Jael Mary: An Oral History

There was a different feeling the morning of October 4, 2014. Arizona State was eating its pre-game meal just hours before it would step into the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and take on mighty USC, but something felt strange.

“I had this weird feeling all day that something crazy was about to happen in the game,” ASU wide receiver Frederick Gammage said. “It was like a weird aura. You can ask any of the receivers ... I told the receiver table that meal like, ‘Look, somebody is about to make a game-changing play in this game.’ And then we go out and Jaelen does that.”

Looking back, it may seem like destiny. That day, most would have scoffed.

The Sun Devils were coming off an embarrassing 62-27 loss to UCLA the week prior, they were playing without their starting quarterback, Taylor Kelly, and were headed to USC, a place they hadn’t won since 1999.

On that October night, no precedent mattered.

Instead, Mike Bercovici, ASU’s backup quarterback, became the perfect hero for the game that then-ASU head coach Todd Graham proclaimed, “There should be a movie of.”

“Mike grew up in Southern Cal, dreamed of playing quarterback on that field -- just on the other team. They didn’t recruit him,” Graham said. “He comes to ASU and he’s projected to be the starter, Taylor beats him out and for two years, Taylor’s been the quarterback and this guy doesn’t leave, he doesn’t transfer.

“He’s a Sun Devil through and through. He could have transferred and probably started for most teams in the Pac-12 and he didn’t do it.”

Through three quarters in Los Angeles, Bercovici kept Arizona State on the Trojans’ heels. Behind two touchdown passes to star wide receiver Jaelen Strong, the Sun Devils were down just two points heading into the fourth quarter.

Following a touchdown run by USC quarterback Cody Kessler, and a few stalled drives, Bercovici and Co. had the ball, down nine, with just over six minutes left.

From there, two legends were born and a singular play became etched into the minds of every Arizona State fan. Those who were on the field have the same picture in their head from a much different vantage point. And, although, four years have passed, the picture is still crystal clear.

Arizona State had the ball down nine with just over five minutes left on the clock. After a pass to the 6-foot-3, 215-pound Strong fell incomplete, Bercovici again looked for his stud wide receiver on 3rd and 10. He fired to the sideline but the pass fell incomplete.

ELLIS JEFFERSON, ASU WIDE RECEIVER: It almost got picked off. Berco almost threw a pick.

GERALD BOWMAN, USC SAFETY: I was going for a turnover and I’ll be thinking about it all the time like a lot of them corner routes that Jaelen was catching on the sideline, instead of me going for the interception. Me and (cornerback) Kevon (Seymour), I had a clear interception, it was a corner route. Kevon went for the ball, I went for the ball and we both wind up not coming down with the ball.

GAMMAGE: That back shoulder had been money all game and they stopped that so we’re like, “Ah, shoot.”

BERCOVICI: I felt like if we just rewound that play, I knew I could make that completion. So once the play got called the next play, I was like, “Oh, shoot, no brainer. I’m going right back to it.”

On 4th and 10, the Sun Devils ran the same play; a 12-yard back-shoulder throw to Strong. It was the go-to play the entire season and when ASU needed it the most; Strong made the catch to keep the drive alive.

BOWMAN: The next one, the did the same play and then converted it and I was like, “Damn, I should have tried to hit him out of bounds so he catches it out of bounds.”

BERCOVICI: There was a defensive back that I thought Jaelen was just kind of lining up against and kind of had his number. Being my second start, it was kind of one of those things where Jaelen was just going to be a safety net -- if nothing looked clear, I was going to go to him.

GRAHAM: That was a thing of beauty. If that 4th and 10 doesn’t happen, we don’t win. I think went back and there were 12 plays in that game -- and I’m talking about like 4th and 10, 3rd and 10, seven seconds left and you’ve got to throw a Hail Mary -- there were like 12 plays that if we don’t execute any (one) of those 12 plays -- and there were a bunch on offense, bunch on defense -- we don’t win.

BOWMAN: I already pretty much knew what Jaelen could do and I didn’t really like the matchups versus our DBs on him because of his size and athleticism and speed. So, I was like, ‘You know what? I’m going to follow him the whole game. I’m just going to follow him the whole game. Wherever he lines up at, that’s where I’m lining up at.’ I knew the defense that well and it didn’t matter what safety position I was at, I knew my responsibility.

After a Scott Felix sack and a short pass to Gammage, Bercovici and the ASU offense were faced with yet another 3rd and 10. Bercovici stepped up in the pocket and hit Jefferson, who was covered by a single corner, on a quick post for a gain of 17 yards and a first down.

