TEMPE, Ariz. – Brandon Magee saw the big picture the moment he went to the ground with a ruptured Achilles tendon at an Arizona State scrimmage in August 2011.
“I was like, 'This season is a wrap,'" Magee said. "'I’m coming back next year.'"
Maybe such quick decision making sounds implausible to you in the midst of physical trauma. If that’s your belief, you don’t know Magee. And you certainly don’t know his mom, Tia, who rushed to her son’s side that day out of love and concern but, upon discovering he wasn’t in mortal danger, delivered a sobering message.
“He was bawling his eyes out,” Tia recalled. “I told him I was going to give him a couple minutes and then it’s time to get back up.”
Magee, now a fifth-year senior, is a microcosm of the transformation that's taken place in this program over the past year -- a program that got up off the mat and got back to work. Following Dennis Erickson’s firing and the early defections of quarterback Brock Osweiler and linebacker Vontaze Burfict to the NFL, Todd Graham and his staff set about changing the culture of an underachieving program.
Their efforts in this 7-5 season, which culminates Saturday in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl in San Francisco, cannot be overstated. Discipline has finally arrived in Tempe, and despite Graham’s well-chronicled gift of gab, that is not idle chatter.
But coaches can only do so much. If key players -- leaders -- don’t buy in, it doesn’t matter. That’s why Magee was such a vital ally in Graham’s quest, both through his decision to return for his fifth season and his willingness to support every change Graham implemented.
"If Brandon wouldn’t have come back, boy, that would have been really tough for us ’cause of the leadership he provided,” Graham said before recalling Magee’s effort in the regular-season-ending overtime win at Arizona. “Ninety-seven plays in a football game, guy’s about to pass out in between series, 17 tackles, and he gave the talk to the guys at the end of the fourth quarter.
“I’m just lucky that I got to coach him.”
That was never in doubt even though Magee had a chance to jump ship when the Boston Red Sox, his favorite team growing up, selected him in the 23rd round (the 721st overall pick) of the MLB draft last June.
It was the third time Magee, an outfielder, had been drafted by a baseball team. In 2008, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays selected him in the 29th round. In 2011, the Oakland Athletics drafted him in the 21st round.
Magee likely will pursue that baseball passion one day, but his immediate plans are to train for the NFL Scouting Combine and wait to see what happens in April’s NFL draft.
“I made it too far just to give up football so soon,” he said. “Besides, I love this place too much. Arizona State has meant a lot to me, so I had to give back at least one more year. I wish I could give more.”
Though his size (5-foot-11, 233 pounds) may hinder his draft prospects at the linebacker position, there is no questioning Magee’s ability after he led the team in tackles with 104 (77 solo) while posting 11.5 tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks, two interceptions, a forced fumble and fumble recovery.
But his greatest value to this program may have been his unfailing willingness to talk to the media, to talk to less fortunate people at charity events, to talk to kids at grade schools, to talk to boosters and fans and to talk to his teammates, reminding them to stop complaining about the work they were putting in because they had it "really good."
“Going out in the community is a good time. I have fun with it,” Magee said. “I enjoy talking to kids and changing their lives. I enjoy talking to fans and feeling that passion they bring. I just like talking to people. It’s a great gift I’ve been given, so why not use it? Everybody knows you, so if you take the time, you can make everybody happy.”
As every other player exited the Kajikawa practice fields following Saturday’s practice, Magee lingered to face a small group of cameramen. Seeing this, an ASU official turned to a reporter and shook his head.
“We’re going to miss this one,” he said.
“Yeah,” the reporter responded. “In more ways than one.”
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