Since Todd Graham arrived in Tempe he has talked about tempo, and if Tuesday’s first spring practice was any indication, the 2012 Sun Devils will operate extremely quickly.
“It was fast-paced,” junior safety Alden Darby said. “Plays were going (and we had to) sprint on and off the field. It was nothing like last year. I can honestly say I’ve never been this tired in practice since I’ve been here.”
Redshirt senior cornerback Deveron Carr feels he and the rest of the defense can be in better shape to endure Graham’s practices and even compared the pace to the famous hyper-speed offense in Eugene, Ore.
“It feels like we were playing against Oregon at the first day of spring practice,” Carr said. “We’ve got a lot of work to do as far as endurance and getting in shape. I know I can run around a little bit better. I know the whole defense can run around a little better.”
While the Sun Devils were running a lot more than in the majority of last season’s practices, Graham and the rest of his coaching staff were still yelling to push the tempo.
Graham was heard multiple times yelling for players to pick up the pace and remained focused through the end of the drills.
“It’s every day,” Darby said. “Go hard or don’t come at all. The workouts themselves, I’m loving them. There’s no slacking. There are no ways around it.”
There were a few players who threw up at the initial practice, but the 180-degree change from a season ago is exactly what the team feels it needs to succeed and rebound from a disappointing end to the 2011 season.
“It’s a real drastic change, and I feel like we can have a drastic change in our season if everyone buys in,” Carr said. “We can be a new breed at ASU. We can do big things, great things (and) wonderful things that people haven’t seen here at ASU since 2007.”
However, if the team is going to take the strides and achieve the level of success Darby and Carr believe they are capable of, sacrifices need to be made. Graham has already installed his policies of no hats in the stadium, no earrings in the stadium, no cussing and no sagging pants. These character and presentation changes will not affect the Sun Devils’ play on the field, but the football culture at ASU needed to be changed in even the most miniscule ways.
“You’ve got to make sacrifices to be good,” Darby said. “That’s not going to help us on the field. We know that. But in a way it is because we’re the only team that is being asked (to do those things). If you can be one-of-a-kind, that’s a start. If you want to get to the next level, you’ve got to make sacrifices.”
While the speed and intensity were the most obvious differences from a season ago, there also were a few minor changes, such as the sign between the two practice fields that featured a pitchfork and the phrases “Pac-12 Champs” and “Rose Bowl Champs.”
Reach the reporter at william.boor@asu.edu
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