When Herm Edwards took the podium at his introductory press conference Monday at Arizona State, the former coach turned TV analyst and motivational speaker infused the room with energy. Agree or not with the pivot that the Sun Devils have made to a new model in college football coaching structure with Edwards acting more as a general manager than a traditional college football coach, his enthusiasm was undeniable.



Like most good public speakers, he and athletic director Ray Anderson had phrases and tag words that they went back to, but there was one metaphor they leaned on hard: trains.



“What I would say to you is, this train in football is leaving the station,” Anderson said. “For any doubters that for whatever reason can’t commit to get on right now, that’s OK. We understand. We’re not going to take it personally. But as that train continues its path uphill, if for whatever reasons at any time you decide you now want to get on...