PAYSON, Ariz. -- Most quarterbacks would likely have not stuck around the ASU football program as long as redshirt senior Mike Bercovici. That in it of itself has been well-documented.
Now, he's the starting quarterback and captain with the entire school behind him.
Everything still isn't orthodox. The same quarterback who beat him out for the starting job, Taylor Kelly, now serves as his coach. He is more tied to his iconic moment — a last-second heave to Jaelen Strong to defeat USC 38-34 last season — than he is to his accomplishments in the classroom and the community.
He's grateful to a community and program that didn't originally anoint him as their savior, but enters Camp Tontozona and the 2015 program looking to do just that.
They key to his leadership? Brotherhood.
"I feel that's what our niche is," Bercovici said. "No one plays harder for one another than us. To be in an environment like (Camp Tontozona) in the society that we live in, to really bring that out of one another. Something as simple as a cafeteria discussion at 9:15 at night between a freshman and a redshirt senior like myself and it makes all the difference in the world. It's almost unexplainable."
Bercovici has been a part of the Camp Tontozona experience since head coach Todd Graham brought back the annual tradition during his first season in 2012.
The starting quarterback recalled one influential conversation in his first trip to Camp Tontozona that he said has changed his career.
"I can remember when I was a redshirt freshman up here and how my relationship grew with somebody and I was able to talk to somebody for the rest of my career just because of that one conversation," Bercovici said. "Bonfires are something that we do a lot, and it's amazing when you light a fire just the emotions that come out. It's pretty special."
Bercovici said practicing at Camp Tontozona brings him back to the passions that drew him to football in the first place.
"It brings the fun and joy back to football and also makes you realize that you are here as a Sun Devil to write someone else's story," Bercovici said. "In return, you're telling stories for a lifetime. You're helping the person to the left or right of you become a better person whether they're a freshman (or not) and in turn, those guys are learning and telling your story."
Reach the reporter at fardaya@asu.edu or follow @fardaya15 on Twitter.
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