JEFFERSON: Jaelen had actually come out, he was dead tired. It was my turn to go in. I had run a bang 8 (route), which is a faster post than usual. I had run it earlier in the game, I would say the second quarter is when I ran it and I got a completion because of the coverage that was played. Adoree' Jackson was playing press coverage on me. I think we were running (the play) ‘Bama.’

Everyone was shocked at the same time because I was going in and Jaelen wasn’t. Jaelen told me to take advantage of the opportunity and that’s something I learned from Jaelen.

NICK KELLY, ASU OFFENSIVE LINEMAN: That was another big, crucial point in the game that allowed us to score. We just had young guys and old guys making plays that were crucial for us to win.

On the next play, Bercovici hit running back D.J. Foster, who was lined up in the slot, down the seam for a 21-yard touchdown. With the extra point by Alex Garoutte, ASU had cut its deficit to 27-25 with 3:53 remaining in the game.

GARY CHAMBERS, ASU WIDE RECEIVER: We ran verticals and I think they ran a Cover 3 and the seams just happened to be open and Berco was able to see it. It was a great find by him and it was a great catch by D.J. That really got us hyped.

BOWMAN: The linebacker was supposed to like carry him over the top. I saw him running and I was like, “Oh shit.” So I tried to make it right, the linebacker probably got sucked up in the play-action or something.

GRAHAM: They were a little bit vulnerable in the seams, especially using our backs out of the backfield down the seams.

BERCOVICI: We did something called a tempo drill before every practice. It was our two-minute drill and speed, speed, speed is the number one priority and this is a play I’ve run hundreds and hundreds of times at ASU. Definitely the easiest touchdown of that game.

BOWMAN: I tried to run over there and make a play -- I actually hit him pretty hard so he could fumble or something.

JEFFERSON: I think Berco was going to throw it to me. I actually saw him about a month ago and I’m pretty sure he was going to throw to me and he decided not to. (Bercovici told me) “My first read was you and I thought about throwing to you but D.J. was open so I had to throw it that way.” And I was like, “Berc, it’s OK.”

After a failed onside kick, USC had the ball at its own 49 with just under four minutes remaining. To no one’s surprise, the Trojans handed the ball off to their running back Javorius “Buck” Allen, who already had a touchdown and nearly 100-yard rushing on the day.

EDMOND BOATENG, ASU DEFENSIVE LINEMAN: I recall being in my stance and coach Graham yelling at the top of his lungs at the whole D-line on just nitpicking and everything. I remember in my head being like, “I got this. I’m more in-tune. I’m on the field right now.”

LLOYD CARRINGTON, ASU CORNERBACK: (Allen) did a good job of seeing the holes, making cut-back adjustment but it was mainly just us. We always say we beat ourselves, not being able to execute and pay attention to the small details when it comes to lining up and executing your assignment.

Allen picked up just two yards on the first-down carry up the middle. But on second down, with the clock creeping close to the three-minute mark, Allen took the handoff from USC quarterback Cody Kessler and busted through the middle. Allen sped past a sharp dive from ASU safety Jordan Simone and beat safety Damarious Randall in a foot race to the end zone. USC led 34-25 with 3:02 left in the game.

BOATENG: We were communicating on the D-line, “Don’t let nothing through.” And I could have sworn as soon as we said that, that man was gone.

BOWMAN: When Buck scored, I was like, “Yeah, we good. We’ve got it.”

SIMONE: Damarious (Randall) I think could have caught him but slowed down. He’ll always tell you, “Yeah, I let him score.” In actuality, I don’t think he would have got him.

GRAHAM: That guy was gone. (Randall) couldn’t catch him. They legitimately scored, we didn’t let them score. We were trying to stop them. They were one of the best running teams in the country They were really, really good.”

CHAMBERS: If (Allen) was thinking a little more, he wouldn’t have scored. He probably would have taken a knee or fell down.

JAMIL DOUGLAS, ASU OFFENSIVE LINEMAN: When we looked at the game after, that was probably one of the bigger plays of the game because it gave us time to actually get the ball back. We would have done the same thing. If you have a chance to score, we would have tried to go in and score as well.

JORDAN SIMONE, ASU SAFETY: I broke my thumb on that play. I chipped a piece of bone off my thumb that had already , from the beginning of the year but I really jacked it up. I cracked my thumb on that play.

BOATENG: (Defensive line) coach (Jackie) Shipp was like -- and coach Shipp was a crazy cat now -- and this is how I knew we were still in this. As crazy as this man is, as wild as this man is, he was calm on that sideline. He was like, “Look, we’re going to be alright. Hey. Hey. Hey. Hang in there.” And I was like, ‘Alright, that right there, alone, put us in a mind frame of if there’s any opportunity and it arises, we’re going to definitely take it.”

