(Photo: Jordan Keats/WCSN)
TEMPE – With the game officially over, a wave of white and maroon tumbled toward the northeast tunnel at Galaxy Stadium. Fourth-year defensive lineman C.J. Fite stood in the middle, parting the sea into two.
The game was over for some time, just without the clock showing three zeros. Texas Tech dominated Arizona State, winning 53-25 – ASU’s second 25-point loss in its last two Big 12 games.
In the moment, Fite looked to encourage and console each teammate as they walked by.
“Whether it’s good times or bad times, somebody has to lead,” Fite said. “Being there for your teammates is big. Knowing the good and the bad, just being that guy to keep everybody’s heads up.”
Fite is in his third season on the Pat Tillman Leadership Council. He held the role during the Sun Devils’ 2024 run to the College Football Playoff and their 2025 win over Texas Tech.
This season, ASU is 3-3 overall and 1-2 in the Big 12, and it needs a leader to lift it to its previous heights.
“Obviously, not where we want to be,” Fite said. “We have a lot of time to get where we want to be. So it’s a matter of getting back to work every single day.”
After a 2-2 start in Big 12 play, leadership got the Sun Devils to the 2024 playoffs. In 2025, ASU’s leaders lifted the team to an 8-5 record and a Sun Bowl appearance in a season rampaged by injuries. Again, the group looks to its leaders for guidance through the recent storm of struggles.
That’s why Fite stood in front of the tunnel after the Texas Tech loss. Fite symbolized the Sun Devils’ early success in the Kenny Dillingham era, and reminded them what they could return to.
“Knowing who we are,” Fite said. “Confidence, belief, going back to the basics. It’s nothing special.
“Not trying to do anything special. Once you start trying to do things special, that’s when things start to fall apart because you’re messing up the guy next to you.”
ASU knows who it is with Fite in the lineup. Since joining the program in 2023, Fite has missed only one game – the first of his career. He’s played 44 games as a Sun Devil, starting 38.
In that time, he’s seen what it takes for teams to get out of a rut.
“Being able to adapt at different times when different things are needed,” Fite said. “Being able to change during those times to be able to help the team.”
But too much change can cause chaos.
In moments of chaos, ASU looks to Fite’s leadership for the best way forward. To some, it may be too much pressure, but Fite has the experience to handle it.
“Not getting too high, not getting too low,” Fite said. “When good things happen, staying cool, even when bad things happen, stay even cooler.”
Another aspect that can pull a team out of a poor run is belief, which this team continues to share. After losing to Baylor, Dillingham reiterated his belief that he’ll figure it out. Following the lackluster performance against Hawaii, Dillingham said it again. After the loss to Texas Tech, that belief has carried over to the leaders, but now it’s time to translate it to the field.
“We play our football, we can stop anybody,” Fite said.
