friends, everybody’s cool.

“They’re very family oriented [and they’re] very good people,” ASU fifth-year linebacker Merlin Robertson said as to why he played for Tucson Turf. “It was all love man. And ever since then, we became family.”

Despite Tucson Turf providing players with only 7-on-7 reps – which can carry a stigma in some football circles – the reps are used to their fullest and help teach players the basics of the game. Trenton’s ability in the pocket quickly grew thanks to Tucson Turf’s rich playbook. The “installs and concepts” that Tucson Turf runs come from high school ball, and specifically has installs that Trenton ran “in high school.” 

The playbook has helped Trenton himself develop his football IQ, but it didn’t happen overnight.

In fact, it’s quite nice when the founder of the program is in your house every day.

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When Trenton was in kindergarten, his teacher passed out notebooks for their students to color and draw pictures in. At the end of the year, Toby and his wife, Vanessa, came into Trenton’s parent-teacher conference, and the teacher explained to them how Trenton had been drawing Star Wars-like pictures. Toby and Vanessa were confused – Trenton had never watched Star Wars before, but Toby immediately recognized what was on the paper when he was given the notebook.  

“When she handed me the book, I looked at it, and I was like, ‘No, these aren’t Star Wars [drawings], these are football plays’,” Toby said. “I showed Trenton, and he goes, ‘Yeah, Dad. I even showed the layers.’ 

“I taught him the game since he was a baby because I was still playing flag football all over the nation. So, he would go to practice with me and actually line up on the sidelines. He was barely walking and [would] try to run the routes.”

Those practices not only helped Trenton envision the play being developed but also allowed him to call his own plays.

“From there, man, he was calling the plays on offense and defense,” Robertson said. “[He was] calling the coverages [and] some little routes to [run]. Just the knowledge of the game that he has, man, just at the age [he was at], is so amazing.”

Fast forward to Trenton’s junior year of college, and he still calls the offense’s plays during ASU’s 7-on-7 sessions. Robertson was surprised by Trenton’s play-calling ability, which made him realize that Trenton “knows what he’s doing and knows what he’s talking about.” 

It’s safe to say Trenton’s play-calling ability comes from all those practices with Toby and has helped put him into a Power Five conference quarterback room at ASU.

Despite residing in Tucson, ASU has always been a large aspect of the Bourguet family’s life. In 1996, Toby coached an intramural flag football team at ASU, which is where he met Vanessa – who was one of the players on the team.

“My dad went to ASU, and he coached my mom’s intramural flag football team,” Trenton said. “So, that’s kind of how flag football started in our family. He graduated [from ASU] in ’98, and then he started Tucson Turf [and has had it] ever since I was a baby. We have over 250 kids in the program [now] …so, it’s really been a blessing to see how much it’s grown. We go to a tournament, and people know who we are and who my dad is. It’s kind of been surreal, but it’s a blessing for sure.”

Being a popular figure in those tournaments not only helped grow Tucson Turf’s brand but also gave Trenton the opportunity to compete against some of the best players in the nation.

Toby claims that these 7-on-7 tournaments are where Trenton started to put his mental ability to the test. Trenton played 7-on-7 against top recruits like former three-star prospect and current Cal Poly quarterback Spencer Brasch, former five-star prospect and current West Virginia quarterback JT Daniels and, ironically enough, former four-star prospect and former ASU quarterback Jayden Daniels. He also played high school football against Phoenix-native, former No. 1 quarterback recruit and current South Carolina quarterback Spencer Rattler.

Toby explained how the battles were “mano a mano,” and how the two quarterbacks in competition would try to beat each other with their own players. 

The environment gave Trenton the chance to see how he stacked up against other recruits in the nation.

“You have your players. I have my players,” Toby said. “Now, it’s not tackle football. No one’s saying it’s tackle football. But at the end of the day, you’re going to try to beat me with your team, and I’m going to try to beat you with my team.”

That kind of mindset certainly has its perks when the shoulder pads and helmets go on.

But when the tackling starts, that is when a player’s body structure is also put to the test. 

Compared to his peers, Trenton is a smaller quarterback, standing at 5-foot-11 and weighing 185 pounds. Up until 2022, his size has been the biggest critique of his game, but Toby hopes people can “stop talking about his size” and be optimistic about Trenton’s play and leadership.

“Trenton is confident in his ability to get the job done,” Toby said. “And he’s got enough character in him to lead the right way.”

Despite outside noise and stereotypes about Trenton’s size, the Sun Devils and Toby may see eye-to-eye about the situation.

“There’s a bunch of guys in the NFL that have broken that mold through recent years,” ASU offensive coordinator Glenn Thomas explained about size in a quarterback on March 17. “So, at the end of the day, it comes down to production and efficiency. At the end of the day, that’s what makes the difference.”

One doesn’t have to go too far to find the quarterbacks Thomas and Toby are referring to. Just 30 miles down the road is Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray, who stands at 5-foot-10.

“Instead of us talking about the positive things that [Trenton] brings to the table, [like his] IQ, the get it done attitude, the kid that’s first in line [and] at the meetings, and he’s last to leave the field…[instead] the only thing that makes headlines is, ‘Is he big enough?,’” Toby said. “Well, if the ball leaves his hand, it goes to where it’s supposed to go, it moves the chains, and it puts the ball in the endzone – shouldn’t that be the only thing we’re writing about?”

After ASU’s spring practices, redshirt junior quarterback Emory Jones transferred to the Sun Devils from Florida, adding another quarterback to the mix. While Jones’ transfer likely means ASU will look to him as the starting quarterback in 2022 – a decision that ASU head coach Herm Edwards says is coming “shortly” – Trenton’s determination and work ethic have put him into a position to compete for the starting job – and arguably had him as the favorite before Jones’ transfer.

The elder Bourguet hopes those memories from the spring haven’t escaped ASU’s mind too quickly.

“[Trenton is] at a point now in his career where he’s trying to go, ‘Okay, I need people to recognize that I’m still a football player – I’m not coaching yet,’” Toby said. “‘My goal is not to coach at 22. My goal is to get on the field and play football. And if people would just stop talking about his size, and say, ‘we’re excited to see what [Trenton] can do,’ then we can get to the next step.”

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