Todd Graham lauds Sun Devils' maturity on first day of fall camp
TEMPE, Ariz. -- Year Four of the Todd Graham era at Arizona State kicked off with a Wednesday morning practice for veterans only, and the Sun Devils' coach was his usual upbeat self in describing what he'd seen on the practice field.
"A great, great first day," Graham said, using the word "excited" about a dozen times. "We're in Year Four, wow; best-looking team we've had, and I'm talking about the look in their eyes; fastest, strongest, most powerful and very, very poised in how they worked and practiced."
Those who have been around Graham have heard much the same at various stages in his tenure, but there is at least one noticeable difference for 2015. These players have been with Graham for virtually all of their collegiate careers, and they've moved past the building-the-foundation stage of the program.
"It's night and day, just the mental maturity of our team," Graham said. "You look out there at this morning's practice, and we're not dependent upon any young players. There's some that can help us, but it's nice not to depend on that.
"I think this is the most talented group of freshmen we've brought in, and it's going to be a challenge for them to get in the lineup, and that's a challenge that we've not had to this point."
Graham said his players' maturity is evident in the way they carry themselves on and off the field, and he explained the difference with a story from his first year at ASU, when former Sun Devil Darren Woodson -- "man, is he impressive" -- stopped by and asked to speak to the team.
Woodson addressed the team for about 15 minutes and left.
Graham: "I shut the door and stopped and said, 'Did you see that? That's what success looks like. That's what it talks like, that's what it walks like.' And we've got a whole bunch of guys looking like that. That's what I'm excited about."
Among those who caught Graham's eye in the no-pads workout were:
--Fifth-year senior quarterback Mike Bercovici: "Mike really sticks out to me, just his style. He's a lot more external, a lot more passionate."
--Sophomore Kalen Ballage, who practiced at Devil backer on the first day of camp but will also be a factor at tailback.
--Third-year sophomore linebacker Chans Cox, who appears ready to make his mark after two injury-marred seasons in the program.
Graham said the coaching staff will try to apply some lessons learned from two-way player De'Marieya Nelson last season in making the best use of Ballage.
"We marginalized his (Nelson's) talent last year, asking him to do too much," Graham said. "It's hard to be going back and forth. So he (Ballage) went all defense today, he'll go all offense tomorrow, all defense the next day.
"He can be one of the most dynamic tailbacks in the country, and he also can be one of the most dynamic pass rushers, there's no doubt in my mind. How much we use him , we'll evaluate it.
"Kalen is a dy-nam-ic guy. I thought he was the most improved guy during the spring. We're going to be very careful that we get the most out of him, don't overuse him."
