ASU Football: Marcus Ball embracing his leadership role

In his leadership role, ASU football redshirt senior linebacker Marcus Ball takes it upon himself to not make his face unfamiliar for too long.

Coming into college can be an overwhelming thing. Bigger campus, more people, all while taking on a considerable load of school work and extracurriculars. For a highly-touted college football player, those uncomfortable feelings only magnify.

The speed of play ramps up, the stadium all the sudden gains 40,000 or more seats and it’s all football all the time.

That mantra really shows itself in fall camp. Without classes, on a typical day players will attend meetings, practice, lift weights, watch film and go through a walk-through.

It seems daunting. Going through a grueling, hectic schedule in a foreign setting with unfamiliar faces swirling.

Those feelings are familiar to ASU redshirt senior linebacker Marcus Ball. And in his leadership role, he takes it upon himself to not make his face unfamiliar for too long.

“I remember as a true freshman, you come into college and it’s a totally different world than high school,” Ball said. “You may be shy because it’s away from home; it’s not what you’re used to.

“So coming in as a true freshman and not knowing everything, not getting the swing of everything, you know you might come in uncomfortable and it’s my job, I feel like it’s my job as an older guy, once being that young guy to make them feel comfortable.”

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This season, a quartet of four-star defensive backs took their talents to Tempe. Evan Fields, K.J. Jarrell, Langston Frederick and Alex Perry all come into the ASU program with expectations to contribute right away.

With high hopes in their mind, they turn to Ball for questions and advice, both on and off the field.

“I’ve been here for about a couple of months and he has already given me a lot of advice,” Fields said of Ball. “He’s like a big brother, when you do good he’ll tell you did good, but if you do something bad he’s not going to sugarcoat it or try to not hurt your feelings.

“He’s going to tell you what you’re doing wrong and then he’s going to tell you how to fix it, so he’s been a great leader.”

Ball is genuinely invested in the growth and play of the young guys. He recalled a play from the first week in fall camp – Jarrell grabbed an interception and Ball walked over to him, telling him how, as a safety, it’s crucial to be assertive.

Ball understands how vital the young players can be to the success to the ASU defense, and in particular their secondary this season.

That help can’t come fast enough after a 2016 season in which they finished dead last in the country in passing yards allowed. Ball wants to instill a mindset of playing right away into the heads of the talented freshman.

“I try and get in those guys ears and talk to them and let them know how important it is to feel comfortable,” Ball said. “And let them know that you didn’t come here to just sit for three years, four years, you didn’t come to sit this year.

“These coaches have hand-selected you to be apart of something that we want to be great, so you need to come in with a mindset as in ‘I want to help now.’”

To help the new guys come in and feel comfortable, Ball makes it known that he is there for them, for whatever they need.

“I’ve made it sure to those guys that anything they need, whether it’s off the field, whether if they need a little bit of food, you know at 10 o’clock at night, if they want to get something to eat, they can call me, they have my number, they can call me, because that’s what you have to do.”

Ball has seen a trove of faces come and go through the program since he arrived to Tempe in 2013.

Time sparks feelings — and going into his fifth year, seeing ASU reach their height in the Todd Graham-era with a Pac-12 South title his freshman year to missing a bowl a year ago, Ball deeply cares about the future of the ASU program.

Although he hasn’t been here for long, new defensive coordinator Phil Bennett has taken notice of that.

During the first week of fall camp, Bennett stood up during a meeting and while talking about guys who care about the future of the program, he cited a text from Ball.

After a great performance by Fields in practice, Ball wanted to remind Bennett about the impact the freshman could quickly make.

“I always try and go against the older guys, and I went against, I think it was Jay Jay , and I won,” Fields said.

“He texted him at like 9 o’clock at night just telling him that I’m going to be a player for us and I need to be on the field.”

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If the Sun Devils experience success in the coming years, Ball will not only be celebrating it, he may have set the foundation for it.