ASU’s 15 seniors have experienced ups, downs

Going into this season, Arizona State’s senior football class anticipated leading a Bowl Championship Series push as a perfect climax to a Tempe tenure that has been defined by turbulence as much as triumph.

ASU football game day

It has not worked out that way. Going into today’s home finale against UCLA, the Sun Devils are fighting just to become bowl eligible.

While the rewards of their labor will not include lofty team glory, ASU’s 15 seniors will receive individual recognition, as they will be introduced and honored alongside their families during a pregame ceremony.

“I’ll probably be shedding tears, shedding tears and shedding more tears,” running back Keegan Herring said. “It’s going to be a great moment, being out there with the other seniors and my mother. My (late) father won’t be there, but he’s going to be there in my soul.”

Said wide receiver Michael Jones: “It’s going to be an emotional moment, running onto the field at Sun Devil Stadium for the final time. I’ve spent a lot of time here.”

And for the four- and five-year members of the senior class, oh, has that time been memorable.

There was a controversial, program-defining quarterback change before the 2006 season and a coaching switch after it. The joy of a Pac-10 co-championship last year and angst of a six-game losing streak this season. Three straight wins against archrival Arizona and four consecutive bowl appearances.

“I think this group of seniors has gone through a lot,” quarterback Rudy Carpenter said.

“We had to go through some up-and-down seasons when coach (Dirk) Koetter was here, and then last year we had a 10-win season. We thought we were a part of what was getting everything turned around to being 10-game winners every year.

“Obviously, that didn’t happen, but I think the group of seniors on this team has done a pretty good job.”

The group is diverse, including the face of the team (Carpenter), offensive playmakers (Jones, Herring), a walk-on-turned-starter (guard Paul Fanaika), impact junior-college transfers (rush end Luis Vasquez, linebacker Morris Wooten, safety Troy Nolan), a plugger (defensive tackle David Smith), late bloomers (tight ends Andrew Pettes and Wes Evans) and special-teams contributors (linebacker Anthony Reyes, safety Angelo Fobbs-Valentino).

Second-year coach Dennis Erickson praised the seniors, particularly Carpenter and Nolan, for organizing summer drills (unsupervised by coaches, per NCAA rules) with a diligence unseen before in the program. That set a tone for the regular season, which was put in postseason peril by the losing streak.

“When you lose six games, you find out who has leadership, courage and the other things you need on a team,” Erickson said. “It’s easy when you win eight straight games, like we did a year ago. You have to keep fighting and practicing and getting better, and they have. That says a lot about their character and what they are about.

“I can’t say enough about them. It’s been a great group of guys.”

Still, rallying the team was a challenge since the seniors had not experienced losing of such proportions. The six defeats in a row tied an ASU team mark set in 1929.

“Some of us didn’t know what to say or how to respond,” Jones said. “But we knew that we had to keep the team together. We knew we could still do something. It was disappointing to go through, but you can’t come to practice with your head down. The younger players feed off of us, whether it’s good or bad.”

A trip to a bowl game will not happen without a victory today, and at Arizona on Dec. 6, but the seniors have motivation beyond the postseason. The Sun Devils have not beaten the Wildcats four straight years since 1975-78, well before any of the ASU seniors were born.

That, all by itself, would be a substantial legacy. But the ASU seniors would leave behind much more, even if the final season did not end up as planned.

“I think for some reason people questioned our leadership because we lost six in a row,” Carpenter said. “But we did a good job of staying positive and helping all our young guys.”

 So long, farewell
Before Friday’s game against UCLA, Arizona State will honor 15 seniors playing their last game in Sun Devil Stadium:
QB Rudy Carpenter
DB Rodney Cox
TE Wes Evans
OL Paul Fanaika
DB Angelo Fobbs-Valentino
RB Keegan Herring
WR Michael Jones
WR Nate Kimbrough
DB Troy Nolan
TE Andrew Pettes
LB Anthony Reyes
DL David Smith
DL Paul Unga
DL Luis Vasquez
LB Morris Wooten