Over the summer and throughout preseason camp, Arizona State has preached toughness. One play during Tuesday's media-viewing period illustrated as much.
In a one-on-one tackling drill, senior running back Demario Richard and junior linebacker Christian Sam were matched against each other on the goal line. On their first rep, Richard darted forward then quickly shifted left. Sam hit Richard high, but the 219-pound running back kept his legs moving and crossed the plane.
On the second, Richard took a different approach. He ran directly at Sam and went low. This time the 6-2, 237-pound linebacker threw Richard to the ground.