At first, it didn’t hit Tashon Smallwood. An athlete’s brain doesn’t always work that way. Sometimes it just grasps on to what the body needs most, and at that point, the Arizona State defensive tackle needed a break.
The Sun Devils last season had lost six in a row, missing out on bowl eligibility, a sour ending to a disappointing season. An assistant coach told them: “Man, ya’ll are going to watch other teams play in bowls and you’re going to be like, ‘Man, I wish I was there.’’’
Smallwood’s thought: “All right, whatever.”
On Dec.