ASU football head coach Todd Graham preaches one thing above nearly all else from his players: character.
Character is often most presentable when a team deals with adversity, whether it is injuries, national attention, off-the-field misconduct or, as was the case after Monday, the unexpected loss of a coach.
Monday saw the unexpected resignation of running backs coach Bo Graham, who had been in the position for each of the last three seasons and was entering his fourth season with the program overall. Reports cited "personal reasons," as head coach Todd Graham, Bo's father, said he was pursuing a "new opportunity."
The timing of Bo Graham's resignation was less than ideal — ASU is less than two weeks from its season opener against Texas A&M — and has thrust the players into a dual role of player-coach.
"We had to man up (in the backfield)," sophomore running back Kalen Ballage said. "We had to take care of that, no matter how young or (with) us just being sophomores.
"Every day, it's the same thing for us. Coach Bo (Graham) left us very prepared and ready for anything, so we know what we're doing. We could do all this stuff by ourselves if we really needed to."
Ballage said the most important factor for the running back group, considered to be one of the deepest position groups on the team, is to stay focused amidst the distractions.
"We got each other, and that's what it's about at the end of the day," he said. "Me and Demario (Richard), we lead this running backs group and we just try to take care of everybody, no matter the circumstance."
Senior wide receiver D.J. Foster spent as much time with Bo Graham as anyone, having served as a full-time running back in each of his first three seasons before switching to wide receiver this off-season.
Foster has been around long enough, he said, to recognize that ASU is not the only school dealing with off-the-field distractions.
"Every team has their own situation, whether the public knows about it or it's inside the team," Foster said. "It's one thing when you're a family — families fight, families have issues — as long as we remember that we're a family at the end of the day it's really simple. You've just got to move forward and stick together."
Upon learning the news of Graham's resignation, Foster knew the team needed his leadership to bring stability to an unsteady situation.
"I talked to a lot of guys, especially the running back group individually, and just talked to them and let them know they have to step up and lead," Foster said. "They (have) got to take charge, no matter who's coming and coaching them the rest of the season. They need to step up and take charge."
"They understood that life has a lot of different things to it and a lot of challenges, so they understood," he said.
Foster said he still feels a connection to the running back group, and has been more than willing to stay involved.
"At the end of the day, they're still all my little brothers and I try to communicate (with them) as many times as I can throughout practice and when I can in the locker room," he said. "(Richard and Ballage are) the guys that are there for the running back position and (they've) got to lead. They're going to be the two main guys back there — and (De'Chavon) 'Gump' (Hayes) — and they're all going to take care of each other."
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Reach the reporter at fardaya@asu.edu or follow @fardaya15 on Twitter.
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