After Herm Edwards fielded questions at Pac-12 Media Day in Hollywood, CA, it was the players’ turn to discuss their expectations for the 2021 college football season. Quarterback Jayden Daniels and cornerback Chase Lucas sat down at the podium to give insight on their preparation, mentality, and pizza.
Yes, you read that correctly. Daniels is now on the menu at Venezia’s pizza as part of a NIL agreement. Venezia’s pizza has five locations throughout the valley and will be offering the JD5 specialty pizza, described by the quarterback as a “meat lovers” dish that comes topped with pepperoni, sausage, bacon, mushrooms, and extra cheese. Daniels also announced a partnership with The Solution, an IV nutrition and hydration brand, last week.
“It’s still crazy to think about that, my name’s on a pizza,” Daniels said, “so, it’s fire.”
Lucas said he has some NIL plans in the works too, but mentioned as a fifth-year senior getting a deal isn’t as much of a priority for him.
“I’m not really in it for the nickels and dimes,” Lucas said. “I’m seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, I mean, this is my last year, so I just got to focus on that. If a NIL deal comes, then it comes, but I’m not pursuing anything at the moment.”
Lucas is focused on the season at hand, and that was a consistent theme between both Edwards’ press conference and the player's Q&A session. Lucas said it's a product of the leadership on the roster and the experience of so many returning veteran players, especially on the defense. Lucas said players hold each other to a high standard, and although the 2020 season was disappointing, the Sun Devils took away lessons in building confidence and finding their identity as a team.
Daniels echoed the same sentiment.
“2020 was a rough year for everybody but there were a lot of goods that came out of it,” Daniels reflected. “Last year, trying to learn a new offense in that short amount of time, not really having the reps that we usually have during spring and the offseason… But Coach Hill has been doing a phenomenal job getting the offense ready and prepare for the season.”
Daniels added he has an ongoing dialogue with Hill on how to shape the identity of the offense and that the team has bought into the model.
The Sun Devils appear poised to pass the ball more and achieve a balanced offense this season. Daniels said it had been something the team has been trying to improve on and understands the need to provide relief for running backs Chip Trayanum and Rachaad White.
"At the end of the day, if [the defense] stacks the box; we’re going to have to make plays in the passing game. It’s something me and Coach Hill have been talking about and me and the receivers have been working on, so it should be fun to see what we can accomplish this fall.”
Lucas enters 2021 as a fifth-year senior, and he smiled at the thought of being considered “one of the OGs” in the locker room. He reflected on his time as a Sun Devil and what he learned about himself during the COVID-19 lockdown period.
“I wouldn’t have changed my experience for the world, man,” Lucas said. “I have a great set of teammates; I've got a great quarterback. I just know one thing, just get him the ball and let him and the running backs do the rest.
“I’ve just been so fortunate to have a coach like Coach Herm come in and teach me the ropes. Last year was a good year for me; instead of being out and about and talking to a whole bunch of people, you had to quarantine and kinda just figure out who you are really.”
Lucas went on to say he wants to leave a lasting impression on some of the incoming freshmen and mentor them, saying being part of the program to him means “getting to your goals and finishing what you started.”
And the Sun Devils do have goals. Ever since the conclusion of the 2019 season, the talk in the Sun Devil locker room has surrounded the Pac-12 championship and getting back to the Rose Bowl. That talk is what convinced Lucas, among many others, to come back even though he believed he could have been drafted onto an NFL roster. It’s a lofty goal, but Lucas is embracing those high expectations.
“I feel like a lot of pressure is on me because I am the captain,” Lucas said. “I am the older dude on the team, and I am an Arizona guy. But I love it. Pressure either builds diamonds or busts pipes, so I feel like I’m gonna make a diamond out of this pressure.”
Reaching those expectations comes from better leadership. For Daniels, that means speaking up.
“I started taking initiative and stepping towards being that guy,” Daniels said. “I’m the quarterback; I’m being that guy calling players out, holding them accountable, calling meetings, just talking to each other. That’s what’s gonna help us in the fall when times get rough when we know we can count on each other.”
Lucas said he admires Daniels as a person who is always going to be himself. Lucas said he tends to be wilder in his leadership style and that he will be the guy on the team “to fight you if you’re playing around too much,” but Daniels is more on the serious side, which adds a good contrast to the how the two captains keep their team in line.
“He wants to see the better man out of you,” Daniels said on Lucas as a leader. “He wants to see everybody be great. And as that genuine dude that he is, it just shows when he becomes a leader. He is passionate about what he does.”
A priority for Daniels this offseason has been increasing his strength and conditioning regimen to put on weight. The Sun Devil gunslinger said he’s up to 197 pounds and gave credit to sports performance coach Joe Connolly for building up his frame.
“I really feel like that is gonna come with time,” Lucas said on his teammate’s progress. “Even when he was however much he weighed - 160, 170 pounds, I don't even know how much he weighed - he was still getting the job done on the football field.”
With the NCAA investigation into alleged violations by ASU during the COVID-19 recruiting dead period, those headlines are almost impossible to ignore as a football player. Daniels said the team had a player meeting to keep the team on track.
“The main message was focus on maintaining control,” Daniels said. “Keep the main thing the football season, keep working hard as we get to the season so we could showcase what we’ve been through this past year. And just let out all the pain and the anger that everybody has built up once September 2 comes.”
Lucas shared a quote Marvin Lewis told him a few seasons ago.
“Don’t sacrifice what you want most for what you want in the moment,” Lucas said. “So, right now, all this stuff that’s going on around us, honestly, that’s the devil talking. Just keep that away and keep us secluded, like how we were last year in 2020, just like in quarantine.”
On a personal level, Lucas revealed he graduated with a communication major. He mentioned his favorite class from his time at ASU was a cinema class. Daniels said his major is business communication and was supposed to graduate in December. He did an internship with one of his mother’s friends that is in the HR field. On game days, Lucas says he locks in by listening to Nipsey Hussle’s music. Daniels often listens to Drake, Kendrick Lamar, and Meek Mill.
The Sun Devils were ranked third in the Pac-12 football preseason poll behind the USC Trojans and Utah Utes. During an interview with Devils Digest multimedia journalist Zach Keenan, Lucas had only two words for ASU’s doubters: “Watch this.”
Sun Devil fans will be quick to remind them if Lucas and Daniels deliver on their championship aspirations.
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