#devilscamp13

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#DevilsCamp13 - Final Practice At #CampT

Attendance: 5,300

Passing

Kelly, Taylor – 4-6, 72 yards, 2 touchdowns  (18-yard TD, 15-yard TD) 

Bercovici, Mike -7-for-17, 187 yards, 2 touchdowns (33-yard TD, 28-yard TD)

Eubank, Michael – 10-15, 164 yards, 2 touchdowns (25-yard TD, 20-yard TD)

Cohan, Taylor – 1-5, 6 yards

Rushing – 285 total yards

Grice, Marion -11 carries, 53 yards, 15-yard touchdown (long)

Eubank, Michael– 8 carries, 24 yards (long of 12)

Robinson, R.J. – 4 carries, 21 yards (long of 8)

Kelly, Taylor – 4 carries, 15 yards (long of 10)

Washington, Marcus – 4 carries, 10 yards (long of 8)

Cohan, Taylor – 3 carries, -1 yards

Davis, Terrell – 2 carries, 41 yards, touchdown 26-yard touchdown (long)

Foster, D.J. - 2 carries, 36 yards (long of 35)

Lewis, Deantre – 2 carries, 31 yards (long of 28)

Bercovici, Mike – 2 carries, 24 yards (long of 17)

Davis, Billy – 1 carry, 15 yards

Gammage, Frederick – 1 carry, 6 yards 

Receiving – 322 total yards

Nelson, De'Marieya – 4 receptions, 84 yards, 2 touchdown (long of 33-TD)

Agwuene, Alonzo – 3 receptions, 129 yards, 78-yard touchdown (long)

Jefferson, Ellis – 3 receptions, 29 yards (long of 13)

Foster, D.J. – 2 receptions, 41 yards (long of 26)

Lewis, Deantre – 2 receptions, 18 yards (long of 9)

Smith, Richard – 1 reception, 22 yards

Rogers, Darwin – 1 reception, 20 yards, touchdown

Coyle, Chris - 1 reception, 18 yards, touchdown

Lewis, Ronald – reception, 20 yards

Chambers, Gary – 2-point conversion

Defensive

Rowe, Matthew – 2 sacks, -16 yards

Mendoza, Carlos – sack

Cherry, Demetrius – pass deflection

Kicking

Gonzales, Zane – 8-8, long of 49 (49, 45, 44, 42, 40, 39, 38, 32)

Mora, Jon – 0-3 (45, 45, 42)

Garoutte, Alex (extra points) - 6-6

Kick Return

Foster, D.J.  – 50-yard return

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#DevilsCamp13 – Creating A Closer Family

Friday’s practice at Camp Tontozona provided a snapshot of everything the retreat tucked within the Mogollon Rim is meant to be.

The tradition of going to Camp T was instituted as an effort to bring the football players closer together. In the past 50-plus years, it has grown and become a way to bring all of #SunDevilNation closer together. 

Teammates. Parents. Alumni. Past letterwinners. Fans. Friends. Donors. Sponsors. 

All of them converged on the lower field at Camp T Friday to interact with each other and the 2013 Sun Devil Football team. 

Parents of student-athletes, from Idaho to Arizona to southern California, snapped photos of their sons playing. Longtime friends were reacquainted with handshakes and fist bumps. Alums reminisced on days of old. Past letterwinners exchanged stories and advice with current players. Fans, friends and donors showed their school pride. Sponsors took a bus trip up north for the day and met with head coach Todd Graham.  

“Maroon and Gold are your colors. Arizona State University is your school. Tempe, Ariz., is your home. And they will be forever.” – assistant coach DelVaughn Alexander

Tight end Chris Coyle signs an autograph for a young fan 

Former players and coaches spanning six decades were at Camp T

Frank Kush (1958-79, head coach)

Steve Turkovich (1961, 62-63) 

Larry Langford (1965-67)

Joe Spagnola (1968-70) 

Mike Haynes (1972-75)

Jeff Van Raaphorst (1983-86)

Eddie Grant (1986-89)

James Malone (1983)

Kevin Miniefield (1989-92)

Brett Wallerstedt (1989-92)

Jean Boyd (1991, 93)

Willie Daniel (1998-01)

Mike Nixon (2006-08)

Rose Bowl winning quarterback Jeff Van Raaphorst talks with current quarterback Taylor Kelly 

Everyone from longtime season ticket holders, like Terry Stevens, to longtime partners, like Rick Dircks, who owns Dircks Moving Services and provides the equipment truck for the team, watched Friday’s practice.  

