It’s not uncommon to see a junior college transfer have the same acclimation issues that a younger true freshman will have. Doug Subtyl knows this all too well. As he enters his last season with the Sun Devils the defensive lineman has shown enough in fall camp to give himself a chance to make his presence known in 2018.

“I feel great about everything,” Subtyl said earlier this week after a recent practice. “I feel like the defensive line is getting better mentally and physically. I feel that I started to get better in the spring. Knowing this is my last year I started working extra hard in the weight room. So, when fall camp hit, that’s when everything started getting easier for me.”

Defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales stated that he has undoubtedly seen the recent and dramatic change in the senior’s performance.

“He has made great improvements since spring ball,” Gonzales commented. “He’s super athletic and he's getting back into the form that he was in his junior college days when he was recruited here. We wanted him at San Diego State and when we came here he had a disappointing first year but he has worked his tail off and competing for a starting role now.”

Subtyl feels that from a physicality standpoint as well as understanding all of the nuances regarding his position, he wasn’t ready to play last season. Honing on those skills this year and understanding the game better in general at the Division I level, has helped him make the aforementioned strides. Arriving in Tempe six months later than planned in spring of 2017, proved to be too steep of a learning curve for him along with the struggles in knocking off the rust of not playing competitively in over a year.

“When you’re in junior college you barely work out,” Subtyl admitted. “So, by the time you get here, it’s too late to get into shape. And then you come here and there is a lot to learn and I also had some injuries last year. The speed at this level is much faster and there was a lot of pressure on me.”

And for good reason.

In his last year at Victor Valley, Community College Subtyl posted a team-leading 52 tackles, 22.5 tackles for loss and a CCCAA leading 18 sacks in just 11 games in his sophomore campaign. His highlight film is one of the most impressive ones you’ll see from any ASU commit in recent memory.

“Because I didn’t play well last year, that motivated me to play better this year,” Subtyl remarked. “I went back and watched my film saying ‘I could do this better, I could do that better.’ So, I’m working on fixing those things this year, especially my technique in using my hands, pursuit to the ball…I’m also working on being a better special teams player.”

Subtyl feels that the transition to a new position coach in Shaun Nua has not only been a seamless process but also one that has benefitted him and contributed to his elevated play.

Nua joked that Subtyl is “goofy’ because he thinks he’s funny when he actually isn’t but added that the defensive lineman has been all business in preseason practices.

“He’s tough and he can run,” Nua said. “He’s on a lot of the special teams. As soon as he gets down his assignments completely, he will be a surprise.”

“Coach Nua and I have a little bit of a relationship,” Subtyl explained, “because he and I went to same JUCO in Eastern Arizona. He has helped me out a lot. He teaches more than he speaks. He’s all about the technique. He and coach Gonzales are making us tougher players too. We talk about words and actions, and he’s all about the actions, showing you how it needs to get done.”

A player as unassuming as Subtyl never made any lofty public statements that he feels compelled to now back up. Yet, his sense of urgency knowing he has one last season to showcase his talents is a significant driving force on the doorstep of the 2018 campaign.

“I’m going it my all,” Subtyl declared. “I never won a Pac-12 championship and my goal is to just to ball out and help the team get to the next level.”

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