With two games remaining on the regular season schedule, a No.21 Arizona State (8-2, 5-2 Big 12) team that is playing meaningful games in late November has drawn attention on a national scale. The final home contest of the year against No.14 BYU comes with a heap of Big 12 Championship and College Football Playoff implications. The blockbuster matchup, however, has somewhat dimmed the light on ASU’s senior day, the final game in Mountain America Stadium for a multitude of key players on the Sun Devil roster.
Graduate nickelback Shamari Simmons, who was involved in three turnovers in last Saturday’s win over Kansas State, understands the sentiment of playing in his final home game in an ASU uniform, and wanting to take advantage of his opportunity to play at the highest levels.
“A lot of good memories,” Simmons said about his time at Arizona State. “ So I really just embraced them every day because a lot of people around the world were the key to me being in my position. I never take it for granted just being here at Arizona State.”
Simmons's positional adjustment from safety to nickel back has allowed him to utilize his size and foresight, unlocking his potential to new heights. He leads the team in tackles-for-loss on the season with six and is fourth in total tackles with 57.
“I definitely feel like it made me be able to really showcase my physicality,” Simmons noted, “and my speed. So I really felt like it was a pretty good move to this nickel position this year.”
Simmons’ adaptation to that significant role on those sides of the ball has solidified his importance as a leader of the defensive unit. While he is pleased with the team's accomplishments in 2024, he’s also not left surprised by ASU’s recent success. Establishing a culture by veterans such as him has had an effective trickle-down effect on the rest of the squad, especially the underclassmen.
“Really just showing them my work ethic and whenever they have questions just always being there for the younger guys,” Simmons described his leadership role. “I just remember me being in that (underclassman) position. All I really wanted to know at that age was to have more information. So, I'm just trying my best to give them as much information as I can.
“With how confident I am, I always would have felt like ‘yeah, we’re supposed to be up here.’ But you know now it's just shows us what work ethic can do.”
As a second-year Sun Devil, Simmons was part of the 2023 team that finished 3-9. The internal motivation from one year to the next has lit a fire under him and his teammates, providing a newfound perspective on success and allowing him to fathom the opportunity the team has bestowed on itself.
“To me, it's pretty easy (to envision the goals) because we’re really playing for something big time,” Simmions commented. “Not too many teams in the country are able to play for what we're playing for. So, we just got to go back to work and really locked in.”
Offensive lineman Leif Fautanu, a second-year Sun Devil who transferred from Las Vegas ahead of the 2023 season, emphasizes staying focused ahead of Saturday’s marquee matchup. The 180-degree flip-in fruition from last year has astounded the redshirt senior.
“It's kind of crazy to think how crazy of a turnaround it is,” Fautanu admitted. “I feel like it's not surprising to a lot of the leaders out here. I feel like a lot of the dudes bought in during January from all the way till now. There's a lot of guys that bought into the process of we're still a good team, there's a lot of really good talent on this team, and we just got to utilize it, and I feel like that's kind of what we were able to do in the offseason to kind of let the team buy into the chemistry and what the main plan of the program is.”
ASU head coach Kenny Dillingham has emphasized the alteration in ethos to the players and, more critically, to the Pat Tilman Leadership Council, a group of players that spearhead the roster. Fautanu is one of five seniors on that council and is reflective of his status amongst the team's hierarchy, noting the importance of refocusing on the BYU contest and motivating his teammates to redirect their attention from positive appraisal to hunger and commitment.
“Coach [Dillingham] emphasizes you getting your flowers,” Fautanu said. “Cool, we got our flowers on Sunday. Now it's time to take the trash out and do your daily practices and stuff like that, so I think that's kind of what our mindset was in today's practice.”
Simmons shared a similarly critical viewpoint on adjustments in the media's perception of ASU over the course of the year. Migrating from projected dead last in the Big 12 Media Preseason poll, to No.21 on the AP and College Football Playoff Top 25 rankings following week 12. A change so drastic Simmons can’t help but feel unbothered by the positive press.
“We’ve been doing a great job,” Simmons said on blocking out the noise. “Coach [Dillingham] has been trying to hype us up. Being a great team this year, everybody on the team was not trying to hear that. Everybody is not even worried about how good of a team we really are.
“To us, we’re just out here with our brothers and we’re just grinding and getting better every day. To the world, we are definitely creating something special.”
ASU has a chance to continue its historical marks to end the 2024 season. Currently, 5-0 when playing at Mountain America Stadium, the team can go undefeated at home for the first time since 2004 with a victory on Saturday. For Fautanu, a win on senior day to cap off an unblemished home accord would be icing on the cake of an incredible 2024 season for all the seniors.
“I feel like that's a great opportunity for us, a great challenge,” Fautanu remarked. “Especially with a really good team, and so if we want to win at home, we got to continue to do what got us to this point and I feel like that's kind of what we're doing today. I feel like today was an awesome practice leading up to a big game."
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