TEMPE, Ariz.— On a day where thousands of people flocked to Tempe for the 22nd annual Pat’s Run, Arizona State football’s running backs decided to follow suit in the Sun Devils’ scrimmage on Saturday.

First, freshman Demarius “Man Man” Robinson burst through a hole on the left side and ran 60 yards untouched to the endzone for the first standout play from the ASU backfield.

Then, freshman Cardae Mack broke countless tackles along the left sideline on his way to a long touchdown of his own.

Finally, fifth-year Marquis Gillis unleashed a strikingly similar sprint to Robinson’s run, as he jetted through the left side of the offensive line, leaving the entire Sun Devils defense in the dust.

The three long touchdowns headlined an ASU open practice at the Kajikawa Practice Fields on Saturday, April 11, that was filled with standout plays from the Sun Devils’ running back room. ASU head coach Kenny Dillingham joked about the backfield’s dominance on the field.

“We ran the ball for probably 400 yards in the scrimmage,” Dillingham said.

The success of the running backs came through the air as well. 

In particular, junior Kyson Brown gained space on an angle route and bounced off multiple tacklers for a huge gain.

Yet as a whole, the Sun Devils’ offense struggled to find rhythm from the jump on Saturday, thanks to a stout performance from the secondary.

Early in practice, a third-down drill turned into a defensive clinic, with the secondary ending most plays with pass breakups and open-field tackles.

Junior defensive back Montana Warren took charge in this drill, blazing past the offensive line and sacking the quarterback twice in a five-minute span from his nickel position.

In a matchup of new faces, junior defensive back and LSU transfer Ashton Stamps blanketed senior wideout and Colorado transfer Omarion Miller, who did not tally a single reception during the entire drill with Stamps as his primary defender.

The momentum carried over into the scrimmage, where the secondary snatched two interceptions in the late stages of practice.

Saturday’s inconsistent passing game fell under the many issues Dillingham said his team needs to fix in the spring.

“It wasn’t a clean day,” Dillingham said. “We got to get a lot better.”

Penalties also became one of those issues. 

Throughout the Saturday scrimmage, yellow flags flew through the air for several false starts, defensive off-sides and pass interference calls.

After practice, Dillingham voiced his disapproval with the undisciplined play.

“There were too many penalties,” Dillingham said, “... especially in critical situations.”

The open practice came on a long, eventful day for Sun Devil athletics, which started bright and early with the 22nd annual Pat’s Run.

ASU football, along with many other Sun Devil athletes across an array of sports, volunteered for the event, which saw almost 30,000 people take to the streets of Tempe to run 4.2 miles in honor of ASU alum and Army veteran Pat Tillman.

Dillingham called Saturday’s festivities one of his favorite days of the year and hopes that his players truly understand how integral Tillman’s legacy is to Sun Devil football and its fans.

“We run out of the tunnel past him every day,” Dillingham said. “When they see everybody in this city and this state is focused on Pat Tillman today, it really puts it into perspective for our new guys how impactful he was to the program.”

Looking ahead, Dillingham’s wish to improve on Saturday’s performance needs to come true soon, as ASU’s spring practices wrap up next week.

Even with the short timeframe, Dillingham kept it simple on what the Sun Devils will look to do in the final four practices of the spring.

“We have to clean up all the mistakes.”