SIMONE: It was kind of funny on the sideline after we had given up that late touchdown to Buck Allen, our coach on the sideline was like, “Ah, what are you going to do?” And I’m like, we were all like, “This is not over. We can win this.”

BOATENG: I remember Berco saying, ‘We got time. We got time. We got time, we’re alright.’ And I was like, “Look, man, dude, like,” and I keep saying this like I’m a broken record, but that alone was like a staple of our season to show how resilient we were towards any game.

The Sun Devils quickly got the ball back and had 1st and 10 from their own 27 after a 23-yard return from Kyle Middlebrooks. On 1st and 10, Bercovici was flushed out of the pocket to his left, being chased by then-USC defensive lineman and future sixth-overall pick Leonard Williams.

Bercovici fired to the sideline for wide receiver Cameron Smith, who made the catch just past the outreached arm of Seymour. From there, Smith bolted down the sideline with nothing stopping him from the end zone. His 73-yard touchdown took just about 20 seconds off the clock (2:43 remaining) and put ASU back into a two-point deficit, 34-32.

CAMERON SMITH, ASU WIDE RECEIVER (via email): I was a last-read backside dig in case Berco couldn’t find anyone else open. I ran the dig turned my eyes and Mike was already rolling out of the pocket, so I pivoted out and ran towards the sideline. Luckily, Seymour bit on Berco’s throw so there was no one left to defend downfield on my side.

BERCOVICI: The vintage quarterback point. I guess it’s just one of those things where you’re like, “You can’t see what I see but there’s no one out there. Move right. Move right.”

BOWMAN: Kevon Seymour missed a tackle. I was to our sideline because I was over the top of Jaelen. They ran a dig or some type of in route and Kevon, he tried to either make a play on the ball and not secure the tackle or jumped the route and it was literally no body back there to stop him. I was on the other side worrying about Jaelen and I see a guy running up ASU’s sideline.

SMITH: Initially, I’m thinking “secure the catch and get out of bounds”, there was no time to be wasted at this point in the game. I see the ball fly out of Berco’s hand and I temper down my speed a bit to adjust to its trajectory, so I’m thinking the CB is closing in at this point, so it would be a catch and immediate hit, but then I see a hand and I don’t feel any contact yet, so at that point I’m guessing he undercut me.

So, reaction-wise it’s a quick decision from going out of bounds to turning up field, I decide on the latter and no one is downfield, so it’s just a foot race to the end zone.

GAMMAGE: The scramble drill really messed them up.

DOUGLAS: I couldn’t tell if he caught it or not. By the time I had seen where the ball went, I thought it was an interception. Then when I saw him turn around and run, I saw the reaction of our sideline and I knew no one was going to catch him because he was so fast.

N. KELLY: I was like, “Nobody’s going to catch him. Nobody’s going to catch him.” He just takes off on everybody. We were too excited, too pumped.

GRAHAM: At that point, I went, “Hey, men, this is something special happening.”

BOATENG: As soon as the touchdown happened with Cam, you couldn’t have seen us get out of our chairs fast enough. We were just right on that sideline like, “Is this really happening?”

TYLER SULKA, ASU OFFENSIVE LINEMAN: I think a lot of us were thinking, “Man, I don’t know if we’ll have enough time.” Showing that he could break that tackle, I think it broke their mind a little bit and kind of made them feel like we were on their heels that anything could happen.

SIMONE: We were sitting on the bench; the defense was because we just got off the field and not even two minutes later they score. We were excited, like, ‘“t’s onside kick time. Let’s see if we can get this onside kick then hopefully offense can get the ball back.”

BOATENG: Everything is moving, the crowd is so loud -- like the Colosseum, there’s something about how the echoing works and were just in that realm of honing everything in, not saying too much. We can’t say too many words at that point. Keep in mind, we are gassed.

ASU did not recover the onside kick on the second-straight try, giving USC great field position at the ASU 44. Allen ran the ball three-straight times, trying to run out the clock, but was stopped quickly for a gain of one, loss of one and a loss of one. Those first- and second-down tackles were both recorded by Simone, the 19th and 20th for him on the night.

SIMONE: I didn’t know until my old high school quarterback, his name is Max Browne -- he played (quarterback) at SC. Him and I went to high school together, so I see him on the field after the game, after everything that had happened and he goes, “Dude, you played an awesome game. You had 20 tackles.” I was like, “No shit. Are you messing with me?” All I was thinking about was just get the ball back to our offense just to give them a shot.

BOATENG: That’s when like coach Graham took it to another level. Like he took it to another level when it came to energy, when it came to getting on his players, when it came to like harping on the right things to do or harping on like getting in your stance. Or like, “Hey. Hey. Hey. Cover 2.” You could almost hear him as if he was standing next to you. He was that loud.

