He knew it was coming.
The snap came just as he wanted it. The blocking opened up the hole.
Thump.
Redshirt freshman defensive back Dasmond Tautalatasi had just made his mark for the first time at Sun Devil Stadium, blocking a punt by Colorado freshman Alex Kinney and recovering it in a momentum-changing moment of the Sun Devils' 48-23 win.
"I got a lot of love after the game not even just from family, friends," Tautalatasi said. "Everyone that's known me from before, they all congratulated me on that play. I know my time will come to play safety, and I'll be ready for that as well."
It was practice that made perfect for Tautalatasi, who executed the game plan in order to make the stop.
"We practiced exactly the way they lined up, how to get around those blocks," Tautalatasi said. "The way I blocked that kick was exactly symmetrical to how I got it in practice, hit it with one hand and just going over what coach (Shawn) Slocum had to say."
Tautalatasi's instincts kicked in as soon as the ball popped in the air, and he appeared to be the only man of the 22 on the field who realized the ball was live.
"I see it in the air, and nobody was attacking the ball," Tautalatasi said. "I guess I was the only one that realized that once the ball is still on the punting side we can still grab the ball and advance it. ... I was able to remember that coach Slocum had taught me that and I just grabbed the ball to try to get the offense some more yards."
Head coach Todd Graham said Tuesday that the effort to make the play is just a part of what Tautalatasi brings.
"He's just a winner," Graham said. "Obviously he comes from a program that produces winners. He's got great character. His parents are tremendous people. It's the only way he knows how to do it, full tilt. I told him he needs to learn what he's doing and continue to progress because he can help us defensively."
Special teams captain DeAndre Scott said Tautalatasi's ability to go "full-tilt" made the play happen.
"I see effort, that's all," Scott said. "It was all effort, and all the practice coach was pushing on us, 'Don't hit the punter, but if you free and everything goes right, make the play,' and Das (Tautalatasi) just had that one. He had that confidence that he was going to get that block. That's what I see."
Testing at Rice-Eccles
Salt Lake City, Utah's Rice-Eccles Stadium has quickly earned a reputation as one of the toughest places to play in the Pac-12, especially for opposing quarterbacks. Redshirt senior Mike Bercovici has markedly improved his communication with his offensive line.
After being sacked nine times in ASU's neutral-site opener against Texas A&M, No. 7 UCLA brought Bercovici down just once at the Rose Bowl.
Offensive coordinator Mike Norvell said playing such tests early in the season will lessen the difficulty of having to face such a tough environment.
"That's why you want to play in those games," Norvell said. "We know what it's like to be in an adverse atmosphere, and at UCLA was obviously adverse at a lot of different times throughout that game. ... I think (Rice-Eccles Stadium) is one of the top venues in the Pac-12 when it comes to crowd noise, to the atmosphere."
Practice Notes:
- Stretch song: "March Madness" by Future. This is the third straight Future song on a Wednesday, and the last time this song was played on a Wednesday practice, ASU pulled off an upset of No. 7 UCLA. There's no causation here, just an observance.
- Sophomore running back Demario Richard was in a green non-contact jersey for the second consecutive day Wednesday with a right knee injury. Richard went through drills Tuesday, but was seen working on an exercise bike during media availability Wednesday.
Norvell was coy about divulging Richard's status for Saturday's game against Utah.
"We'll see where he's at as the week continues to progress," he said.
- Redshirt junior linebacker Laiu Moaekiola was out of a green non-contact jersey, but worked solely at "Muscle Beach" during media availability.
- Redshirt junior wide receiver Fred Gammage is expected to play in Saturday's game against Utah, Norvell said.
- Wednesday appeared to be the first time since spring football that no player wore the "PT42" jersey.
- Media were allowed to watch just the first team during team tempo. Wednesday's situation had the offense at their own 25-yard line, down six points with 45 seconds left and one timeout.
The offense was quick and efficient, making it all the way to the defense's 20-yard line before calling a timeout with nine seconds left. On the next play, redshirt senior quarterback Mike Bercovici found redshirt senior wide receiver Gary Chambers on a 20-yard post route between safeties Jordan Simone and Kareem Orr for the go-ahead touchdown.
Related Links:
ASU football's Salamo Fiso: A selfless leader, now captain
ASU football's Demario Richard expected to play against Utah
Reach the reporter at fardaya@asu.edu or follow @fardaya15 on Twitter.
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