Two major components of Sun Devil Athletics are “Sun Devils For Life” and “Sun Devils Are Family.” Today at SDA, these pledges came to life in stunning Maroon & Gold.

Former Sun Devil baseball player and current Arizona Diamondback Willie Bloomquist came out to football practice this morning to meet head coach Todd Graham and check out the 2012 team. Click here to watch a video.

Coach Graham presented Bloomquist with a black No. 18 Sun Devil football jersey, complete with his last name emblazoned on the back, and the Diamondbacks reciprocated with two customized jerseys of their own. Coach Graham was given a white No. 12 DBacks jersey, while ASU head baseball coach Tim Esmay also received a white jersey with his usual number, No. 10.  

While standing in the Tillman Tunnel, Bloomquist reminisced on some of the times he had at ASU. Willie and Kevin, Pat’s brother, were teammates on the Sun Devil baseball team, and Willie talked about one of the first times he met Pat Tillman, which was before a football game. He said while the rest of the football team was getting pumped up for the game – jumping, dancing, yelling - Pat was silent, sitting on a chair in the corner near the entrance of the Tillman Tunnel. Willie joked that he gave Pat a slap on the shoulder pads and wished him luck, and Pat didn’t even blink. That’s how in the zone Pat would get before games.

Willie had another anecdote about the Tillman brothers. He said one of Kevin and his favorite Tempe spots was the 111 Café, and one afternoon, Pat came to meet them for a bite to eat. When he walked in, Kevin asked him if he’d been studying, and Pat said yes, on the light tower. Well the light tower happens to be multiple stories high and consists of a small area just big enough for a person and a book. Willie said that’s the kind of person Pat was…he never did anything half-heartedly.  

In keeping with the theme of “Sun Devils are Family,” linebacker Brandon Magee talked with former Sun Devil football players Scott Peters and Grey Reugamer on Pros2Preps earlier this afternoon. The trio talked about the upcoming game against Missouri, of course, but they also touched on the places in the Pac-12 where trash talking from the opponent is most prevalent (and as most of you, we don’t do that kind of stuff). 

Another Sun Devil alumnus, Bo Moos, who was on the football team from 2007-11, illustrated how he will always be a “Sun Devils For Life.” Bo is writing a weekly blog for “House of Sparky” and in this edition, he gives us a week two update on the state of the ASU football team and dishes out some love to his former defensive teammates Will Sutton, Carl Bradford, Keelan Johnson and Anthony Jones, among others.

Tidbits from Coach Graham post-practice:

On the team’s first road game:

“It’s a business trip. That’s why I got the players those blazers. We are there to take care of business.”

“The only team that can beat us is ourselves…we need to treat it like a home game, so we can make sure that doesn’t happen.” 

Bloomquist during his ASU playing days