(Photo: Spencer Barnes/WCSN)
At the end of Star Wars ‘A New Hope,’ Luke Skywalker found himself in a life-or-death situation. Skywalker weaved his way through the empire’s TIE fighter jets, all trying to shoot him down before he could eliminate their planet destroying Death Star.
It was constant flashes of movement and lights, a continuously shifting picture in which each flash held impending danger. Arizona State football (2-0) will travel to play Texas State (2-0), on Thursday night, where the Sun Devil offensive line will be facing a notoriously blitz-happy Bobcat defensive front.
For graduate offensive lineman Ben Coleman, he’s been through similar experiences to Skywalker — albeit not as life-threatening — practicing against how own defense in Tempe that has prepared the group for this moment.
“We play a defense that blitzes a lot too,” Coleman said. “All fall camp we had to deal with what we call ‘Star Wars’. Stuff flying at us from each and every direction”
Throughout the spring and fall camps the line has had to deal with every variation of blitzes and rush that ASU defensive coordinator Brian Ward has concocted for this season’s use. Evidently, Ward’s empirical style of defense has adequately prepared the Sun Devil line to get out of the blocks firing in 2024 as the Sun Devils have started a season undefeated through 2 games for the first time since 2021.
Much of the team’s early success has been due to its imposing ground game. ASU’s 587 total rushing yards and 293.5 rushing yards per game are good for seventh and eighth in the country respectively to date. The success is spearheaded by the blocking upfront and the violence the group plays with. Their mentality is something that’s been instilled in them by their coach, Saga Tuitele
“Coach Saga has instilled in us a good standard that we have to uphold,” redshirt senior offensive lineman Leif Fautanu said. “I feel like the physicality and all the violence that we practice with each and every day carries over to the game. That’s what we’ve shown these past two weeks.”
The team’s 106 rushing attempts next to only 42 passing attempts over the two opening games of the season is evidence of the satisfaction in the production from the run game so far. While those numbers could seem slanted towards an unhealthy workload on the guys up front, it’s what this group lives for.
“As an offensive line you want to run the damn ball,” Coleman said. “That makes guys confident.”
The continued success of the running game could lead to easier future passing opportunities for redshirt freshman quarterback Sam Leavitt. In ASU’s week, two 30-23 victory over Mississippi State – the program’s first-ever over an SEC school – Leavitt ran for an effective 68 yards and two scores. The quarterback only managed 69 passing yards and no touchdowns through the air. The line’s quest to establish a dominating run game can help make life easier for Leavitt.
“If we do our job and run the ball effectively, and we can bring those heavier (tackle) boxes,” Redshirt senior Cade Briggs said. “We can clear up a lot of the pass pressure for him. That’s our plan, to keep him nice and comfortable back there.”
Guards, Briggs and Coleman, and center Fautanu make up the interior of the offensive line. Being the veteran contingent in the room is not a responsibility that’s taken lightly.
“Being a leader of the group you have to uphold the standard,” Fautanu said. “You can’t dip the standard for a little bit or one day and uphold it on the next day. [Coleman] and [Briggs] also did a good job of stepping into that leadership role. A lot of the younger guys look up to us so we try to set the example.”
Fautanu is one of the 12 players named to the inaugural Pat Tillman Leadership Council voted on by their teammates. He also was named to the preseason watchlist of the Dave Rimmington trophy awarded to the nation’s best center. Being the undisputed leader of the line isn’t an accident and it’s something he’s embodied for many months now.
“We have these competitions where we do the Sun Devil Olympics or off-season competitions,” Dillingham said. “You pick a team and you have to show up to class, you pick up trash, you get points. You do good in the weight room. You win competitions. [Fautanu] is three for three. We’ve done three competitions since I’ve been here. Over a long period of time, his teams have won three.”
The biggest benefactor of the line’s success has been Senior running back Cameron Skattebo. His 311 total rushing yards in the young season is the third-highest in the country so far. Much of that production came from his award-winning 262-yard outburst against Mississippi State.
The performance earned Skattebo the Doak Walker National Player of the Week award, given to the nation’s best running back weekly, and was named as the Big-12 conference and Associated Press offensive player of the week. The men up front, who cleared the way for his explosion, take their internal credit for the accolades.
“I told [Skattebo], the more viral he goes, the better my life is,” Coleman said.“I don’t need anything. The more followers he gets, (that means) we’re doing something good. The more viral, the more awards, the more followers he gets, We’re perfectly fine with that.”
The offensive line will have to continue to force headway against a Bobcat defense that is currently top-20 in the country in rushing defense. Despite the success so far, it’s not enough to satiate the appetite for dominance the group has. They don’t want to just shoot down TIE fighters, they want to destroy the whole Death Star.
“We want to be the best rushing attack in the country,” Coleman said. “We’re only two weeks into the season. So how good can we really get?”
