The Shaun Aguano era officially started in Tempe on Tuesday as the team took to the practice field for the first time under their interim head coach.
While media was only able to view a very small portion of practice, one things was clear: There would be a new energy to the field. The defense ran wind sprints after a mistake in drills. The players would usually jog from field-to-field were in a full-on run to get to their next station. Herm Edwards would usually position himself in the center portion of the training area to get a grasp of all that was going on. Aguano was running from position group to position group to check in on drills but more importantly intensity.
It was only one practice, but team captains called Tuesday a wake-up call and a step in the right direction.
“We definitely won today,” LaDarius Henderson said.
A coaching change is never easy, and Edwards was held in high-esteem by this team. But the season doesn’t take a pause for changes, and the Sun Devils will face a gauntlet to start Pac-12 play with Utah, USC and Washington.
We’ll see if the changes we saw on the practice field on Tuesday will turn into a transformation on Frank Kush Field each Saturday.
Jordan Hamm
