Several ASU seniors will play in their final collegiate game on Saturday in the Cactus Bowl, but their teammates and coaches will miss more than their on-field performance.
That's particularly the case with two departing Sun Devils. On Thursday, ASU redshirt senior quarterback Mike Bercovici sat with the media to answer questions ahead of the bowl game versus West Virginia, and did so with a smile on his face and a positive attitude.
Senior running back D.J. Foster did the same. One reporter even stopped to tell Foster that it was a pleasure to cover him over the years, and that she was thankful for the opportunity. He smiled, giving a sincere 'thank you.'
Both will replace the smiles with game faces Saturday, in one final opportunity to make their mark on the field.
Bercovici is fifth in the Pac-12 in pass completions (289), fifth in passing yards (3,437) and fourth in touchdowns (26); he's tied with Taylor Kelly for second-most games with 5+ TD passes in a career (3); three of ASU's five longest TD rushes in 2015 came from Bercovici.
Foster has a reception in 52 consecutive games, which is a Pac-12 record and the longest active streak of its kind in the FBS; he is the only active FBS player with more than 2,000 career rushing yards (2,351) and 1600 receiving yards (2,418); and his 4,785 career all-purpose yards are the sixth-most among active players.
Still, there's more to being a football player than playing football.
"(Foster and Bercovici) laid a great foundation and a great legacy with our younger players," said head coach Todd Graham. "You pass the torch. I’m very proud of what they’ve accomplished there."
Bercovici's leadership will be missed, and he'll miss the program.
"Thinking about how would this senior group want to finish our senior season, why not in front of your home crowd one last time?", he said. "Arizona has just been so good to so many of us football players, and just to be in this home state, enjoying our last couple moments together as a football team… has been pretty special.”
Foster also said that his departure is difficult.
"It’s sad, it’s bittersweet but I can’t complain," he said. "I’ve been truly blessed to be able to play four years and to be able to play in every single game the last four years as a Sun Devil. It’s a great honor and I had unbelievable memories, and a lot of ups and downs, but I can definitely be here saying that I’ve definitely grown, and I’ve definitely learned a lot about becoming a man."
Foster, a Scottsdale native, said his family was a big part of his decision to come to ASU.
"My family is a very important thing to me, like a lot of people," he said. "I just wasn’t ready to leave my family. They needed me, and it’s been unbelievable how it worked out. Just to come out of Tillman tunnel and see me mom, my friends and my family in the stands, it’s been unbelievable."
Not only did Foster get to stay close to home, but Todd Graham's emphasis on faith and family was appealing.
"When I first met Coach Graham, one of the first things he said to me and first things he talked to me about was family and faith," Foster said. "Those are two big things in my life, and that stuck with me. That’s when I knew I wanted to become a part of this program."
"It makes my day that that’s what he said," Graham said. "The coach that changed my life was my seventh grade coach… who passed away this past summer. He instilled in me the things that it takes to live a championship life. Faith was the foundation of that. It’s something that I’m pretty open with with our players."
Graham explained that he tries to teach his players to focus on sacrificing for each other - like a family would.
"I’ve spent a lot of time in my life focused on things that don’t last and that don’t matter, and so we really try to instill into our players the things that are going to last for them in their life," he said. "That’s why we talk about being a brotherhood and family. How it pertains to football is – football is a family."
Reach the reporter at mattjlayman@gmail.com or follow @Mattjlayman on Twitter.
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