Out of all the incoming freshmen on this year's ASU team, no one has been committed for longer than wide receiver Zechariah Sample. Therefore, it's probably no surprise that he arrived weeks earlier than the other post-spring newcomers out of high school. This is why he has a true perspective on the improvement that he's witnessed on this team, from last year's spring practice to the one that concluded a couple of months ago.
Already making his presence known in workouts as he was recently voted Speed Demon of the Week, clocking at 22.7 mph ("that's expected but still not fast enough”). Sample is adjusting nicely to the college level but still plenty humble to know that only continued hard work and consistent improvement will put him on the path to see the field on Saturdays.
“I started playing when I was six years old. I remember always being that fast kid that everybody tried to double-team. (opposing) coaches were saying: ‘Guard this person, he's fast.’ Even being so small, I was still hard to tackle. I was a shifty young receiver, and that’s really where it started for me. Football in Texas is really big, and my father was the one pushing me. I really started training for Texas football during my freshman year. We're doing three workouts a day. I moved all over the place being a military kid, but Texas is where I started high school football four years ago, and I don’t regret it at all.
“Texas football is a different breed, and in my opinion, it's the best high school football in America. I don't care what anybody says about California or Florida, but Texas is the place to be if you want to play football. In my senior year playing at Katy, we had at least 13,000 people in attendance at some games. You don't get games with that many people anywhere else. And the fans there are die-hard. High school football in Texas is almost as big as college football.
“Recruiting was a hard and slow process for me, only because of my height being 5-9. It was a hard process for me also because I transferred three high schools. It really started skyrocketing for me going into my junior year. I came off of a camp at Jackson State and got offered by Deion Sanders, who was the head coach there at the time. I got an offer from Mississippi Valley that day, too. And I got an offer from Grambling State, and I ended up with just three offers after the whole camp season. After my junior year, I started picking up more offers. My first one was UNLV, and then I picked up Arizona State, Utah, and Cal.
“My first conversation with an Arizona State coach was with Coach Samp (then-wide receivers coach). It was a great conversation. I consider him like my big brother. Because our last names are similar everybody thought me and him were related, but also because we were super close. But unfortunately, he left to go to Oregon. We still have a great relationship. To this day, I still talk to him occasionally. He checks up on me, making sure I'm good.
“When Coach Hines (Ward) got here, he brought me in like I was one of his recruits. We call him Unc. Him coming to Arizona State was probably the best thing that could have happened for me. He’s been through everything. He's been at the highest level there is coaching and playing. So, this is the place to be at for a wide receiver. Players told me that being coached with him is on a different level.
“The first time I ever talked to Coach Hines was meeting him in person because I was out there for spring practice. We ended up sitting down with him and talking. He told me all about his expectations of what he wanted out of me. We talked about the plays that we will run, blocking assignments…He's not a light on blocking. No block, no rock (laughs). That's how he explains it. I like that he coaches at Arizona State because he wants to be there. He’s not there because he wants to coach in the league. He’s not for the money. He's there to get us better. And that's a big factor because most coaches go to teams for the money. He's not there for the money; he has his life set already. He's just there because he wants to be there and to get us better as players and as young men.
“I committed last spring (in 2023) and was at spring practice last year when I was committed. So, this year, I could definitely see some improvement in the players and how they play now compared to how they used to play. I feel the focus is completely different. No one's taking reps off. Everybody is being a team player. Team bonding is great, and we try to do that at least a couple of times out in the month, getting together as a receiver core and hanging out.
“I got on campus in the middle of May. Having so many guys from Texas on the team definitely made it an easier transition than I thought it was gonna be. All the players, coaches, and staff treat you like family as soon as you come in, regardless of who you are or where you come from. (wide receivers) Kaleb Black and Jordyn Tyson are both from Texas and have helped me a lot.
“I'm the youngest receiver in the room, the only freshman receiver, and that can be a lot to handle. Everybody already knows the plays, and I basically need to play catch up at this point, trying to get on everybody's level. But it's also something that I've taken pride in being the youngest. I know I have a lot of responsibility, and I'm gonna just take it from there. If I mess up, just forget about it and go to the next play. Study my plays every night and get better.
“There was also a different offensive coordinator when I committed, so I met (new offensive coordinator) Marcus Arroyo for the first time when the coaches had their home visit with me. My first impression was, if he wants this, he's gonna have it. No matter who's there, he's gonna get somebody in there to produce it for him, no matter who it is. If you get something wrong, he's gonna get on you for it, of course. I hope that's how everybody is at the college level. But he's not gonna be the type of person to chew you out, and he's gonna coach through it, too. He's showing that he's gonna get you better in all aspects.
“Coach Dillingham is definitely a character. I spent a lot of time with him since I got here. He definitely tries to get involved and build a relationship with his players. I know he'll be there to help you out if you need that help. He also has a standard where if you do something wrong, he's gonna get on you for it, regardless of the situation. He knows when to be that buddy person but also when to be your coach. He has that level. We have great coaches, but most of the stuff that we're doing right now is player-led and is going great.
“I feel that the offense is gonna do some crazy this year. We are gonna go and run this year. Our running back room is stacked. Our receiver room is stacked. Our quarterback room is stacked. Our O-line is great. We have so many factors on our offense right now that it's hard to explain about what we're gonna do this year.
“I don’t know if I’m gonna redshirt this year, but we’ll see how that goes, how I produce and practice, how I learn all my plays, all that…I need to get on top of my plays, get on top of all of my assignments, not screw anything up. My biggest thing right now is to get into my playbook because it's all going by so fast, and there's a lot of stuff I have to remember. I can take time out of my day to have fun, but I also have to get locked in and get in my playbook. That’s the key not to redshirt.”
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