By Craig Morgan, thesundevils.com Writer
TEMPE, Ariz. -- When Jeff Paulk's brief NFL career had ended due to injuries and the league's waning appetite for fullbacks, he wanted a career that would replace the fellowship he had felt, mainly as a football player at Arizona State.
"Some buddies from high school and some teammates were firefighters so I went back for my education and for the last 10 years I've been working in Goodyear as a firefighter," Paulk said. "The fire department is a very easy transition from the locker room. We still do all this physical work, we do everything as a team, we work in four-person crews like position groups, we live together, work together and our shifts are 48 hours long. It really is like being in the locker room with all the camaraderie."
So much so that Paulk is even working the recruiting trails like a college coach.
"I talk to kids at school because my wife is a teacher," he said. "I tell them that we check on our tools, we help people fight fires and the rest of the day is like recess. That's not entirely true, but what kid doesn't want to work a job that includes recess?"
Twenty years after their undefeated run to the Rose Bowl, members of the 1996 Sun Devil football team have gathered this weekend in Tempe for a reunion that began Friday night at Four Peaks Brewing Co., includes a recognition during halftime of Saturday's game against Texas Tech at Sun Devil Stadium, and culminates with a brunch at ASU Karsten Golf Course.
At last check, 47 players from that team were expected to attend, including quarterback Jake Plummer, leading rusher Terry Battle, leading receiver Keith Poole and key defensive players such as Damien Richardson and Derek Smith.
"I am really excited to see everyone again because the team that we built was a great example of leadership and unity and passion for what you do," running back Michael Martin said. "You just knew that those guys were going to go on to successful careers."
In fact, they have. The most noticeable take off this weekend's gathering may be the diverse and meaningful occupations the '96 Sun Devils have chosen. As examples beyond Paulk, Martin works as a physical education teacher and a football coach at his old school, Dallas's W.T. White High School -- a job he calls "incredibly fulfilling" because he can impart his experiences to inner city kids in need of guidance.
Richardson is in residency as an orthopedic surgeon, receiver Mike Aguirre is an attorney and offensive lineman Kirk Robertson, a Sun Devils season ticket holder, works as a dentist based in Flagstaff.
"If you look at our team and the successes we've had outside football -- in life, really -- it speak volumes about how [coach] Bruce Snyder turned a bunch of young guys into men by showing us how to deal with life and all its circumstances."
The members of the '96 team who attend this weekend's gathering have two decades of stories to tell, but two members who cannot attend will also play prominent roles: Snyder who succumbed to cancer in 2009, and linebacker Pat Tillman, who died serving his country in Afghanistan in 2004.
Tillman was the inspiration behind 1996 defensive lineman Jeremy Staat's 4,000-plus mile bicycle trek through 15 states, 62 towns and nine military bases in 2012, starting at from the Wall of Valor in Bakersfield, California and ending at the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial in Washington, D.C.
Staat, an Iraqi War veteran and close friend of Tillman, wanted to honor the nation's veterans and educate others on the sacrifices they have made. That same thinking led him to found the Jeremy Staat Foundation to raise awareness through speaking engagements with the help of corporate sponsors and private donors, and to combat the prevalence of suicide among veterans.
"Like a lot of guys, I realized the games we play are here today and gone tomorrow," Staat said. "My football career meant a lot to me but I wanted my job to mean a lot to me, too, and I wanted it to mean something to others."
The 1996 Sun Devils are one of just two ASU teams to play in the Rose Bowl. They are also the only ASU team to post a perfect record in Pac-10/Pac-12 play, but those players have proven something else: There really is life after football -- even really good football.
Follow Craig Morgan on Twitter
A list of 1996 Sun Devil football players who were expected to attend the reunion
Mike Aguirre
Lance Anderson
Kendrick Bates
Terry Battle
Jeff Boyer
Brent Burnstein
Steve Bush
Derrick Charles
J'Juan Cherry
Malchi Crawford
Gus Farwell
Chris Finn
Glen Gable
Courtney Jackson
Lenzie Jackson
Brian Jennings
Seanan Kelly
Devin Kendall
Randy Leaphart
Michael Martin
Kevin Mastowski
Ron McCook
Tariq McDonald
Kenny Mitchell
Jason Moore
Kyle Murphy
Jeff Paulk
John Pettas
Jake Plummer
Keith Poole
Darrin Ransom
Jamel Ready
J.R. Redmond
Ryan Reilly
Damien Richardson
Kirk Robertson
Zack Romero
Juan Roque
Thomas Schmidt
Derek Smith
Creig Spann
Jeremy Staat
Pat Thompson
Kevin Tommasini
Raenaurd Turpin
Mike White
Quincy Yancy
TEMPE, Ariz. -- When Jeff Paulk's brief NFL career had ended due to injuries and the league's waning appetite for fullbacks, he wanted a career that would replace the fellowship he had felt, mainly as a football player at Arizona State.
