More than a decade before he became the head football coach at Arizona State, Todd Graham — then at the helm at Allen High School in Texas — had his first experience with the man his team will honor in its upcoming contest.
Graham’s former superintendent at Allen had invited him to visit Arizona and surprised him with a tour of the ASU football facilities. It was on that tour that Graham met the coach who embodied the “Sun Devil Toughness” that he now preaches on a daily basis — Frank Kush.
“Obviously, he has a reputation of being so tough and hard, but he was just so gracious,” Graham said. “I just remember meeting him, sitting there with him, took a picture with him, and just looking out the window and saying, ‘what an incredible place this is,’ not knowing that years later I’d be the head coach here.’”
In this week’s battle with San Diego State, the Sun Devils will honor the late Kush, who passed away this summer, with a pregame ceremony and a commemorative “sunburst” patch on their helmets.
“It’s a special week for us,” Graham said. “Obviously, we’re honoring him the whole season with ‘Sun Devil Tough,’ but this will be the game that we’re recognizing coach Kush, not just the greatest coach to ever coach here, but just what he meant in so many different ways to this university.”
For Graham, the toughness embodied by Kush reminds him of several of the people who impacted his life on and off the field.
That list includes his father, as well as his middle school football coach, Buddy Copeland.
“I just really connected with him that way,” Graham said. “He was really similar to a lot of the guys who influenced my life. That’s really why he meant a lot to me and I cherished the opportunity to get around him.”
The grit that Kush personified, which the Sun Devils look to honor this season, was on display especially on the defensive side of the ball in ASU’s week-one defeat of New Mexico State.
According to Graham, defensive coordinator Phil Bennett’s rationale in leaving the 11 defensive starters on the field for nearly the entirety of the game was largely meant as a statement on the toughness of his unit.
“We want to have that mindset about how we play,” Graham said. “It’s not that we don’t believe in anybody, coach wanted to make a statement with his guys and that’s what he did.”
For the most part, the defense played well in spurts Thursday night, with the most notable accomplishments being interceptions by Joey Bryant and Kobe Williams. Despite giving up 151 rushing yards and 398 passing yards, the defense recorded six sacks, with Tashon Smallwood and Koron Crump each earning two.
Smallwood also had a team-high four total tackles for loss in the 37-31 victory.
“What was impressive is I didn’t see a lot of fatigue,” Graham said. “I think all four of our defensive linemen are in the top right now in tackles for loss and in sacks and in being active, but we’ll rotate guys and play guys and mix guys in, stuff like that.”
In particular, while the starters on the line had a solid opening game, Graham referenced redshirt junior Renell Wren and redshirt sophomore George Lea as back-up defensive players that he expects to contribute off the bench.
“You’ve got to put your best guys on the field,” Graham said.
But as far as what Graham wants to see out of his defensive unit, regardless of how many reps they play, comes right back to the mantra put in place by Kush and the legacy that will be celebrated in just a few short days.
“Toughness.”
