ARIZONA STATE FOOTBALL

ASU’s Todd Graham: My philosophy is now our philosophy

Aug 11, 2013, 1:37 AM | Updated: 1:38 am

Follow @CraigAZSports...

TEMPE — When Todd Graham first took the practice field as ASU’s new head coach, he wasn’t sure if he had all of his players’ attention.

“If they had a vote, I probably got voted off the island,” Graham said during media day Saturday.

Acceptance of a new coach and his staff is not always easy, especially for those who remain loyal to the previous regime.

Graham, though, was patient and his message never wavered.

“When I talked about winning championships last year, I don’t know that everybody kind of believed that,” Graham stated.

And now, after finishing 8-5?

“I think after being so close, I think they’ve seen that we can do that,” Graham said. “There’s no doubt in my mind that we have the talent and the ability to be in the hunt. I think our guys; they expect to win a championship. I know that they believe they can. I don’t know that all of them believed they could last year.”

According to Graham, the turning point in year one was how the team responded after the late season four-game losing streak with three straight wins, including beating rival UA and Navy in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl.

“I think they showed their character,” Graham said. “They believed in what we were doing, and that’s when the buy-in occurred.”

Senior safety Alden Darby feels it happened much earlier, as in after the first game when the Sun Devils routed NAU, 63-6.

“It wasn’t because we put a lot of points on them,” Darby said. “It was just, to see the scheme just work and just be unstoppable. It was like, ‘Man, (Graham) knows what he’s talking about.’ So it was from that point on.”

Regardless of when, the fact is Graham, here on day one of season two, has 100 percent buy-in.

“I think that we are completely different than a year ago,” Graham said. “I do believe it’s our philosophy, I’m hoping it is. I think last year it was my philosophy and they had to do it. This year I believe it’s our philosophy. I think we’re very solid. If you look at what our guys are doing academically, 2.62 GPA, incoming freshman over 3.0 in the summer. I can’t tell you one newcomer that we’ve brought here that I’ve been disappointed with in the first four days of practice. I couldn’t tell you that last year.”

Of course now comes the hard part: Sustaining that success.

“I think it’s much harder to handle success than it is to get something turned around. I think last year was the easy part,” Graham said. “Going 8-5 was the easy part. Winning 12, 13, 14 (games) is a whole different deal, and that’s what we’re trying to do.

“The core of our philosophy is competitiveness, so I want those expectations. I want the program and our fan base to expect us to win Pac-12 South and Pac-12 championships.”

Arizona State Football

...

Arizona Sports Video

Video: What is Bobby Hurley’s future at Arizona State?

On the latest State of the Sun Devil podcast the guys react to the end of men's basketball season, and wonder what the future of the program will be and how the offseason will unfold. Plus, reactions to football's pro day.

3 days ago

ASU football field...

Dan Bickley

Arizona State reaches rock bottom at end of Pac-12 stay

Rock bottom is mostly a metaphor, a cliché for sports teams that have fallen and can’t get up. But you can find it on the map at ASU.

4 days ago

Michael Crow, Arizona State University president...

Kevin Zimmerman

Now would be a good time for Arizona State to hire an athletic director

Who's to make a decision on Arizona State coach Bobby Hurley without an athletic director? Michael Crow must make a decision soon.

4 days ago

ASU QB Drew Pyne...

Arizona Sports

Former ASU starting QB Drew Pyne headed to Missouri

After playing in just two games in his ASU football career, quarterback Drew Pyne is moving on to the Missouri Tigers.

9 days ago

Sparky's Fairway at Mountain America Stadium...

Tyler Drake

Sparky’s Fairway golf takes over Arizona State’s Mountain America Stadium

ASU's Mountain America Stadium is trading in its hash marks for yardage markers as Sparky's Fairway takes center stage beginning Thursday.

11 days ago

...

Arizona Sports Video

Video: What does Arizona State men’s basketball need to do against Bronny James and USC?

On the latest edition of State of the Sun Devils, the guys discuss what Arizona State men's basketball needs to do next.

13 days ago

ASU’s Todd Graham: My philosophy is now our philosophy