Deantre Lewis (left) and Jamil Douglas (right) pose with Taylor Kelly's mom (center) following practice 

Sponsors wait to talk with coach Graham after practice 

Freshman wide receiver Ellis Jefferson visits with Rudy, a member of the White Mountain ASU Alumni Chapter 

Connecting with the state of Arizona - #Yarnell19

As part of the Sun Devils recognition of the Yarnell 19, the wide receivers and defensive backs were the last group of Sun Devils to hike up Mt. Kush and they brought up a white t-shirt bearing the words “Arizona Remembers, 6-30-2013, from all the Arizonians to all the firefighters, we thank you!” 

Gary Chambers, a redshirt sophomore wide receiver from Glendale, Ariz., was picked to wear the shirt up Mt. Kush. Every member of the receiving corps signed the shirt before it was nailed front and center on the tree atop Mt. Kush.

Players were visibly moved as they touched the shirt and reflected on the sacrifices the firefighters made. Jordan Simone, a defensive back from Sammamish, Wash., wants to be a firefighter when he is done playing and said the Yarnell 19 holds a special place.  

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#DevilsCamp13 – Mt. Kush Build Champions

The Sun Devils boast a winning percentage of over 80 percent, dating back to 1960, when the team comes to Camp T and climbs Mt. Kush.

Some impressive seasons following Camp T and Mt. Kush

11-0 in 1970, 11-1 in 1971, 10-2 in 1972, 11-1 in 1973, 12-0 in 1975, 10-2 in 1982, 10-1-1 in 1986, 11-1 in 1996, 10-3 in 2007

For the second consecutive season, the Sun Devil football team hiked up Mt. Kush as position groups, sang the fight song, said some words of encouragement and nailed a t-shirt bearing their names to a tree at the top. (Both the ASU flag and t-shirts from last season were still intact this time up)

  This time, the team planted another flag next to last season’s and began nailing the newly signed t-shirts to the same tree. Last year each group battled to be the highest on the tree. It’s going to be hard to top the Devil backers this year.

The seniors in each respective position group were invited to say some words to fellow teammates – Chris Coyle addressed his tight ends, while Kipeli Koniseti and Junior Onyeali offered up their thoughts to the Devil backers.

“I’ve had my ups and downs, but it’s time to do something we can tell everyone about, something we can be proud of” – Onyeali 

Each senior touched on their experiences from the past four years and let their teammates know the admiration and respect they have for them. 

Wednesday, however, also offered a new addition to the tradition.

After Arizona State University President Michael Crow stopped by practice, spoke to the team at the end and ate lunch in the dining hall, he put on his hiking boots and began the trek up Mt. Kush with the tight ends and Devil backers.

President Crow spent time visiting with a number of different players, asking them why they chose ASU, what their journey was to get to Tempe and what their aspirations are for the future outside of football. 

Deantre Lewis expressed his desire to be a lawyer

Billy Davis went out of his way to introduce himself and thanked President Crow for the opportunity to be a student-athlete at ASU

Kevin Ozier explained his journey from the coast of San Diego to the desert 

  The offensive and defensive linemen made the journey up Mt. Kush on Tuesday

The linebackers, running backs and quarterbacks are going on Thursday

The wide receivers and defensive backs will head up on Friday

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#DevilsCamp13 – See The Bigger Picture

Patience. Accountability. Sacrifice. Teamwork. Inspiration.

What do these five things have in common?

