TEMPE, Ariz. -- As the Arizona State football team wrapped up practice Tuesday morning and made final preparations before departing for Camp Tontozona, it was clear the Sun Devils believe the trip is more than just a nostalgic novelty.
Sure, it was fans who clamored for a return to the legendary training ground in the pines outside Payson, Ariz., and they're the ones who ultimately footed the bill. But players and coaches insist the four-day stint in the mountains will show what the group is truly made of.
"This will definitely be our biggest test yet as a team," junior safety Alden Darby said. "We're already hurting, we're already sore, we're already pushing through, we're already getting strained. So I know (coach Todd Graham) is going to strain us even more once we get up there. It's going to force us to come together as a team.
"It's either come together as a team when we get strained harder or fall apart. I know we're not going to fall apart."
Graham only moments earlier had described to reporters how he hopes to push his team at Tontozona more than he already has to see how they respond. The team departed Tuesday afternoon and will practice at the mountain property four times before scrimmaging Saturday.
Graham has time and again stressed the importance of this return to a tradition started in 1960 under legendary coach Frank Kush and discontinued in 2008 under Dennis Erickson.
Will four days at Tontozona produce a tangible impact that's visible on the field beginning Aug. 30 against Northern Arizona? Will the experience truly be more than a getaway for eager fans and boosters? Graham believes it will and has the players believing too.
"Going up there will let us just clear our heads a little bit," senior running back Cameron Marshall said. "It's another team-building thing bringing us closer together. We've been successful when we've gone up to Camp 'T' in the past, so it's just a whole mind-set."
Added Darby: "A team that is together, you're going to notice it on the field because we're going to move as one. You'll most definitely see the results on the field from Camp 'T.'"
Many current Sun Devils have spoken to former players and heard overwhelmingly about the bonding aspect of Camp Tontozona.
Darby said players are not being allowed to bring cell phones, iPods or any other electronics to Camp Tontozona, where there is no cell service or internet access anyway. That will offer a very different experienced for a hyper-connected group.
"The biggest strain is you can't talk to anybody," senior linebacker Brandon Magee said, laughing. "You're just out there with your teammates. Some guys are worried about it, but I'm not."
While the particular effects of the return to Tontozona might not be visible until the season begins, the Sun Devils are hoping more than anything it helps spark a return to a more successful era of ASU football.
"There's a rich tradition of going to Camp Tontozona and a rich record of winning and being successful (after) going there," Graham said.
Unlike Tempe, all practices and the scrimmage at Camp Tontozona are open to fans. For deatiled information visit thesundevils.com.
Senior running back Marshall has been limited in practice for two straight days, and Tuesday Graham said Marshall will not participate in Saturday's scrimmage at Camp Tontozona.
Furthermore, Graham said Marshall will not be tackled the rest of fall camp.
"We're just resting him," Graham said. "He won't scrimmage Saturday or any of that. Not that he couldn't. He's done being tackled."
Graham said limiting Marshall was not related to the ankle injury he nursed all last season before having minor surgery, which caused him to miss spring practice.
"He's just fatigued," Graham said.
Marshall dressed for practice Tuesday but only participated in walk-through situations and spent time conditioning on the sidelines. Last season Marshall rushed for 1,050 yards and tied an ASU record with 18 rushing touchdowns.
