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| | Monday, September 6 | |||||
| TEMPE, Ariz. -- A national title for Arizona State, a
Heisman Trophy for J.R. Redmond.
That was the heady scenario for the Sun Devils a year ago. What
followed was one of the most disappointing seasons for any team in
college football in 1998.
Arizona State finished 5-6, and Redmond limped through an
injury-plagued season of disappointment.
"It was definitely a test of character," Redmond said. "You
want to try to be strong to the finish, strong when the others
aren't."
After he struggled along with his teammates through the early
part of the season, Redmond seemed to be hitting his stride against
Stanford in the seventh game. He scored three touchdowns in the
game's first 15 minutes, including a 58-yard run and a 76-yard punt
return.
Then a stubbed toe changed everything. "The game he was hurt, the first time he touched the ball, he took my breath away," coach Bruce Snyder said. "I thought 'He's going to score six or seven touchdowns tonight.' He had that look about him. His legs were alive. Then he stubbed his toe, got a sprained toe, and it went to his ankle, and it was all downhill." Now, the 6-foot tailback, beefed up to 217 pounds, is back, healthy and primed for a senior season that he hopes will erase the bad memories of a year ago. The Heisman? Redmond insists that's far down his list of priorities. "I don't really too much care about that," he said. "I just want to play ball. I don't put any time or effort or thought into what other people think." Redmond, who hopes to graduate next May, said he would have come back for his senior season regardless of what happened in 1998, but quarterback Ryan Kealy said the team's failures last season hit the tailback hard. "I think there's a little bit of a bitter taste in his mouth," Kealy said. "J.R.'s a competitor to the end. He's probably the most competitive guy we've got on our team, and competitors hate to lose. I think it really bugged him that we went 5-6 last year. "It says a lot about him that he came back and finished up school and he's ready for a great season." Returning players point to a lack of leadership on last year's team as a major reason for its underachievement. The leadership is much better this year, Kealy said. But Snyder is hoping the team won't have to count on Redmond as being one of the main leaders. "I think his number one role on our team is to perform," Snyder said. "I've really felt that way about great tailbacks throughout my career. There's enough pressure on them that they don't need the added pressure of leadership. "If it's comfortable for him to wear the mantle of a leader, fine. The number one thins is to run the football, catch the football, return the football. That's his job." Kealy also hopes the Arizona State offense is good enough elsewhere to ease the pressure on Redmond. "We're not going to depend on J.R. having a 60-yard punt return to win the game anymore," Kealy said. "He's going to do it, because that's him. But we're not just going to sit back and wait and watch until he does his thing. I think that will help him out mentally and pick up the attitude of the team." Redmond knows that a lot of people in Arizona don't think he's even the best tailback in the state. Down Interstate 10 in Tucson, Arizona's Trung Canidate is mentioned as a Heisman contender. "I didn't even know there was a rivalry," Redmond said.But there's no doubt Redmond knows what's going on in Tucson, and that the Wildcats, not the Sun Devils, are the team mentioned as a national title contender this time around. Redmond' top personal goal for the season? "Beat the Wildcats," he said. "That's the only thing I can think of. I'm happy to see them do good. I hope they do good, so we can knock them off at the end of the season." | ALSO SEE Pac-10: Parity hasn't produced excellence
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