Football 101 is being able to effectively run the ball and stop the run, and the Sun Devils are excelling in those categories during this young 2024 season. ASU is averaging an eye-popping 293 yards on the ground while yielding just 32 yards on average to their opponents. The assurance of both the offensive and defensive line is warranted, but there is no sense of complacency as Arizona State is set to meet Texas State on the road.
“We personally feel like it's any confidence because every week is a new week,” graduate student left guard Ben Coleman said. “The reality is that's last week or the last two weeks. We were able to establish a run game. We have to do that again, and the week after, we got to do that, and we got to continue to do that. But as an offensive line, you want to run the ball. I think that makes guys confident.”
The front five’s domination against Mississippi State resulted in one of the best rushing performances in recent memory. Senior running back Cam Skattebo earned the Associated Presses’ Player of the Week honors following 297 yards of total offense, including 262 rushing yards, the second-best in ASU history. As a team, ASU earned 346 yards on the ground, which helped them have the ball for 40 minutes in that contest, all feats that are highly flattering toward the offensive line core.
ASU head coach Kenny Dillingham has praised the Sun Devil offensive line for the awards that Skattebo has been earning, but in turn, Coleman is proud of his running back and is glad that Skattebo’s achievements greatly reflect on himself and his teammates up front.
“I told Skatt, the more viral he goes, the better my life is,” Coleman admitted. “I don't need anything. The more followers he gets we're doing something good. We're doing something right. So the more viral, the more fame, the more followers he gets, we're perfectly fine with them.”
Coleman and senior right guard Cade Briggs's edge on the offensive line is ingrained amongst the unit. This trait has ignited a new initiative in a group that was battered figuratively and literally in 2023 and is resolved to prove that they have truly turned the page this year.
“I think it comes from my coach,” Coleman said of his position coach, Saga Tuitele. “He recruits us because of the guys we are. I think we just bounce that off personality. Coach is hard. We believe we're coached harder than anybody in the country. We believe that reflects on the football field.”
“Because Saga [Tuitele] was my coach my true freshman year (at New Mexico) he's the same way he is now,” Briggs noted. “Super tough on us, he puts that chip on our shoulder. I think that's how we play.”
This group has been governed by the chip-on-the-shoulder mentality since spring. Everything the offensive line has done in its preseason and game-week preparations has been guided by the goal of executing when it matters most. Briggs is content to see the investment paying dividends these days.
“I think for it to actually start showing the results, I think it's pretty nice,” Briggs said. “We've put a lot of run, a lot of work into this outside zone, this wide zone. That's all we've been doing for the last six months.”
ASU's preparations for Texas State have been guided by a rare five-day turnaround, which naturally demanded more focus in the midst of a condensed week that also includes a road game traveling two time zones. Coleman stressed the importance of scheduling and checking off all the to-do list boxes in-game perforations and other related activities.
“Everybody talks about time management is a thing, they talk about in school, talk about in the workforce as being really important,” Coleman noted. “And it’s something that some people skip over. Are you going to show up five minutes earlier because that's going to be three and a half minutes to get an ice bath, two and a half minutes to change, and then get to the meeting? It's just the small things with time management.
“Being able to recover, we have to do a little bit extra this week, sometimes three times a day, but everything from IVs to therapy, then ice baths, to massages, and anything that we can get. We do a good job as the offensive line recovering.”
Their bodies are poised to be put through a physical ringer against the Bobcats, a team touted for its blitzing and line of scrimmage pressure and one that has shown its prowess in run defense, giving up just 133 rushing yards over the course of two games. Yet, the ASU offensive line feels that it has faced more than enough pressure in practice from its defensive teammates and scout team to get ready for the Texas State matchup.
“I don't think we prepare any different,” Coleman claimed. “The reality is we play a defense that blitzes a lot, too. So, all fall camp, we're blessed that we have a defense like that to help us prepare. This opponent. It's just another opponent, but we want to prepare for them because we believe they're a very good team.
“There's a lot of guys that bounce back to believe that they should be on a higher level. I think Texas State is a great school. It's a great program. Those guys have a chip on their shoulders because they believe that wherever the previous stop was, for their reason it didn't work, they believe that they should be on that level.”
While preparing for its first road test of the year, many players on the Sun Devil roster look forward to the homecoming portion of the season, playing in the state of Texas in back-to-back weeks, with the debut of Big 12 conference play set to take place a week from Saturday at Texas Tech. The 22 ASU players from the Lone Star State on the roster are undoubtedly more eager than their teammates to take part in these next two games.
Hailing from Tatum, Tex., sophomore defensive lineman C.J. Fite is excited to return to his home state. These next two road games provided Fite ample time to invite family and friends to watch him play, and he’s taking full advantage of that.
“It’s fun to go back home and have a lot of family come to that game,” Fite stated. “It feels like high school having everyone there, and I had to ask around the team for a whole bunch of tickets the other day. It’s a good experience; I’m glad to be back and to have some of my teammates see what it’s like playing in Texas. It’s a different atmosphere there with the weather and everything else, and it’s gonna be fun being back there.”
Fite is a part of the major movement that Dillingham and ASU like to coin #Texas2Tempe. Dillingham, in fact, wore a shirt with these words on it during Monday’s press conference and has been fully embracing that campaign ever since he was hired. There are currently 22 active players from that state, and the exposure that Arizona State is about to get in one of the most fertile recruiting grounds in the country is aimed at increasing that number next year and in the seasons to follow.
“We’re big in the Texas to Tempe connection,” Fite remarked. “Playing games there and showing recruits what ASU is with our culture and play is a great way for them to see it firsthand. They might not want to go to ASU at first and might just be going for Texas State. Seeing them can open their eyes to ASU, so playing there definitely helps with recruiting in that sense.”
Fite aided in the dominant 2024 defense for ASU, scoring the third defensive touchdown of the season against Mississippi State. Fite recovered a fumble caused by his teammate junior Clayton Smith near the goal line, and seemingly all in one motion, grabbed the ball off the grass and extended the pigskin across the pylon as he fell out of bounds. Social media embraced that play, and Fite became an internet sensation with a nickname to go along with it.
“I got a lot of texts after the play talking about a ‘thicc six,’” Fite said as he smiled. “I hear it in the locker room all the time now, and it’s hilarious. My favorite one came from a Mississippi State fan, and he said I run like a goofy toddler. That one made me laugh for sure.”
ASU currently has the second-best run defense in the country behind Ole Miss, allowing just 32 yards per game. The Texas State rushing game is ranked 36th in the country with 204 rushing yards per game. This significant battle will be a considerable element when fans reflect on this game. Fite is eager to continue his group’s momentum, knowing that the test that awaits figures to be stiffer than the first two weeks.
“We love challenges,” Fite expressed. “Each week, we’ve been challenged, so it’s a matter of continuing to accept the challenges we face because that’s what the season is all about. They’ve doubted us from the beginning and will continue to doubt us. We don’t want people to hop on the train; we just want to continue proving everyone wrong and show them what ASU football is about.”
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