On fourth down, the USC offense went back out field. Kessler was backed up, ready to attempt what was going to be his fourth quarterback punt of the night. The kick, though, was shanked right and traveled just 18 yards, falling out of bounds at the ASU 28. The Sun Devils were 72 yards away from the end zone with only 23 seconds left in the game.

GRAHAM: They tried a quarterback kick and he shanks it. We pressured him, he panics and he shanks it out of bounds and we get pretty good field position.

CHAMBERS: We go over the statistics, the chances that you can score from what part of the field you’re on. Obviously, we knew time was limited. We knew we were already against the odds anyways. To have better field position and for him to kind of mess up a kick. It’s nice to know we had him a little shook.

BERCOVICI: When I messed up a pooch punt, I always felt like it was 50-50. I didn’t know what the heck was going to happen when I punted it.

SIMONE: I’ll never forget this for as long as I live, he shanks the punt. He shanked the hell out of it. The game could have been over if that’s a good punt and they run off the field laughing, all of their coaches are cracking up. I’ll never forget that, just the feeling that they thought the game over.

BOWMAN: I wasn’t really too worried about because I was like, “Alright, defense is up.” I knew we were going to that game like I just knew it. You couldn’t have told me that we were going to lose.

BERCOVICI: I thought, obviously we were trying to go for the field goal with the intentions of getting into field-goal range, but it was really, in my mind with no timeouts, I thought we would get three (plays on the final drive).

Bercovici and the offense ran out on the field and started their drive at their own 28. On first down, Bercovici evaded pressure and fired a deep pass, on the run, towards Smith, who was double covered near the sideline. The ball was broken up and nearly intercepted, keeping ASU on the 28 with only 17 seconds remaining and no timeouts.

SMITH: I began to “feel” the safety coming over and the CB was closing in, so reaction-wise it goes from making a catch to applying a fundamental rule of being a receiver which is “if I don’t catch the football, no one does”. So, I threw myself into the mix with the intention to at least disrupt any chance of an interception, because that would have basically ended the game right then and there.

GRAHAM: Mike really was trying to force that throw. They were sitting back and I saw zone so their underneath guys were deeper and so the corner kind of fell back on that, almost intercepted it. That kind of scared me.

I’m hollering from the sideline, “Hey, it’s not desperation. Just execute the plays. We have time.” All I wanted to do was make sure we got down and got a shot or two at the end zone.

BERCOVICI: I threw it hard enough so that it was kind of like a jump ball that would go through everyone’s hands.

SULKA: I actually didn’t have a good set. I didn’t have that great of pass protection and I put a little bit too much pressure on Mike on that one play.

CHAMBERS: There’s not much (of a) game plan for under 30-second drives.

On second down, Bercovici sat in the pocket and fired a deep pass over the middle for a wide-open Chambers. The ASU wide receiver had started in the slot and ran up the left seam for a gain of 26, falling down at the USC 46 with 10 seconds left.

CHAMBERS: He called ‘Piston,’ which is a play that we had ran quite a bit and when he called it, we knew they were going to be in some type of spread out, zone -type defense just to have guys all over the field. I was just able to find a hole in the middle of the field and Berco was able to find me.

BOWMAN: Arizona State was in hurry-up offense and we knew that game that they were going to try and kill us with the hurry-up offense. For the most part of the game, we were good. Down to the end, they started running it so fast. We weren’t tired, we weren’t out of shape or nothing like that but it was the communicating, getting lined up, that’s when all of that stuff started (going wrong.)

GRAHAM: The linebackers, which was kind of interesting, they shouldn’t have sucked down but our check-down back comes down and the backer just kind of slows his retreat which he shouldn’t have done in that situation because if they don’t give up a seam, we don’t give up a shot.

CHAMBERS: As I ran the route, I was just trying to weave through the defenders and just try and find a soft spot in the defense. By the time I turned and looked, the ball was already in the air and Berco had kind of launched that thing up there and I was just kind of able to go up and get it. When I caught it, I didn’t really know what yard line I was on but I knew I wanted to go down really quick because I wasn’t close enough to try and run to score.

GRAHAM: In a two-minute situation, they know you’re trying to work the out cut and stuff, they’re going to try and sit on those deals. With the little time we had, we had to hit a seam route.

DOUGLAS: Once Gary got that catch, there was a little bit of time left and I remember looking over at the USC sideline (before the last play) and they were celebrating and everyone was super happy.

CHAMBERS: Coach Graham had said something -- I don’t know if he said it in the locker room -- he may have said it in the locker room or he might have said something about it the next day when we were watching film. How big of a catch it was. It was one of those things, players are supposed to make plays.

