Every freshman in this 2023 recruiting class has their own unique story, but Cullen (CJ) Fite's journey to Arizona State has no parallels. The Tatum (Tex.) defensive lineman is essentially the earliest pledge to the Sun Devils in this group, originally committing on July 31st of last year. Furthermore, he is the only newcomer who decommitted due to the coaching change at the school and then recommitted under the Kenny Dillingham staff.

It was a process that seemingly, from the outside looking in, may not have been a smooth one to begin with. Yet, Fite quickly realized that the original reasons he had listed to commit to ASU did not change due to having new coaches in place. And now, being in Tempe for over a month, he is receiving constant reaffirmation that he made the right choice.

“(Defensive line) coach (Vince) Amey call me a Monday) Fite recalled to December 12, 2022, “and he re-offered me, and I committed that day. It felt real good getting that call showing that they still wanted me. He told me that if I felt comfortable, I could commit now, or I could commit when he came down on Wednesday.

“And then I got to meet him in person for the first time that Wednesday. He felt like a genuine person who knew what he was talking about. He had experience, and I knew that if I came here, I’d be coached, and the team would still feel like family.”

Even though it roughly just two weeks between decommiting from ASU and re-committing to the school, Fite admitted that ‘it was a rough time’ and that his patience was tested since, in late October, many of the schools who once pursued him had all their defensive linemen slots for incoming freshmen filled.

“When Arizona State re-offered me, I knew that this is what God wanted me to do,” Fite commented, “and I might as well just take it. It helped that I did know the school already and had visited there. You gotta love the place that you go to, and when I visited, I didn’t just love the coaches but also everything else that came with the school. So I felt comfortable with my decision.”

Fite is considered by the Arizona State staff as a versatile interior lineman, displaying the athleticism and aggressiveness the ASU coaches were seeking in a player such as him.

Even though it roughly just two weeks between decommiting from ASU and re-committing to the school, Fite admitted that ‘it was a rough time’ and that his patience was tested since that in late October, many of the schools who once pursued him had all their defensive linemen slots for incoming freshmen filled.

“When Arizona State re-offered me, I knew that this is what God wanted me to do,” Fite commented, “and I might as well just take it. It helped that I did know the school already and had visited there. You gotta love the place that you go to, and when I visited, I didn’t just love the coaches but also everything else that came with the school. So I felt comfortable with my decision.”

The 6-foot-1 290-pound Fite is considered by the Arizona State staff as a versatile interior lineman, displaying the athleticism and aggressiveness the ASU coaches were seeking in a player such as him.

“The coaches like how I run sideline to sideline,” Fite remarked. “They told me that the way I played matched what they wanted. They told me that they liked me more at the nose. I’m at 290 lbs. right now, and they want me to stay at that weight with just less fat and more muscle and eat a lot of protein (laughs).”

The spring workouts he’s partaking in these days are naturally helping him in that goal. He said that nothing could have prepared him for the intensity of the drills under coach Joe Connolly, but he has been able to adjust each day more and more.

“It’s like no other,” Fite admitted. “We had a discretionary week before we actually started the workouts. He gave us the workouts, and we had to do it alone because they couldn’t lead us yet. So when I was doing it, I was like, ‘Okay, I think I could do this.’ And then the first week came, and even though it was the same workouts, the whole intensity was different. It felt ten times harder.

“Now, a few weeks in, it’s not getting easier; the weight goes up, and the reps going down. It’s a lot more straining. So that’s when you really got to start digging deeper and try to find it within.”

In years past ASU, players would be divided into returning players and underclassmen groups when working out. This year though, due to time constraints and the fact that there’s a relatively small freshmen class that is here for the spring, Cullen has the unique experience of conducting strength and conditioning drills with several veterans.

“They just threw out there, and it was for the best,” Cullen stated. “Working out with all those (older) guys makes you up your game and work harder. Our group doesn’t change; it’s always the same players. We have some good leaders in that group, like James Djonkam, Dylan Hall, and Will Shaffer. Those guys really get everybody hyped in the weight room. We are working hard but still having fun, just like coach (Kenny Dillingham) said. It's like you mask the hard work with some fun, and you still get the work in.

"I love it.”

Off the field in player-only film sessions, senior Michael Matus has been guiding young players such as Cullen, helping him get familiar with the scheme, defensive calls, and his responsibilities.

“He’s great,” Cullen said about Matus. “He’s also in my group for competitions. We’ve gotten pretty close. He’s helped me a lot and showed me how to study the playbook and formations.”

Cullen admitted that he’s still taken aback by the desert scenery and takes as many pictures as he can walking around on and off campus. He said that the pleasant weather does put him in the right mind frame for any task, whether it be a workout or an academic assignment. It’s undoubtedly an environment that has helped newcomers like himself adapt to all that the life a student-athlete both demands and offers.

“At first, all the freshmen were just hanging out with each other,” Cullen said, “but now we have friends mixed in with all the team. We’re making new friends all the time and getting closer where everybody. We’re all just getting used to campus knowing where everything is at.”

This past week was definitely a unique one, even for the returning players, as they had to evacuate their locker room and the football facility since the new Super Bowl Champions, the Kansas City Chiefs, were using that facility in the week leading up to that contest. Cullen said that the breakup in routine was all taken in stride, and ironically while ASU players never got a chance to interact with the Chiefs on campus, they did bump into their star defensive lineman off campus.

(Chris Jones is fifth from the left, and Cullen is sixth from the left)

“We had a position group dinner at Lo-Lo’s, and we saw Chris Jones,” Cullen noted. He was really cool, and he thanked us for letting them use the facility. I really like those dinners because it brings us together even more and getting used to each other.”

Every day for Cullen introduces another phase into the process of transitioning from high school to college. And a very significant segment still awaits him, and his fellow freshmen as spring practice is set to begin next month. For the lineman, it is clear what the primary goal that needs to be achieved in order to do well in his first-ever set of college practices.

“The biggest thing is knowing the playbook,” Cullen stated. “I’m trying to get my mind around it, focusing up on learning the playbook so I can play fast and not thinking because I don’t know what I’m doing. I know that if I’m comfortable with the playbook and know what I need to do, I can play fast, which can help me in spring practice.”

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