On August 16, Arizona State head coach Herm Edwards sat down in the media room inside the depths of Sun Devil Stadium to address reporters about the status of his team and answer budding questions about the progress the group has made through the duration of fall camp. One of the topics Edwards addressed was the status of freshman walk-on defensive lineman B.J. Green II, who has impressed through his first few weeks in maroon and gold. On the topic of walk-ons, Edwards outlined his simple yet definitive mindset.
“If you’re a walk-on guy, you’re going to have an opportunity,” the wise head coach explained. “Every year, we have given at least one or of two scholarships to walk-ons. When I got here, I wanted to do that; they’ve got to earn it, though.”
On Friday, through several Instagram stories posted by ASU football players, the news came through that Edwards had stuck to his promise, gifting graduate transfer tight end John Stivers the first scholarship of the young season after just 16 days of fall camp/preseason practices. Stivers’ scholarship was officially announced on Sunday afternoon.
On Sunday, Edwards spoke of the experienced tight end, who is back for another year in Tempe after taking advantage of the extra year of eligibility via COVID-19.
“He decided to come back,” Edwards boasted. “He’s a really big part of our football team, so we are excited to have him back. He brings camaraderie to the tight end room, and he’s a tough football player, and we can use him in ways in our offense that highlight what he does well.
Just a few years ago, however, Stivers was a senior at Harvard, preparing to enter the real world of business and finance, yet he wasn’t sure if he wanted to let football go.
“You can’t redshirt in the Ivy League, so I didn’t have any more eligibility at Harvard,” Stivers detailed. “I was done with my senior year, looking for jobs in finance and going to go live in New York, and I thought that I wanted to keep playing football.”
Stivers explored multiple schools and opportunities, but the biggest factor in his decision ultimately cut close to home. You see, Stivers hails from Pebble Beach, California, known for its beautiful world-renowned golf course, on the Monterey Peninsula just due south of San Jose and San Francisco. Stivers’ head coach also spent much of his childhood and young days in Monterey; their connection started there.
“He’s from the Monterey Peninsula, so he’s kind of from my hometown,” Edwards elaborated, smirking with pride. “He’s one of the guys who lived where I grew up. It’s fun to get him here with us. He got (to ASU) through somebody who knew me…. His father was just named the CEO of Pebble Beach (Golf Links). Do I need to say anymore?”
Aside from Edwards and Stivers’ hometown connection, the experienced head coach also relates with the tight end from the perspective of a walk-on through his experience of entering the NFL as an undrafted free agent.
“I have a softness for guys who are walk-ons,” Edwards admitted. “I get that part. For some reason, I didn’t get drafted. I know why. It wasn’t because of talent; it was because some other things. So, I was a free agent, and all I wanted was a chance. A man by the name of Dick Vermeil gave me a chance, and it turned out pretty good. For some reason, guys sometimes get overlooked – wrong place, wrong time, got injured - and they come here. We give them the opportunity to earn (a scholarship). It’s really fun.”
Stivers began his career in maroon and gold last season, appearing in all four games in the shortened 2020 season. It didn’t take the Ivy League transplant long to learn how much faster and harder Power 5 football plays out west.
“That first game at USC, I was really curious to see how much different it would be,” Stivers said. “It is a lot different; it’s Pac-12 football, it’s a lot more intense. In a lot of ways, once I got playing, eventually it was just like another game.”
Stivers’ strengths as a player lie in his intelligence, physicality, leadership traits, and versatility. While Pac-12 football might’ve been different, Stivers pulled on his experience and the traits he learned from those who came before him at Harvard, specifically in the tight end position, to help him adapt to the intensity of the game in his new conference.
“Harvard tight ends are very versatile,” Stivers explained. “Blocking, running routes, playing in the backfield, playing on the line, splitting out wide. At Harvard under Coach (Tim) Murphy, for the past 25 years, he’s been major in developing tight ends as versatile, tough players.”
“(Being versatile as tight ends at ASU) comes from our individual drills, focusing on details, footwork, hand placement, the blocking game, in the run game, Coach (Juston) Wood is really big on our eyes and then translating stuff from the spring without footwork and releases. Just being really detail-oriented overall. Doing that, we go out to actual practice and games and play fast, and it all becomes natural.”
While his versatility is a trait that has been recognized by Edwards and his staff, it’s the aforementioned ability to make no errors and have a cerebral understanding of the offense that has truly made Stivers elite during his time at ASU. Not only has his understanding assisted his own effort, but it’s also made his entire group improve, speaking to his maturity on and off the field.
“(Understanding the big picture of the offense) is a really important part of tight end,” Stivers described. “We want to do a lot of different things. So having a really firm grasp of the offense and not just what we're doing, but the why and how we're doing it. So yeah, it is a point of pride for me. I’m not as athletic as every tight end, so I keep up to help my mental game to help myself and the entire group out.”
Like Edwards, offensive analyst turned interim tight ends coach Juston Wood sees the details in Stivers’ game that make him worthy of a scholarship, as well as his overall commitment to the improvement of the tight ends as a unit.
“He’s one of those guys you can trust; he’s reliable,” Wood told reporters. “You know he’s going to do the right thing. He’s the guy that might not be the most athletically gifted, but he makes your room better because you’re watching film, and the other guys point out what he’s doing. He’s doing it right. He helps everybody to see that.”
“He is a fit where you need it, guy. He is a guy that can play on the line, he can play tight end, the H-back position, the fullback position if need be. We will sometimes put three, four tight ends in heavy personnel groups and our goal-line package, so he’s going to have those roles and we will see where it goes.”
Stivers is a team player. He never came to Arizona State to take all the glory for himself. He knows his strengths and weaknesses as a player and how he fits into the grand scheme of things. A finance job in New York or 18 holes at Pebble Beach can wait; for now, all Stivers wants to do is to play football.
“I love football,” Stivers smiled. “I just wanted to be on a winning team and come back and be a part of something great. So, I’m really excited for this process, and football’s obviously fun, and we have a great group of guys with an exciting future, so I’m pretty pumped up.”
Join your fellow Sun Devil fans on our premium message board, the Devils’ Huddle to discuss this article and other ASU football, basketball, and recruiting topics. Not a member yet? Sign up today here and get all the latest Sun Devil news!
