Sun Devils open up about lack of intensity

The Arizona State football team was in the midst of another losing streak, and — like during a slump last year — the Sun Devils’ self-indictments of their intensity and preparation habits were flying fast and furious.

In the interview room following ASU’s dreadful home loss against Oregon eight days ago, defensive tackle Jordan Hill said, “We were flat.” Not far away, linebacker Beau Manutai told reporters, “There was no energy from anyone, including myself.”

And quarterback Rudy Carpenter, echoing comments he made amid the 2005 losing streak, said, “We need to practice better. . . . If we want to change things, we have to change the way we practice.”

In a critical conference game, the Sun Devils openly admitted they lacked a fire and sense of urgency. Coach Dirk Koetter later said that some practices before the games against California and Oregon — losses in which the team was outscored 97-34 — were not at the level necessary to perform best on Saturday.

A three-game losing streak in the middle of last season left the team with a 3-4 record, and players, particularly Carpenter, were critical of how the Sun Devils were practicing.

What had made the struggles and second-guessing happen?

Assessments by some current players and one ASU alumnus suggests that the team’s recent preparation problems are a matter of leadership. Not only has there been poor execution, but a shortage of emotion. Also, players have been reluctant to provide accountability to teammates who need it.

“I told the guys in the locker room after the (Oregon) game that we’re too buddy-buddy sometimes, too good of friends,” Carpenter said, “and that’s causing guys not to step up and say the things they need to.

“But I got some things off my chest, and a lot of other guys did too, so it’s out there. Hopefully, we can get back to playing football.”

The Sun Devils are 3-2 overall, 0-2 in Pac-10 play, and — even though they’re likely to drop to .500 after their game at USC on Saturday — by no means is the season lost.

“When you play as bad as we did (against Oregon), things get said in the locker room,” Koetter said. “Maybe this team has hit rock bottom, and it was the start of us coming back up.”

Hill said he does not believe that players are tuning out Koetter and the assistant coaches.

“Everyone hears the coaches and the game plans,” Hill said. “Part of the problem is that we might hear what the coaches tell us, but take a couple plays off and forget about those coaching points. When that happens, we go back to our old habits.”

For the Sun Devils, workouts at the Kajikawa Practice Fields are exercises in efficiency. A scoreboard clock ticks away five-minute “periods,” and the players dutifully do drills, jog to the next field, run plays, jog to the next field, and so on.

If the performance is not up to par, there is little yelling from Koetter, as fire-and-brimstone is not his personality. After the recent subpar practices, he said he calmly told the players that if they do not improve, the results will show during the game.

“Coach Koetter will get loud sometimes, but that’s not normal for him,” said Grayling Love, an ASU offensive lineman from 2002-05. “He’s more of a methodical coach, real cerebral. He’ll just tell you plainly, this is how it is and what are (the players) going to do to fix it?”

At that point, Love said, the players need to take responsibility. He agrees with Carpenter that the Sun Devils have had an accountability gap.

“You can say that you need to practice better all you want, but you have to take the steps to do it,” Love said. “I thought that was a problem, that we didn’t do what we needed to do. We didn’t call guys out enough. The coach can only say so much. He’s not between the lines.”

Love cited former center Drew Hodgdon, now of the Houston Texans, as a player who was vocal and got teammates fired up.

The current Sun Devils have been guided by such players as Hill, tight end Zach Miller, tackle Andrew Carnahan and safety Zach Catanese — guys with a high work ethic who lead more by example.

“I’m not a rah-rah guy,” center Mike Pollak said. “I get ready by being real focused (and) quiet to myself. . . .

“I think a lot of the guys agreed that our effort level the week prior to the (last two) games wasn’t where we need it. We did not have great intensity during the practices, and that’s on us as players.”

Can the Sun Devils change their personality, just like that? Can previously reserved players provide vocal leadership?

As for accountability, the players evidently waited until the day after Sam Keller was named the 2006 starting quarterback to express concerns about his off-field behavior to Koetter. Can one speech by Carpenter change that locker-room dynamic?

The leadership answers are not easy. But the Sun Devils feel that finding them is the difference between a saved season and a lost one.

“When you go through a little down cycle you look at all the leadership,” Koetter said. “That starts with the head coach, then it trickles through the coordinators, the coaching staff, the leadership group and players. . . .

“Every team has those issues with leadership. You’re constantly trying to build the leadership on a team. Is it everywhere that you want it? Usually not, but that’s a continual battle.”