If the brink of fall in the year 2021 was the moment a Valley local chose to emerge from their residence under a sun-beaten rock in Tempe and take a glimpse at Arizona State’s football schedule, the first game at home against Southern Utah would not necessarily seem like the most appetizing matchup.

If COVID-19 did not exist, if fans were not vacant from college football events for an entire season, and if the entire defense did not return for one last shot at the Pac-12 Championship, well, they would be right.

But this is indeed the reality. There seems to be a light at the end of the pandemic tunnel. Sun Devil students crashed the online ticket system as they eagerly scrambled to reserve a chance to view the team in a live game for the first time since ASU defeated Florida State 20-14 in the 2019 Sun Bowl. The veteran defense has set the tone over the last four weeks of preparation and figures to rank among the top units in the conference, if not the nation.

So it doesn’t matter if Thursday’s game against SUU can be tabbed as a “warmup” for ASU’s players before they take on conference opponents.

It’s a big deal.

ASU offensive coordinator Zak Hill had an interesting first year with the program that paled in comparison to most coaches beginning new roles. After a whirlwind of a season last year, Hill is ecstatic to return to normalcy.

“I think our fanbase is excited to get back out there, fill the stadium again, and feel that energy on game day,” Hill said in a press conference Sunday. “Last year was so different, playing games in empty stadiums, and you just lacked the energy and vibe. As a coach or a player, you crave that, and that’s part of what you’re doing it for is the gameday feel.”

2020 was also the first season with the team for junior running back Rachaad White. And although White did quite well for himself (420 rushing yards, six total touchdowns, 10.0 yards per carry) over the four games, ASU suited up for last year, playing football with manufactured crowd noise and surrounded by empty seats just wasn’t the same. White couldn’t stop grinning at the anticipation for Thursday night’s outing.

“You can see I got a mask on, but if you can hear it in my voice, I’m cheesin,’” White said. “We’re just happy, just grateful."

Fall camp and the ensuing preseason was a success, according to Hill. Although the offense struggled in the first week as both sides got back in football mode, Jayden Daniels and Co. appeared to find their footing throughout the rest of August. For the most part, the key skill position players remained healthy, and Hill was able to flex his creative muscles with a more confident and experienced corps.

“I feel like we’ve got in what we needed to get in, and then we can run variations off that type of stuff,” Hill said. “We had spring ball and then fall camp to be able to do that, and now you’re trying to hone in on what you’re good at, what players you want on the field, and where you want them. Instead of a full, mass install over fall camp, now you can dive into the details of a true gameplan, and it’s nice.”

Hill mentioned that over the next few days, the coaching staff would remain diligent about pushing players to get into game shape. As game day draws nearer, the program will begin tapering off workouts and field exercises to ensure the roster is well-rested. That gives Hill and the rest of the offense time to plan. It all starts with the first possession, and Hill is already concocting plays for the Sun Devils’ initial drive.

“You always have an idea of some of the things you want to get to early on,” Hill said. “Maybe things you’re either going to be efficient or things you feel really good about. I think every offensive coordinator is that way; wants to get to some early things, throw them some different looks, and all that. But I think every game you have a few of those that you’re detailing up as ‘yeah, this is one I want to start in the first series.’”

So exactly what should viewers expect from Hill’s offense against SUU? The Thunderbirds recently played its first game on Saturday against San Jose State. The result was a convincing 45-14 loss where the Spartans virtually had control of the game since their first possession.

Hill watched the game, as did Daniels and most of the players. It was a blowout, and it would be easy to expect Thursday’s game to be somewhat of a walk in the park for a program of ASU’s caliber. But Hill isn’t allowing the team to get ahead of itself.

“Going into a game, sometimes you focus on the opponent too much, and you really got to focus on yourselves,” Hill said. “Especially in Game 1, they’re going to change their stuff up, and they could be a different defense and try to do some different things.”

SJSU impressed Hill, and the offensive coordinator and Hill admired the speed and athleticism the team operated at. For his team, Hill surely wants to keep those same attributes but is mainly concerned with locking down internal factors that the team can handle. Through a focus on the little things, Hill sees a path to offensive efficiency.

“If our offense is clicking, not making a bunch of mental errors if the ball isn’t on the ground. We want to do a great job with the ball security; we want to be able to play fast, play physical, and ultimately create some explosive plays within that.

“You look at penalty yardage; you look at mental errors; you look at some of the things you can control. There are going to be physical mistakes in every game that you can’t control. We just want to limit the mental errors and taking care of the football.”

Hill doesn’t plan on making any drastic changes to the game plan at this moment based on SJSU’s performance. He said there is a “fine line” for administering change based on another team’s Week 1 output when his crew has yet to touch the field. But Hill made clear that nothing in the playbook is off-limits for the SUU matchup.

“I guess my philosophy is we’re not going to hold back,” Hill said. “Every game, we want to be explosive, we want to have fun, we want to be creative, we want to utilize what we’ve got.”

That full throttle mentality of all gas no breaks has White elated about running the football in four short days. White said that not only did he turn on the SUU-SJSU game, but he watched “all kinds of college football” on Saturday. White began his response by saying it was “good to hear” Hill was unafraid to crack open the playbook, then quickly corrected the word “good” to “great.”

That tweak in word choice should come as no surprise. Humble and well-spoken, every game White doesn’t take the game he plays in for granted. When he plays, he wants to play great. Hill’s expansive playbook will allow White to be exactly that, no matter the strength of the opponent.

“We’re not coming into the game like it’s gonna be boring,” White said. “We don’t really pay attention to all the speculation, but it’s gonna be great. I want Coach to call all the plays he wants to call; just put guys in position. That’s what he’s going to do as a coach, and we just got to capitalize and make plays on it.”

White has an argument to be the most explosive player in college football. The maddening production he was able to harness last year was straight from another dimension, and it earned him a spot on the 2021 Doak Walker Award watch list. In 2021, White is not picky about the way he puts points on the board. He just wants to find the end zone.

“As a running back, you’re just thinking like ‘I’m tryna score.’ So the quickest way to score might be running that guy over, it might be to juke him out, or it might be to run away from him. My style of running is still going to be the same, and I’m just going to play ball and have fun.”

That same mentality is shared by Daniels, which White said he appreciates along with the quarterback’s effort to become a leader and vocalize his thoughts. That commitment has not gone unnoticed by Hill either, who converses with Daniels frequently. Their most recent interaction outside of practice: messaging strategy, notes, and takeaways as the two got their first look at ASU’s Week 1 adversary.

“Even watching the game last night, he’s texting me thoughts, and we’re kinda having that dialogue and feel good about the game plan,” Hill said. “There’s just more communication nowadays with the meetings, whether it’s out of football or just in my office. He understands what we’re trying to do as an offense.”

Hill explained how Daniels grew to recognize the “game within a game” and understand his responsibilities and assignments. Signal adjustments and coverage checks became rapid and second-nature. His processing speed improved. Daniels even evolved physically, nearing 200 pounds at the start of fall camp.

The promise and potential of this ASU football team are exciting. The team knows it. The fans know it. Even that Valley local that spent the last year under a rock would have an idea of why expectations are so high.

The time for talking about the road to the conference championship or Rose Bowl aspirations dried up long ago. The Arizona State Sun Devils begin their quest for those goals at 7:30 MDT on Thursday against the SUU Thunderbirds. To echo the words of Rachaad White:

“It’s gonna be great.”

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