Coach Todd Graham has been looking forward to this week for months.
The season opener is less than four weeks away but Graham can’t start the second year of his ASU coaching stint without taking his Sun Devils to Camp Tontozona in Payson, which is approximately 90 miles away from the Tempe campus.
Graham said he respects ASU’s traditions and he revived legendary coach Frank Kush’s annual visit to the campsite last season. The return to Tontozona received positive feedback from the players and will continue to be a signature of fall camp.
The Sun Devils left Tempe after Monday morning’s practice at Sun Devil Stadium to continue the tradition. They will practice every morning, Tuesday through Friday, and will scrimmage on Saturday before returning to Tempe.
“We’re very excited about this team and our focus right now is Camp Tontozona,” Graham said at ASU’s Media Day Saturday. “We’re going to really focus on the relationships that are needed for building this team. After that, beating Sacramento State in the first week is our next focus.”
The biggest emphasis of Camp Tontozona will be getting the players to bond with each other, which isn’t something the team has done much of in its first week of practice. Thirty-five players on ASU’s roster will be experiencing Camp Tontozona for the first time, and Graham said he hopes this week will get them more acclimated with the team and one another.
“We’re in camp right now and I hear ‘Hey No. 17, you’re supposed to do this,’” Graham said. “We really need to kind of learn each other’s names and get to know each other.”
The surroundings at the campsite should help the coach achieve that goal.
For the five nights the team will be at Camp Tontozona, the players will be staying in cabins in the middle of the woods with little to no cellular reception. Graham said he wants the players to have more off-the-field team building activities than in their last visit. In 2012, the players jumped off a ledge at a creek where Pat Tillman used to dive and climbed Mount Kush.
Having extra time will be something players like redshirt sophomore quarterback Mike Bercovici will embrace, especially since Graham said two-a-days will be unlikely.
“The coaches did a good job of preparing us to be mentally excited,” Bercovici said. “No distractions, no electronics. This will all be (about) the team. This camp is more than football. … It’s about becoming one. It’ll be nice to get out of the heat for a bit”
Building player relationships won’t be ASU’s only focus as the team still needs to settle several positions on the depth chart before its Sept. 5 opener at home against Sacramento State.
The field safety, field cornerback, linebacker, wide receiver and backup quarterback competitions have all carried over to Camp Tontozona.
Redshirt sophomore quarterback Michael Eubank is competing with Bercovici for the No. 2 quarterback spot. He said he will take in all of the bonding activities, but Eubank is heading to Tontozona with a mission.
“I’m just looking to work hard with my teammates, my brothers and making sure we come together as one,” Eubank said. “Whatever God has planned for me, I plan to go get it.”
Reach the reporter at jnacion@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @Josh_Nacion