ASU’s offense ran down to the 46-yard line to spike the ball. By the time they got it off, there were only seven seconds left in the game and the Devils had to make a decision if they were going to heave it for the end zone or try and set up a field goal.

SIMONE: I was like, “Why aren’t we trying to kick a field goal?” And then they line up and it’s Hail Mary time, I had no clue that they were even doing that. I was very surprised. It was one of those things like, “What are we doing?”

TAYLOR KELLY, ASU QUARTERBACK: I kind of thought we were going to do a quick, little out, a 10-yard out, 12-yard out just to get up a little more and kick a field goal.

GRAHAM: A lot of people don’t realize that in that game (kicker) Zane Gonzalez had been suspended, I had suspended him for disciplinary reasons for that game.

CHAMBERS: Oh, that’s what happened. Yeah, Zane wasn’t at that game because of some personal issues.

GRAHAM: (USC) didn’t know that. No one knew that. One of our coaches, I think Chip Long, said, “Coach, should we try to run a comeback and kick a field goal?” And I said, “No, we don’t have our field-goal kicker. We are going to win it on this play.”

(Between offensive coordinator) Mike Norvell and I, there was no discussion. There might have been if Zane would have been there. That definitely would have been an option.

T. KELLY: Then once we gave the signal, I was like, “Alright, here we go. It’s time.” It was just our Hail Mary signal, just kind of like throwing our hand out where we’re throwing it like a football up in the air. That was the first time we ran it in a game.

GRAHAM: I think it was Big Ben, it was our Hail Mary play. After that year, what do you think we called it? The Jael Mary.

BERCOVICI: I saw that thing called from a mile away and was just like, “Alright, boys, give me three and a half seconds here.”

SULKA: (Offensive line coach Chris Thomsen) looked at me and said, “Hey, just get it done.” There was not much for coaching. I know coach Graham is a lot of words and he was getting us pumped up for that play. Honestly, coach Thomsen just believed in us, he didn’t say much. He just said, “You guys know what you have to do.”

Bercovici and the offense lined up for a Hail Mary. The Trojans rushed only three and their corners were nearly 15 yards away from the nearest ASU receiver.

BOATENG: (Bercovici) was just doing this little, “Alright, I got it. I got it. You go there. Boom, boom, boom.” And he was just like a general putting everything into place and he was doing that in practice. It’s almost like he wants to replicate it, he doesn’t want to have any other (things in his head) besides, “OK, but it’s a game.”

N. KELLY: I remember breaking the huddle, turning around and seeing Leonard Williams lined up over me -- I had to block a (first-round) draft pick. I remember thinking in my head, “Snap the ball. Get the ball to Berc.”

GAMMAGE: I think they only rushed three and that’s what was different about us in the games that we played where they had to do Hail Marys, we always brought pressure. That’s the biggest thing on a Hail Mary, you want to not let the quarterback escape and not give him time.

BERCOVICI: I’ve never thrown a Hail Mary in my life before. This is it. I remember saying, “I just need to get this ball up in the air. I’m not going to get sacked.”

BOWMAN: I do believe our coaches and our players were not on the same page because they called a specific defense and then they tried to check out of it. So, half of the people were playing one coverage and half were playing a different coverage.

GRAHAM: I think they were late getting the call in because most people will try to jam your best receiver. So they rushed three, which they had done in the past.

BERCOVICI: They really didn’t look prepared like you would normally think someone would be. There was a lot of confusion and they had guys coming in on the left, right. They had their Mike linebacker sitting on the goal line.

BOWMAN: The coaches were on the sideline, obviously we have signals so we know what play they’re calling. Initially, they called something and right before the snap, they were screaming something else and I believe some of the players were playing with what they originally said the coverage (was) and some people actually got the last-minute switch call that they actually called.

BOATENG: I can recall us being on the sideline like, “Oh, bet, we practiced this all week. This is it.” We were saying how much of a fact it was like, “Awe, this is it. We’ve seen this all practice. We got this, it ain’t nothing.” But there was like that despair and this like, “Man, OK, in practice this works really well but is this really going to happen in a game?”

The snap went back to Bercovici with seven seconds left on the clock. He sat back for a moment, loaded up and launched the ball to the end zone. Strong, who was lined up on the outside, sprinted down the sideline and just before he reached the end zone, knifed towards the post and pulled the ball out of thin air. Touchdown. ASU wins 38-34 and the Jael Mary becomes a part of Arizona State lure.

N. KELLY: (I) snapped it and boom. Got my hands on Leonard.

DOUGLAS: I remember the ball being snapped, and the play wasn’t very long. I just remember the air being taken out of the crowd while the ball is in the air. At first, I thought it was an early throw.

T. KELLY: When he threw it, it just looked really short from my angle because I was probably 10 yards behind him at an angle. When he threw it, I was like, ‘Oh, that doesn’t look like it’s going to get there. It doesn’t look like it’s going to get there.’

