Finding a bright spot out of a 3-9 campaign isn’t easy, but Arizona State doesn’t need to look that far to find a positive from a lost season. While its offense resorted to swinging gates and direct snaps to the tight end, the Sun Devil defense held down the fort as best they could for much of the season. Holding eventual Cotton Bowl champion Washington to zero offensive touchdowns speaks for itself in that regard.
Yet, a new season soon dawns, and spring practice is a time to figure out what you have. With arguably their top three defenders from last season now out of the locker room, the returning contributors now have to mesh with an influx of reinforcements drawn from elsewhere. For sophomore Tate Romney, who had an impressive 2023 season at linebacker, he isn’t able to sit back and play like his first year in the maroon and gold. Alongside another veteran in Caleb McCullough, the two standout linebackers have taken a more vocal role in hammering home Sun Devil football to their new teammates with the experiences under their belt.
“Caleb and I had to step up a bit and teach them the defense, help everybody get up to speed and be comfortable with it,” Romney said. “They’ve all learned really quick, and they’re all going to be really good players. I like it because it’s going to bring a lot of depth and a lot of competition. Iron sharpens the iron environment. Everybody’s been pushing each other in that kind of form. New guys and old guys coming together; it’s been good to bond as a team.”
Even though he’s had to raise his teaching stick, Romney sees the camaraderie of the team already forming after an offseason of workouts.
“All the new guys bring a lot of energy,” Romney said. “I have a good feeling about the team up to this point. I really like the new guys that have come in. It’s been fun, and we’ve all gotten to know each other. We’re a lot closer this year as a group. There’s competition too, lot of people with a lot of talent. We’ll keep improving from here.”
Romney’s second-year sentiments are shared by other veterans on the defensive line in, Prince Dorbah and CJ Fite.
“Last year, we were split into two different groups,” Dorbah recalled. “This year, everyone’s coming together and being one team that plays for one another. Trusting one another to go out there and do their job is the biggest thing. College football’s a different breed because you can be playing with different teams every year.”
“Lot of new faces, obviously,” Fite said. “Been working out together for a minute, so it feels good to get out on the field together, get that brotherhood connection and communication. Since everybody got in, we’ve had that connection.”
While Fite didn’t have the impact on the level of Romney’s 52 tackles, another year under the sun has the Texas native ready to take his own step up. This advance started in the weight room for Fite, where he notes significant improvement in himself in preparation for spring practice.
“What we do in the weight room always translates into what we do on the field,” Fite noted. “Towards the end, our training was for power. We start out with strength and agility, which goes to power. Everybody had changes in their body. I dropped four percent of body fat. I feel a lot lighter and a lot faster while still having the same muscle.”
Fite sees his transformation as a necessity, going hand-in-hand with his newfound role in leadership.
“Second year is more responsibility, nothing I’m going to shy away from,” Fite said. “They expect more out of me this year. Be more vocal now that I’m more comfortable.”
Obviously, all this has to translate into success for Defensive Coordinator Brian Ward. While his defense produced its fair share of highlights in 2023, ASU ended the campaign disastrously on defense, surrendering over 40 points in three of its final four contests. Chalk that up to the elite offenses of Oregon and Arizona all you want, but Ward’s worry is his team’s drop-off in production and focusing this offseason on correcting it.
“We’re working on the details of cleaning up a lot of things that we didn’t get right towards the end of last year,” Ward said. “It’s really a progression and a process for us to work on a few more things.”
Added depth is also a contributor to this, as more bodies to use keep legs fresh as the season goes on.
“Having this depth right now, we really have a true three deep,” Ward continued.
That vocality and responsibility play into Dillingham’s preaching of raising the minimum standard. Expecting a higher floor starts with increased energy and desire, with a deeper roster intact to supplement that. From Day two of spring practice compared to one, the second-year head coach already sees the response.
“Energy and effort wasn’t even comparable to day one,” Dillingham said of Thursday’s session. “The key to the game is the ball. If we attack the ball like everybody in the country, we have a chance to win football games. Practice one; we played brother ball, where you kind of just tag off on one another. ‘Hey, great job, buddy, high five!’ You got to practice, and you got to attack the football. The only way to attack the ball is to chase it, and I think that showed up.”
With a public practice scheduled for Saturday, the first full pads session of the spring, Dillingham is putting early pressure on the entire team to show him this desired effort. While he’s seen the bar move up this week, Dillingham appears to have a whole new challenge awaiting his players come the weekend.
“Do your 1/11th and give elite effort,” Dillingham stressed. “If you do that upfront, we’re going to be pretty good. But we’re in pajamas. Until we get into full pads on Saturday, this is smoke and mirrors up front. Pads on Saturday, real football begins.”
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