Pat Tillman Leadership Council’s impact on ASU football

TEMPE, Ariz. – The Pat Tillman Leadership Council is a group of players their teammates voted on to be the leader of ASU football this season. The group includes many starters, but more importantly, the players who set the tone in practice and lead by example.

Who is in the Pat Tillman Leadership Council?

The group is made up of six defenders and six offensive players. On the offensive side, the council is made up of standout senior running back Cam Skattebo, redshirt freshman quarterback Sam Leavitt, redshirt senior quarterback Trenton Bourguet, redshirt senior offensive lineman Leif Fautanu and fellow sophomore lineman Sean Na’a, along with graduate student wide receiver Melquan Stovall.

This group contains players at various points in their ASU football journey with different roles. Leavitt and Skattebo lead the offense behind a much-improved offensive line held together by Fautanu. Bourguet displays the culture and grit of ASU’s identity, and Stoval brings the veteran, mature leadership every team needs. The young lineman, Na’a, already has mounts of experience from being thrown into the fire last season due to injuries.

On the defensive side, the leaders include sophomore defensive lineman C.J. Fite and fellow redshirt junior lineman Clayton Smith, junior linebacker Keyshaun Elliott, and a trio of defensive backs in redshirt freshman Montana Warren, graduate student Shamari Simmons and redshirt junior Xavion Alford.

This group leads an ASU defense that has been stellar. Fite is a budding star on the interior of the line, and Smith leads the team with four sacks. Elliott is in the top six of every major defensive category. Simmons and Alford anchor a secondary that’s collected seven interceptions this season. The talented freshman, Montana, is one of the many products of the Texas to Tempe movement.

“I can say what the standard is, but the standard that I set should always be the minimum expectation. It’s those guys that set the real standard,” head coach Kenny Dillingham said. “I think our best players are working the hardest, and they believe in the process.”

The difference between last year and this year

Last season was Dillingham’s first year in Tempe. He took over a team that was put together by the previous regime and had a lot of missing pieces. The culture wasn’t there, and it’s taken time for Dillingham to build the culture he wants to achieve with ASU football.

Now in his second season and his first full season of recruiting the type of players he wanted to bring in, that culture is starting to shift. Players are more bought in, and there’s a confident belief in the team.

“Those guys are setting a high standard, and other people have to reach it,” Dillingham said. “I felt at times last year, our best players didn’t set our highest standard. When your best players don’t set your highest standard, then you have no chance.”

What’s the identity of ASU football?

Toughness. That’s what Dillingham said when asked about the identity of his team. The young head coach has referenced Utah’s toughness time and time again and mentioned Oklahoma State this week. They’re teams that you know will run the ball right at you and punch you in the mouth. It’s on you how you’ll respond.

“I want them to describe us as tough. Like these dudes, it doesn’t matter if they’re up, they’re down, like they’re going to hit you in the mouth,” Dillingham said.

Dillingham elaborated on the effects toughness has on the field. Toughness, playing hard, and explosive plays are usually what determine the outcome of a game. All three aspects affect each other.

“Explosive plays are made through people playing with an exceptional effort. Explosive plays are prevented by people playing with exceptional effort to clean up,” Dillingham said. “Somebody gets beat one-on-one, three guys are sprinting their butt down the field to cut him off and tackle him at the 12 (yard line) instead of him scoring a touchdown.”

The Sun Devils’ leaders are buying into the culture and identity Dillingham is creating in Tempe. Now they’re beginning to see the positive results from it on the field.

“If we could be very tough, play really hard, and are explosive with those three things, I think you can win a lot of football games, and a lot of people would want to play in them,” Dillingham said.

How does this council lead ASU football?

The Pat Tillman Leadership Council meets with Dillingham and the coaching staff each week. The group discusses the plan for the week, how the players’ bodies feel, and the demeanor of the players in the locker room.

An additional part is these leaders let Dillingham know the mental state of their teammates.

“I get a beat on what guys that they think may need me to come meet with them and chop it up and make sure they know that they’re valued,” Dillingham said. “Because sometimes people get lost throughout a season, and they need to be talked to. Those guys help me with that.”

This group of leaders isn’t just the best players on the team; it’s the guys that their teammates look up to. The players have a say in how practice goes, and with that comes the responsibility to be the hardest-working players on the field to determine the outcome of practice.

“When I approve the schedule with you every week, and you’re like, ‘Yeah that looks good,’ well, then it’s on us,” Dillingham said. “It’s not me. We’re in this together. We’re doing this. It’s a different mindset.”

The honor that comes with the title

The Pat Tillman Leadership Council is made up of the guys who not only do what’s right on the field but off the field with full effort.

When ASU plays on Saturdays, it’s an opportunity for everyone to remember and recognize the man Pat Tillman was and the legacy he left.

Every player at ASU who wears that patch on gameday has the responsibility of upholding those standards.

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