BERCOVICI: I knew I threw it high enough but I thought I threw it too early. I’ve never done one in real life before so I just wanted to make sure I wasn’t getting sacked.

JEFFERSON: Right when I saw Berco had time and I saw Berco throw the ball in the air, I thought the ball was going to go to Cam Smith and I thought Cam was going to try and jump up and catch it.

SMITH: It was essentially a slightly modified Hail Mary, as the outside receiver I was expected to be the rebound guy behind (Jaelen) if the ball was deflected backward. J was the middle-man who was expected to go up for the ball (and oh boy did he), and D.J. was the farthest inside guy who was expected to rebound if the ball was deflected forward.

SULKA: It’s kind of crazy because the world just kind of stood still. I think I was blocking my guy for a long time and I think I just wanted to finish that block. I tried to drive him to the ground and drive him to the sideline because we had so much adrenaline going.

CARRINGTON: First off, the offensive line did a great job of giving Bercovici time.

SULKA: As for myself, and I know the rest of the line gave Mike plenty of time to make that pass. It’s either I block this guy or we don’t win this game.

CARRINGTON: Once you see him point the shoulder and throw the ball in the air, the deep ball, and no it’s just like, “Where’s the ball going to end up? Where’s it landing?” You kind of look back and forth -- ball, receiver, ball, receiver -- and as you’re looking, I see Jaelen veering off towards the middle. I’m like, “No one’s on him. No one had hands (on him.) This may be a great finish.”

BERCOVICI: The lights in the stadium were so bright, I lost it myself.

GRAHAM: We had Jaelen outside so he could see the ball and knife toward the football. So, Mike’s just buying time and kind of watching where they deploy and then tried to locate the football where Jaelen could go get it.

T. KELLY: Jaelen made a great, heads-up play. He was on the outside and he saw the ball going short and the two inside guys did their job as far as one is supposed to go all the way through (the end zone to the back) and one is supposed to stay low (at the goal line). Jaelen made a great play of cutting like a post and it picked those guys and that’s just an instinctive move by him. It wasn’t drawn up where you’re running a post. Berc is just throwing to a spot.

GRAHAM: I asked (USC coach Steve) Sarkisian that later on and he said that they just the nature of the play, the way (Jaelen) knifed is what (led to the touchdown.)

BERCOVICI: What Jaelen did was totally instinctual.

SMITH: What’s interesting is that we started off straight down the field and the defenders adjusted and basically “posted up” for the Hail Mary expecting it to be where we were rather than where J ended up, so the ball being thrown further in was an unintentional blessing, since the defense was out of position.

SIMONE: And I see Jaelen just run under it. (USC defensive back) Hayes Pullard just stood there.

CARRINGTON: That matchup really, I would give it 10-for-10 (to Jaelen) if it’s one-on-one Jaelen versus (Pullard). That’s the matchup we want.

GAMMAGE: I knew they were in trouble when I saw the guy on the goal line and he was looking up like he wanted to catch it.

BOWMAN: We were still in position to make a play. Whether half of the team was in one defense and the other dense was in the right, you still were in position to make a play. He just made a better play.

BOATENG: I don’t see anyone around Jaelen. So I’m like, “Ok, wait. Ain’t no way this is about to be pulled off right now.” And as I’m thinking that, I just see him snatch that bad boy and run into the end zone.

It was almost like I was looking through the blinds, like what I saw in practice and it was like we were in the bubble at ASU practicing. It was just like that and as soon as Jaelen caught the ball, it was like the bubble was gone. Boom, we’re at USC. Boom, it worked.

BERCOVICI: I just remember looking at the scoreboard running down, because they like immediately put the points on the board and I was like, “Holy crap, the game’s over. That’s it.

GRAHAM: Jaelen caught it on about the 3-yard line. We wanted to land it in the end zone, like two yards in the end zone.

SIMONE: I think (Pullard is) still over at the Coliseum waiting for the ball to come down. You learn at a very young age about highest point and going and getting the ball and Jaelen did it and Hayes Pullard did not which is the result you saw.

N. KELLY: Crowd shuts up, you hear the ASU fans going wild.

GRAHAM: A lot of people left. I know a lot of people, one of my good friends, he said, “Man, I was in the parking lot and I’m hearing this roar come from the crowd.”

T. KELLY: All of the SC fans were leaving the stadium and a lot of them were at the edge of the fences because they’re out of their seats leaving and then they stop to watch it as their walking out of the stadium.

SULKA: The next thing I knew we were all running down the field to celebrate because we scored the touchdown.

SIMONE: We all kind of hesitate for a second to make sure there was no flags or anything and then just sprint on the field and tackle him.

