Editor's note: This is the third in a series of stories previewing Pat's Run, which will be held Saturday morning in honor of Pat Tillman. Coming Friday: Everything you need to know for race day.
Former ASU fullback Ryan Wood wasn't joined at the hip with Pat Tillman when the pair played together on the Sun Devils football team.
Now, Wood admits he feels attached to his fallen teammate.
Less than 10 years after his ASU career ended in a disheartening home loss to UA, Wood, 32, has made a name for himself as vice president of sales of Under Armour, an event sponsor in Pat's Run.
Wood's company supplies athletic apparel for college and professional athletes and military personnel. It's possible that Tillman wore Under Armour when he played for the Arizona Cardinals and served with the Army Rangers in Afghanistan.
Wood takes pride in the time he spent playing with Tillman.
"You couldn't help but notice the guy on the field," said Wood, who plans to speak in a symposium at 8 a.m. Friday at the College of Law and attend Pat's Run, scheduled for 8 a.m. Saturday. "He was incredibly tough and very determined. He was the kind of guy you would want to line up next to when you played the game."
When Wood, a transfer from Youngstown State, arrived at ASU, Tillman was just a freshman. Most knew more about Wood, the team's starting fullback during the 1995 season, than they did about Tillman.
Former ASU football coach Bruce Snyder's offense centered on a power running game, forcing Wood to become a blocking back for tailbacks Chris Hopkins and Michael Martin. In practice, it wasn't uncommon for Wood to butt heads with charging linebackers, including Tillman.
"I would smack linebackers in the mouth all day long," Wood said. "I was 6 foot 4 when I got there, and I was 5-11 when I left."
In Wood's senior season, ASU finished 6-5 and missed out on a bowl game, largely because of a 31-28 loss to UA in the finale at Sun Devil Stadium. The following year, Tillman spearheaded ASU's defense, leading the Sun Devils to an 11-1 finish and just the second Rose Bowl appearance in school history.
Released by the Dallas Cowboys six weeks before the end of the 1996 NFL season, Wood returned to ASU as a student assistant. He sat with coaches in the press box at the 1997 Rose Bowl, when ASU suffered a 20-17 loss to Ohio State.
"I wasn't on the field with them in Pasadena, but I felt like I was part of that team," Wood said. "We almost fell out of the press box when Jake [Plummer] scored that touchdown. To lose it the way we did was pretty tough, but it still goes down in my mind as one of the greatest Rose Bowls of all time."
Reach the reporter at brian.gomez@asu.edu.