Taping and stretching began at 6 a.m. and was followed by breakfast and meetings before the first practice at Camp T started up at 8:30 a.m. After eating lunch, the Sun Devil football team broke into four separate groups to do four different team-building exercises.

The offensive and defensive linemen hiked up Mt. Kush

The wide receivers and defensive backs walked down to the creek and jumped off Tillman Rock

The linebackers, running backs and quarterbacks worked with the Office of Student-Athlete Development (OSAD) on the upper field

The tight ends, specialists and Devil backers played Wiffle ball on the main field

Each group exercise, although different, focused on these five words in an effort to strengthen team unity before the 2013 season gets underway.

Patience – can you be focused everyday? The team has lofty aspirations for the season, but those cannot come to fruition until late in the fall. How do you focus on the smaller things everyday in order to reach the ultimate goal? 

Jean Boyd, Senior Associate Athletic Director for OSAD, led the exercises on the upper field along with academic coach Marcus Castro-Walker and Dr. Herb Martin. The running backs, linebackers and quarterbacks broke into three groups to complete two challenges. 

The first called for the teams to arrange themselves by birthday, but they could not use verbal communication…and some of the guys were blindfolded…and they had to sing “We Are Family” while doing it. The blindfolded guys had to rely on their teammates to be their eyes and ears.

Teamwork - everyone holds value, regardless of his position and standing on the team, and one must believe in what his teammate is saying in order to complete the task. Advice, observations and great ideas can come from anywhere. 

The second challenge asked the teams to use ropes to tip one can of beans into another, all without stepping inside a five-foot circle.

Accountability - one weak link can break the chain. In order to complete the bean challenge successfully, the groups could not spill a single bean. It doesn’t matter if 90 percent make it in the tin…the 10 percent that doesn’t will bring the team down.

Highlights from the Wiffle ball game included a double to right-center field by head coach Todd Graham, some great pitching by Carl Bradford and head-first slide by Darwin Rogers.

Sacrifice – how hard are you willing to work to win? It doesn’t matter if it’s a game of pick-up Wiffle ball or a showdown with a Pac-12 team in Sun Devil Stadium.  

Safety Jordan Simone had no problem jumping off Tillman Rock, doing backflips and gainers, but others needed to be pushed to make the plunge. Positions switched on the hike up to Mt. Kush as defensive tackle Jaxon Hood had to urge his coach, Jackie Shipp, up the final part of the mountain.

Inspiration – Where do you draw your inspiration from? Whether it’s from within, from teammates or coaches, or from family and other outside sources, no one can accomplish great things without inspiration.   

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#DevilsCamp13 – The Process Begins At Camp T

“It all starts up here…” – Mike Haynes, ’97 Pro Football Hall of Famer and ’01 College Football Hall of Famer     

Haynes, who played for the Devils under legendary head coach Frank Kush from 1972-76, made the trip to Camp Tontozona four times and understands the special bond the place creates.   

“It’s an important step in building something special, something that lasts a lifetime,” Haynes said.

Current players echoed the Sun Devil great’s feelings.

“You have to be a family in order to win,” said redshirt freshman linebacker Carlos Mendoza.

Tight end Darwin Rogers added: “You can feel the happiness up here.”  

The 2013 Sun Devil football team arrived at Camp T this afternoon with bags full of extra pillows, comforters and rain jackets, among other things, but minus the headphones, iPads and cellphones that usually accompany the student-athletes on road trips.

“It’s great to be back up here,” said tight end Chris Coyle. “After going through the first week of camp and staying at the dorms, it was really nice to have this to look forward to. We spend more time with these guys than our own families, so we’re definitely going to enjoy each others company.” 

The team captains went to Sun Angel Cabin, the former temporary home of ASU head coaches, from John Cooper to Todd Graham last season, and other first-team guys went to Creekside Lodge, while the rest of the team filed into four others.

After settling in, the team ate dinner before Haynes and his colleague, Dr. Herb Martin, gave them a presentation titled “The ASU Roadmap To Success” designed to teach the student-athletes leadership skills. It is a similar talk that both Haynes and Dr. Martin present at the annual NFL Rookie Symposium.