GAMMAGE: Party in the end zone.

T. KELLY: I remember throwing my headset on the ground and hobbling out there with my boot and celebrating with the guys. I don’t even know what happened to my headset or anything.

JEFFERSON: I threw my helmet on the ground and ran right into Jaelen. I actually hit Jaelen with my head. His teeth hit the top of my head because I was so excited. Everyone came behind us and just plowed us. I remember Jaelen was laying on his back and I was on top of him because everyone was on top of us. And then Jaelen was yelling, “Yo, you’ve got to get off of me. I’m claustrophobic. I’m claustrophobic.” And I was like, “I got you, bro.”

SIMONE: I jumped on the pile first and then I realized, “Oh my gosh, Mike just threw that.” And if you know anything about Mike and I, we’ve been boys forever. He didn’t even know what happened. I think he’s still in shock. I guess it’s like an emotional deal more than talking about the play. It’s just like, “Oh my gosh, look how far we’ve come. Look at what you just did.”

BERCOVICI: Jordan and I had been roommates for a while. He always appreciated the kind of teammate I was. He was the hype beast for me before the game and making sure that this is my day, my day and always giving me encouragement. At that point, it was just, “I love you.” That’s all you can really say in that moment.

BOATENG: My jaw is dropped. I don’t run to the whole mosh pit (around Jaelen) while Berco is like on the ground. I’m just like in awe. So, I take a look around the whole Coliseum and I’m looking at all the USC fans and there doing same thing. It’s so quiet and all you heard was the Sun Devil corner (of fans) in the right corner of the Coliseum and us just going berserk.

BOWMAN: I kind of kept my thoughts to myself and I was still soaking in what really just happened. I know how Hayes is, he’s a hard worker, he a grinder. Football means so much to him, I knew he felt bad and if that was me, I really wouldn’t want to hear what nobody had to say. We went in and nobody really said that much. We all knew what happened.

The Sun Devils celebration led them to the locker room.

DOUGLAS: A bunch of guys were from L.A., including myself, so I was just excited to see my family because I knew they were there. I remember trying to get back to my phone as quick as possible to see what everybody was saying about it.

BERCOVICI: We went back to the locker room to change and shower and then I go upstairs to my family. I knew I had a lot of family and friends there but I walked up to a sea of about 150 of my family and friends. That was epic. That was when it hit me like, “Holy crap, this wasn’t just a football game, this was years and years of memories that are going to last forever.”

GRAHAM: Steve Butterfield, one of our great donors who passed away, he and his son were in the locker room with us and he told me right before he died. Butter had a heart attack and died this year and a great Sun Devil -- probably one of the best donors over the long haul of anyone we had -- and he told me, he said, “Todd, I want you to know that that moment at USC and on that field and in that locker room was one of the greatest moments of my life.”

N. KELLY: We had film that next day, I remember just watching film and at the end of it, coach Thomsen (said), “And here’s the best play.” Boom. Hail Mary win. We rewinded it a couple times, we were all pumped.

GRAHAM: I watched (the film) that night. I never went to bed before I watched every play -- offense, defense, and special teams. We’re watching it on the plane and the kids are all gathered up and we’re on the plane and they’re all over my shoulder and we’re watching the play.

SULKA: Mike gave me the game ball in the locker room after that, it was pretty cool. He handed it to the line, all of it to the line. I honestly don’t know. I don’t know if Mike gave it to me or if he gave it to the line and we gave it to coach Thomsen.

GRAHAM: There were eight game balls in that game. I think (ASU President Michael Crow) got one. I think our top donors -- Steve Butterfield, Jack Furst, Bill Kent -- all got one.

Wait, but where’s the actual Jael Mary ball?

GAMMAGE: No idea.

CARRINGTON: It actually got lost. I’m not sure what actually happened to it.

BERCOVICI: (After the game) Jaelen had the Jael Mary ball, he wasn’t letting go of that. But it was like a ball the boosters, ball to me, ball to Jordan, ball to coach. Coach Graham just said, “You don’t get to experience something like that your whole life.”

SULKA: I have the game ball, a couple of game balls, and I’m kind of hoping it is the Jael Mary ball, that would be pretty cool.

BERCOVICI: I have one in my room. I like to think that was the ball that I threw. I know Jaelen has one as well. It’s a great debate between who has the real one.

GRAHAM: I’m sitting in my office right now looking at the exact ball. I had that ball painted and it sits in my trophy case. I should give that to Mike Bercovici. Mike, that would be something he would appreciate.

