The weather is getting colder in Gales Ferry, Conn.

With nighttime temperatures hovering in the low 30s, it’s clear this small northeastern town is headed for another cold winter.

Luis Vasquez, a senior defensive end on the ASU football team, is glad to be spending his time in a warmer climate.

Vasquez grew up and played high school football in the quiet New England town, more than 2,500 miles from Tempe.

“You can’t complain out here,” Vasquez said. “I’m outside at eight o’clock at night with my T-shirt off.”

The senior is in his second season with the Sun Devils, but his journey to ASU can be traced by many degrees on the thermostat.

A highly recruited prospect out of Ledyard High School in Gales Ferry, Conn., Vasquez committed to Purdue University.

He redshirted during his first year with the Boilermakers in 2004, but living on his own for the first time made Vasquez’s stay in West Lafayette, Ind. a short one.

He said he got caught up in the life of playing football at a major college program and became lost academically.

“I took advantage [of college life] and I didn’t do what I [was] supposed to do academically, so I left,” he said.

After leaving Purdue, Vasquez attended a junior college to focus on his grades.

Vasquez was set to attend Hudson Valley Community College in Troy, NY, but received a last-minute telephone call.

The coaching staff at Arizona Western College in Yuma called Vasquez offered him a scholarship.

There was a quick decision for Vasquez, who said he would have had to pay his own way into HVCC.

The defensive end traded his winter coats and turtlenecks for shorts and flip-flops and made the trip to Yuma.

Vasquez wasted no time showing what made him a two-time Eastern Connecticut Conference MVP in high school.

In two seasons at AWC, Vasquez recorded 31 sacks, more than any other junior college player in the nation.

After catching up in the classroom and continuing to improve on the field, Vasquez was ready to make his way back into major college football.

Becoming a Sun Devil was not his first choice.

Vasquez originally committed to Washington State, but recanted when defensive coordinator Robb Akey left to become the head coach at Idaho.

Vasquez said he did not learn of Akey’s departure until national signing day.

“For no one to tell me [Akey left] and have to find out on signing day kind of bummed me out,” Vasquez said.

With WSU out of the picture Vasquez decided to sign with ASU, the current stop on a whirlwind tour.

Coach Dennis Erickson said Vasquez has been a leader ever since he stepped foot in Tempe.

“He’s a great guy who’s motivated [and has] a lot of energy,” Erickson said. “[He] talks a lot out on the practice field [and] keeps guys going. He’s a real inspiration.”

After recording 4.5 sacks and 11.5 tackles for loss in 2007, Vasquez was named as an All-Pac-10 honorable mention.

His fierce nature has helped him sack opposing quarterbacks, and the senior said that personality extends off the field.

“If I’ve got something to say, it gets said,” Vasquez added. “If I’ve got something to do, I usually do it.”

The senior said his post-college goal is to remain on the football field.

“I’ve been playing since I was eight years old and to come this far and know I only have six months [of college] left, I’m just trying to get my body in the best shape possible,” he said.

For a chance to play in the NFL, Vasquez would be willing to play for any team in any climate.

After all, he’s had experience with that.

Reach the reporter at nkosmide@asu.edu.