San Carlos Apache ASU Football Camp

ASU spends a day on the reservation

By Douglas HallerThey left Tempe around 8 a.m. Saturday, 15 ASU football players, driving east along the Superstition Mountains. Their destination: The San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation, one of the poorer Native American communities in the nation.

For months, Samson Szakacsy had planned the First Annual San Carlos Apache ASU Football Camp. The reserve quarterback wanted to use football as a tool, to show the youth on the reservation that dreams know no boundaries, that opportunity is available to all.

On the burnt grass at San Carlos High School, 123 campers ran drills. They laughed and listened to Szakacsy, cornerback Deveron Carr and quarterbacks Steven Threet and Brock Osweiler talk about the importance of hard work and setting goals.

"The reality of it is, Arizona State University being two hours west of here, we always wonder why universities don't reach out to Native American communities," said Robert Howard, who grew up on the San Carlos Apache reservation. "Yes, they talk about scholarships and opportunities, but these players are real. And we can give that opportunity to our kids, to touch them, to feel them ... let them know that maybe I can play collegiate ball one day."Comment:  For more on Natives and football, see Bears Rookie Is Cheyenne and Native American Scouting Combine.