Following its 38-34 victory over USC, Arizona State beat No. 23 Stanford, Washington, No. 17 Utah and No. 10 Notre Dame in four consecutive weeks. The Sun Devils skyrocketed up the polls, landing at No. 6 before they were set to play Oregon State in Corvallis. That night, ASU allowed 14 fourth-quarter points to the Beavers and were upset, 35-27. ASU fell to Arizona in the Territorial Cup by a touchdown two weeks later and finished its season with a 36-31 victory over Duke in the Sun Bowl. It was one of the most successful seasons during Graham’s tenure in Tempe and many players point to the Jael Mary as a main reason why.

JEFFERSON: It for sure (gave us confidence going forward.) We felt like we were invincible and that’s how you should feel -- you should feel like that every single game but after that happened, we felt like we were on top of the world and I feel like that was the right feeling to have.

T. KELLY: It brought us closer as a unit. It brought our guys to believe in one another. It brought guys who were backups or starters that the person behind them or ahead of them has their back and if something does happen to the person that’s playing or starting, they can go out and make great plays because they’re ready and prepared.

SULKA: That is one of the moments that I actually, I still think about today. (I’ve) used it in interviews and used in different scenarios where we looked at the determination to get a job done and how our training paid off for us. How we practiced that play in practice every Thursday and actually practiced those special plays where we actually had the opportunity to use it.

N. KELLY: I still watch it today when it pops up on my feed. I’ll watch it and I’ll get goosebumps because it’s such an amazing moment in my football career and in ASU history.

GRAHAM: I’ve had some time off and getting ready to get a new head coaching job, hopefully in December, so, I’ve been studying film. So, I find myself going back and watching those tapes and I actually spent a lot of time watching that play and thinking, “Man, how grateful I am that I got to be the coach here.”

Jaelen Strong declined to be interviewed for this piece.

Bowman, however, offered the story in how he helped bring Strong to Tempe. The pair grew up in Philadelphia together and played on the same Pop Warner team while Bowman was about 9-years old. Although he was four years older, Bowman said that he and Strong both followed each other’s career throughout middle school, high school and eventually college.

The two became connected with each other while Bowman was at Pierce College when Bowman asked Strong who made his highlight tape. Strong later reached out to him, seeking advice on whether he should go to an FCS (I-AA) program or follow the future USC safety to Pierce.

“Obviously my coaches (at Pierce College) wanted him after they saw his film. They wanted to get him out here. So, his whole deal was -- because, at the time, he was only 17-years old -- so you’ve got to understand his mom still had a big influence on his decision making and stuff like that. Obviously, traveling 2,500, almost 3,000 miles away would have been something, it would have been a concern for any parent. Initially, he knew I was getting offers, he was like, ‘I at least want to try and get an offer before I come (to Pierce). Is there any way I can get an offer from a school?’ And I was like, ‘Damn, it’s going to be tough because you didn’t play (in junior college) yet.’ And I think he was waiting for his grades or something to either post or waiting for his SAT scores to come back to see if he was going to qualify or not.

“But what I did was, at the time when we spoke, I had two to three offers already -- one was Arizona State. I told the coaches about Jaelen before he came out here and they saw his film and was like, ‘Man, is he that fast for real?’ and I was like, ‘Yeah.’ They were like, ‘We need to see game film,’ because they didn’t believe it. They thought it was sped up on the tape, that’s how crazy it was. The coach, it was (former Arizona State Linebackers coach under then-head coach Dennis Erickson) Trent Bray, he said, ‘Well listen, Gerald, we like him a lot. If everything checks out, we’ll offer him.’ And I was like, ‘Alright,’ and I let (Jaelen) know and come to find out (ASU) was like, ‘You know what? We’re just going to offer him now. We don’t even care if he qualifies.’ Because that was the deal, they were like, ‘If he qualifies, we’ll offer him and bring him in now.’ He didn’t qualify and they were like, ‘Forget it, we’re still going to offer him. We’ll send him to Pierce.’

“So he came to Pierce and I actually didn’t have a chance to play with him at Pierce but we practiced together and trained together and we joked about it probably like a couple weeks ago. He was like, ‘G, do you remember when I came out there? You got mad at me and stopped talking to me for a while.’ I was like, ‘For what?’ and he was like, ‘Because I wouldn’t go to the weight room and you got mad at me,’ and I was like, ‘Oh yeah,’ and he was like, ‘Yeah dude.’ It was all out of love because I wanted him to be the best he could be.’ When he first came (to Pierce) he grayshirted his first year so my sophomore year, he grayshirted. We would have played together but he grayshirted. He focused on his academics instead of playing which was smart, actually, because he grayshirted, he was able to have three years to play at Arizona State if he needed to.”

And in his last year at ASU, Strong, along with Bercovici and the rest of their ASU teammates in 2014 created a memory that will last a lifetime in the hearts of Sun Devil fans.

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