Redshirt senior defensive end Gannon Conway pushes against the offensive line at a home game in Tempe. Conway has two career sacks according to theSunDevils.com and hails from Higley, Ariz. (Photo by Dominic Valente)
It was the first play of the game against Utah and redshirt senior defensive end Gannon Conway was ready.
At the snap of the ball, Conway sprung off the line, swiped away Utah sophomore left tackle Jeremiah Poutasi’s hands and sacked sophomore quarterback Travis Wilson.
“Basically he overstepped me, and I just had to make a little move, a little hand-swipe, and then from there I just remember seeing the quarterback right there,” Conway said. “It was wide open, and I just had to keep driving my knees up and drive through the quarterback, and that was it.”
Conway had a stellar game against the Utes, totaling five tackles and two sacks.
“He was the MVP up front,” ASU coach Todd Graham said at his press conference Monday. “Gannon really made some athletic, exceptional ... plays. That is something that in the past I wouldn’t associate ... with Gannon.”
It’s not that Conway wasn’t gifted before this season; he just hadn’t fully developed yet. That would change over the summer under strength and conditioning coach Shawn Griswold.
Weighing only 260 pounds prior to offseason workouts, Conway added 20 pounds to his 6-foot-4-inch frame over the summer, gaining the bulk he needed but maintaining his athleticism.
“As far as athletically, he’s one of the best big guys, probably if you tested him, in the country,” Griswold said. “He’s done really an excellent job of getting himself ready to play at this level.”
Conway excelled in Griswold's workouts, where he was named one of the one of the top performers in the Sun Devils' off season workout program.
"Athletically, he's at our top. What we call our 'Dirty Dozen,'" Griswold said. "He was our top guy out of any category. He can run, jump, (he is) explosive, strong, very technically sound in the weight room."
But Conway didn’t stop with just Griswold’s workouts. Conway did his own regimen in addition to his routine for the Sun Devils, sometimes contributing eight or nine hours per day to getting himself ready for the season.
“I was bigger. I was stronger,” Conway said. “I maintained my speed, so that summer really helped me out a lot.”
But Conway’s gains weren’t strictly in the weight room. Perhaps the most important muscle Conway had been working out was his brain.
“He’s different physically as a player this year than he was last year. I think he’s stronger, he’s faster, he’s more mature, and I think he’s smarter,” Graham said. “I think he’s put himself in position through film study. I think he studies more film than just about anybody on our defense.”
All of the extra work Conway has put in has helped him to get to the position he finds himself in now. A year ago, he was barely playing, but now he’s an impact starter on one of the best defensive fronts in the conference.
While Conway has come a long way, he doesn’t often reminisce about the past. Instead, Conway’s gaze is locked on the future.
“I’ve learned from the past, but I don’t really look back on it besides the fact I know I can do better,” Conway said. “The past, there’s a lot of things that I regret, but at the same time, I know that from this point on, I’m going to get better, and I’m going to progress every day to play the best that I can.”
Reach the reporter at ejsmith7@asu.edu or follow him on twitter @EricSmith_SP