Eschewing all distractions, both electronic and social, the team spent the rest of the first night playing cards and dominoes, strumming the ukulele and sitting around a campfire.    

Before making the trip up north, the team began the day with a practice in full pads inside Sun Devil Stadium and there were plenty of notable moments from the 11-on-11 portion. Linebacker Steffon Martin, looking like a defensive back, made a leaping interception in the endzone and wide receiver Jaelen Strong had a number of impressive receptions, including a 20-yarder that was tipped before he grabbed it.

Below are other stats from the team’s practice this morning:

PASSING

Mike Bercovici - 12-27, 132 yards, 2 TD

*One TD was 40-yard shovel pass to Ronald Lewis

Mike Eubank - 8-20, 68 yards, TD 

RUSHING

Deantre Lewis - 11 rush, 69 yards, TD

Terrell Davis - 6 rush, 38 yards, TD

Marion Grice - 6 rush, 17 yards TD

D.J. Foster - 4 rush, 17 yards

Mike Eubank - 7 rush, 47 yards

Mike Bercovici - 6 rush, 46 yards

RECEIVING

Jaelan Strong - 4 receptions, 66 yards

Ronald Lewis - 2 receptions, 42 yards, TD

Rick Smith - 4 receptions, 39 yards

D.J. Foster - 3 receptions, 29 yards 

Alonzo Agwuenu - 1 reception, 10 yards, TD

Ellis Jefferson - 1 reception, 6 yards, TD

DEFENSIVE 

Sacks

Jaxon Hood, 3 sacks, 2 TFL

Solomon Means - 2 sacks

Junior Onyeali - 2 sacks

Kipeli Koniseti, Chans Cox, Carl Bradford, Anthony Jones, Corey Smith - 1 sack

Interceptions

Marcus Ball - 1 INT

Marlon Pollard - 1 INT

Steffon Martin - 1 INT

Lloyd Carrington - 1 INT

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#DevilsCamp13 - "The Dirty Dozen" #IronDevils

Head coach Todd Graham (@CoachGrahamASU) tossed out black t-shirts with yellow lettering on the backs of each of them and amid cheers and shouts, the Dirty Dozen were crowned at the end of Friday’s practice.

The dozen #IronDevils, comprised of seven defensive and five offensive players, were the top guys in summer workouts and each of them look to be significant contributors this season.  

The 12 were strained and trained all summer by sports performance and strength head coach Shawn Griswold (@DevilsStrength), along with assistant head coach Josh Storms, senior assistant coach Chris Desrosiers and graduate assistant Kody Cook.

(From left to right): (standing) DT Davon Coleman, OL Jamil Douglas, TE Chris Coyle, S Alden Darby, OL Evan Finkenberg, LB Anthony Jones, RB Deantre Lewis (kneeling) S Laiu Moeakiola, LB Steffon Martin, DE/LB Carl Bradford, RB DJ Foster (not shown: DE Gannon Conway) 

Notes:

Former players Randy Hill and Riccardo Stewart watched practice

Actor and comedian Mike Epps stopped by practice as well

Defensive lineman Junior Onyeali tipped a pass at the line of scrimmage and caught it for an interception near the end of 11-on-11

Jamil Douglas moved over to left guard, replacing left guard Sil Ajawara, and Tyler Sulka moved into right tackle

In a show of his athleticism in 11-on-11, defensive tackle Will Sutton ran down running back Marion Grice 35 yards downfield after Grice caught a short pass through the middle

Running back DJ Foster broke off a 55-yard touchdown run that brought in the second team on both sides of the ball in 11-on-11

The first team (second) defensive backs were Osahon Irabor (Robert Nelson) at boundary corner, Alden Darby (James Johnson) at boundary safety, Marcus Ball (Laiu Moeakiola) at field safety and Lloyd Carrington (Rashad Wadood) at field corner

Grandville Taylor and Salamo Fiso worked in with linebackers, including Chris Young, Anthony Jones, Steffon Martin and Carl Bradford