"Some buddies from high school and some teammates were firefighters so I went back for my education and for the last 10 years I've been working in Goodyear as a firefighter," Paulk said. "The fire department is a very easy transition from the locker room. We still do all this physical work, we do everything as a team, we work in four-person crews like position groups, we live together, work together and our shifts are 48 hours long. It really is like being in the locker room with all the camaraderie."
So much so that Paulk is even working the recruiting trails like a college coach.
"I talk to kids at school because my wife is a teacher," he said. "I tell them that we check on our tools, we help people fight fires and the rest of the day is like recess. That's not entirely true, but what kid doesn't want to work a job that includes recess?"
Twenty years after their undefeated run to the Rose Bowl, members of the 1996 Sun Devil football team have gathered this weekend in Tempe for a reunion that began Friday night at Four Peaks Brewing Co., includes a recognition during halftime of Saturday's game against Texas Tech at Sun Devil Stadium, and culminates with a brunch at ASU Karsten Golf Course.
At last check, 47 players from that team were expected to attend, including quarterback Jake Plummer, leading rusher Terry Battle, leading receiver Keith Poole and key defensive players such as Damien Richardson and Derek Smith.
"I am really excited to see everyone again because the team that we built was a great example of leadership and unity and passion for what you do," running back Michael Martin said. "You just knew that those guys were going to go on to successful careers."
In fact, they have. The most noticeable take off this weekend's gathering may be the diverse and meaningful occupations the '96 Sun Devils have chosen. As examples beyond Paulk, Martin works as a physical education teacher and a football coach at his old school, Dallas's W.T. White High School -- a job he calls "incredibly fulfilling" because he can impart his experiences to inner city kids in need of guidance.
Richardson is in residency as an orthopedic surgeon, receiver Mike Aguirre is an attorney and offensive lineman Kirk Robertson, a Sun Devils season ticket holder, works as a dentist based in Flagstaff.
"If you look at our team and the successes we've had outside football -- in life, really -- it speak volumes about how [coach] Bruce Snyder turned a bunch of young guys into men by showing us how to deal with life and all its circumstances."
The members of the '96 team who attend this weekend's gathering have two decades of stories to tell, but two members who cannot attend will also play prominent roles: Snyder who succumbed to cancer in 2009, and linebacker Pat Tillman, who died serving his country in Afghanistan in 2004.
Tillman was the inspiration behind 1996 defensive lineman Jeremy Staat's 4,000-plus mile bicycle trek through 15 states, 62 towns and nine military bases in 2012, starting at from the Wall of Valor in Bakersfield, California and ending at the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial in Washington, D.C.
Staat, an Iraqi War veteran and close friend of Tillman, wanted to honor the nation's veterans and educate others on the sacrifices they have made. That same thinking led him to found the Jeremy Staat Foundation to raise awareness through speaking engagements with the help of corporate sponsors and private donors, and to combat the prevalence of suicide among veterans.
"Like a lot of guys, I realized the games we play are here today and gone tomorrow," Staat said. "My football career meant a lot to me but I wanted my job to mean a lot to me, too, and I wanted it to mean something to others."
The 1996 Sun Devils are one of just two ASU teams to play in the Rose Bowl. They are also the only ASU team to post a perfect record in Pac-10/Pac-12 play, but those players have proven something else: There really is life after football -- even really good football.
Follow Craig Morgan on Twitter
A list of 1996 Sun Devil football players who were expected to attend the reunion
Mike Aguirre
Lance Anderson
Kendrick Bates
Terry Battle
Jeff Boyer
Brent Burnstein
Steve Bush
Derrick Charles
J'Juan Cherry
Malchi Crawford
Gus Farwell
Chris Finn
Glen Gable
Courtney Jackson
Lenzie Jackson
Brian Jennings
Seanan Kelly
Devin Kendall
Randy Leaphart
Michael Martin
Kevin Mastowski
Ron McCook
Tariq McDonald
Kenny Mitchell
Jason Moore
Kyle Murphy
Jeff Paulk
John Pettas
Jake Plummer
Keith Poole
Darrin Ransom
Jamel Ready
J.R. Redmond
Ryan Reilly
Damien Richardson
Kirk Robertson
Zack Romero
Juan Roque
Thomas Schmidt
Derek Smith
Creig Spann
Jeremy Staat
Pat Thompson
Kevin Tommasini
Raenaurd Turpin
Mike White
Quincy Yancy