Adam Archuleta is a name all ASU football fans recognize. Archuleta was both First-team All-Pac-10 and Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year during his time in Tempe. The Chandler native went on to play in the NFL and is now working as a color analyst for the Pac-12 Network.
The former Sun Devil will be calling Saturday’s matchup between ASU and Utah, and Archuleta talked with The State Press about his new position and his early impressions of the Todd Graham era.
The State Press: How do you like your new job with the Pac-12 Network?
Adam Archuleta: I love it. I had a chance in my life to live one dream and wake up every day loving going to work, and now I have a second opportunity. It’s so much fun being a part of calling a game and being part of an entertainment package and trying to share knowledge. I couldn’t be any happier than I am right now.
SP: How does your past help you provide unique insight during your current job?
AA: Well color analysts are almost exclusively people who played the game. The challenge is how can I take information that most people who played have and make it entertaining and educational at the same time. That’s what I think the art of broadcasting is.
Obviously having a knowledge base helps (me), but I constantly keep studying and learning more and more about the game.
SP: What does the Pac-12 Network mean to the Pac-12?
AA: It’s huge. Really for the first time it is giving a national audience for the schools. The Pac-12 has a brand of football that a lot of people, especially in the Midwest and East Coast, are missing. They would get high profile games like Oregon and USC, but people were missing out on a lot of other really exciting things. The more you can grow your product and get it in front of more people, the more desirable it is and the more exciting it is.
SP: What are your initial thoughts and reactions to the discipline and everything else Todd Graham has brought to Tempe?
AA: I think it was much needed. The thing is, you can be a guy that comes in here and becomes a hardcore disciplinarian, but if you don’t provide the right environment where the players are having fun and getting better competing, then you’ve missed it. I think he’s done a good job of providing both. When I see the guys on the field, I see them having fun. When you can do that as a coach then you are on the right track. I think he is off to a good start.
SP: How good can this team be?
AA: That’s a difficult question. I don’t really know if I can answer that. We are only three games into the season. They had a tough loss the other night in Missouri. I think there is an improvement in attitude and intensity. If they can continue to do that and not have peaks and valleys I think they have a tremendous amount of potential, but I don’t know what that amounts to in wins and losses.
SP: You’ve been back to Sun Devil Stadium before with Fox Sports Arizona, but you are coming back again this week. What stands out when you come back?
AA: I’ve done four or five ASU game last year for Fox Sports Arizona and I’ve been kind of close to the program with the coaches and the former players. I never really felt like I left. I always feel welcome. I always feel like I’m a part of the Sun Devil football team and like I’m welcome there.
I don’t know if this experience will be any different. It’s just going to be enjoyable to call a game in Sun Devil Stadium like it always is.
Reach the reporter at william.boor@asu.edu
