In their last two games, the ASU offense had anything but a smooth rise, even during back-to-back victories. The two one-score wins forced this unit to rise to the occasion following a lull, and while consistency is an aspect that still eludes this Sun Devil group, offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo is excited to continue the momentum his offense has built.
“I think having a full week is definitely different than having a Thursday game,” Arroyo said. “A Thursday night game is cramped, but to go in and get in a fight and play not nearly up to our standard and find a way to get a win, I think we did a lot of really good things that we’re going to be able to build on this week and the remainder of the season.”
The coaching staff and players are content with the foundation that has been constructed throughout the offseason. Tight ends coach Jason Mohns feels the players are eager to keep the hot start ablaze yet still understand there is plenty of improvement to be accomplished.
“I think our guys are excited,” Mohns said. “It's great to see them buying into what we're building here and see and seeing the success. But you're not guaranteed anything. You have to keep showing up every day to continue to sustain that success.”
Arroyo’s desire following a successful week is to keep the foot on the gas pedal throughout practices and for the remainder of the season, as conference play begins for ASU against Texas Tech on Saturday. The Sun Devils’ play-caller feels his players should naturally feel driven for the challenges ahead.
“We’ve been pushing it pretty hard, and raising the expectations and standards of each practice is always hard,” Arroyo said. “How do you get a little bit more each week? The motivation to do that has gotta be intrinsic for the most part. Because the other piece is really a short fuse, finding little things that you can really get guys dialed into is part of the art of coaching.”
Arroyo was impressed by the growth of his offense, which is averaging over 30 points through three games for the first time since 2019. Redshirt freshman quarterback Sam Leavitt tallied his best performance as a Sun Devil to date in the 31-28 win over Texas State.
After completing 19-30 passes, the quarterback made his mark felt with two total touchdowns and 246 yards passing, and his first interception of the year proved to be inconsequential. Arroyo knows the importance every game has on a young signal-caller and is impressed by the skills Leavitt has showcased early on.
“Each game when you’re this young is magnified,” Arroyo explained. “Sam’s starting to see things now for the first time, and I think the growth is huge. So each game right now as a young quarterback is exponential; I couldn’t be more fired up about his opportunity to learn and grow.”
A leader for Sun Devil football, its primary offensive weapon, and a Pat Tilman Leadership Council member, senior running back Cam Skattebo was tamed on the stat sheet by Texas State with 24 carries and 62 yards, yet he did score two touchdowns.
Skattebo remarked that personal stats are less of a concern as his focus is on winning football games. Therefore, he was impressed by his team’s ability to respond to adversity.
“We stayed resilient,” Skattebo said. “The guys never budged. We got a little upset. But everybody saw the language of everybody else quiet. Everyone knew that we had to attack the rest of the game the hardest we could. So, the offense had to put some stuff together and score some points, and we made it happen at the end of the day. It was a hard-fought team battle.”
Arroyo understands the impact a potent run game can have on an offense. The former UNLV head coach was hired by ASU in December 2023, following a stellar year by Skattebo in Tempe, where he finished with nine touchdowns and nearly 800 yards on the ground. The exploits of his running back certainly served as a strong selling point for Arroyo to take the Arizona State job, knowing that there were realistic prospects of establishing an effective running game, a theory that has materialized this season.
“Obviously, the thing that we all know is that there’s a guy at the running back position we knew we’d get an identity with; I mean, factoring that in is part of the reason I’m here, to be honest with you,” Arroyo admitted. “A good running back core with a line that we feel like we could start building an offense with.
“What we had to do and what we’ve proven thus far is that we can run the ball, and so you’re going to have to add a guy to the box. When you do that, the passing game opens up, and single coverage becomes evident. The coverages become more identifiable for the passing game, the play-actions open up, and then you start to see some of the elements of the offense show up.”
Skattebo and senior center Leif Fautanu noted the difficulties of a short game prep week and covertly enjoyed the pleasures of the two extra days off as they look ahead toward another upcoming road trip to the Lone Star State.
“It was like a short bye week you know you get a couple of extra days even 24 extra hours is huge,” Skattebo claimed. “It's a difference for your body, so when you do get those days, your body notices it's a completely different feeling. This is the best I felt on a Tuesday practice since we started. So I'm excited and feel great.”
“I'm glad how we responded,” Fautanu commented. “Especially with how our bodies felt last week. On the short week, I'm glad we were able to effectively practice and get our reps in, and in the end, come out with the win. I think we're kind of down a little bit but having [Sean N’a] back and all those guys come back a lot healthier, I think it helped us in the back end.
“I know it kind of sucked in the front end where we have the short week of practice, but I think eventually getting the win, it really paid off driving us having those four days off.”
Now, the offensive unit is focusing its attention on Saturday’s Texas Tech contest. Playing in Lubbock in the program's inaugural Big 12 conference game presents a new set of challenges.
“Tech's front is solid,” Skattebo said in regards to the Texas Tech’s defensive line. “They play hard, and we have to do our job. The only reason we lost any games this year is because we beat ourselves. I truly believe that, and if we can get our jobs done, then we'll be just fine.”
For Fautanu, on his first away trip this year, in-game communication was an issue on the offensive end. The decibels the Texas State fans produced affected the front line, as they struggled to hear each other and distribute signals at the line of scrimmage. Nonetheless, that experience can serve them well as they are set to encounter an even rowdier Red Raider fan base.
“I feel like we also had a tough time communicating,” Fautanu admitted. “That was our first away game. Some of the communication pieces got missing in that game, so I feel like that's kind of what the emphasis is this week, of communicating, especially when in a loud environment. I feel like practicing the bubble with all the noise really helps us, especially going into another away game.
“It starts with me because if I don't communicate to the rest of the line, the rest of the line doesn't know what they're doing, so I got to do a better job of communicating what the front.”
ASU’s opening quarter of the 2024 season couldn’t have started better, and at 3-0, the Sun Devils have already been named as one of the most surprising teams in the Big 12. There is anything but content with the accomplishments to date, and the hunger for success has only grown that much more each week.
“We just gotta keep pushing,” Skattebo mentioned. “The guys trust the process. They trust all the coaches we have and all the staff, and we're playing for each other, and you notice it, everybody notices it, so I'm super excited to see what this team has in store for us, but I can't wait to see the future for this this group of guys.”
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