Drew Pyne living the dream at Arizona State

Everywhere New Canaan’s Drew Pyne has gone, he’s played winning football.

That includes in high school, where the quarterback tops the Rams’ record books in most major passing categories, and at Notre Dame, where he took over as the starter in game three and led the Irish to an 8-2 record.

As he gets ready for his next team at Arizona State with new coach Kenny Dillingham, Pyne credited the success on being prepared for whatever opportunities may arise.

There’s also the dreams that go back to his childhood.

“I had dreams ever since I was a little kid of being able to play big-time college football,” Pyne said. “I remember back in the fifth grade, I’d go down in the cellar and lift whatever weights I could, or practice boxing, or do push-ups or pull-ups. I had all these pictures of schools on the wall.

“Whatever talents I had, I wanted to make the most of them.”

More than 2,000 miles from his new college home with the Sun Devils, Pyne was honored as Walter Camp’s 2022 Connecticut Player of the Year during the foundation’s 57th National Awards Gala at Yale’s Schwarzman Center in New Haven on Saturday.

Pyne is the second New Canaan player to receive the award, joining Zach Allen, a defensive end who was honored in 2018 while playing for Boston College. Allen, who was selected by the Arizona Cardinals in the 2019 NFL Draft, reportedly is signing with Denver Broncos this week.

“I’m truly honored to be able to represent the state of Connecticut, the town of New Canaan and the legacy of so many unbelievable New Canaan football players,” Pyne said. “Look at (Kansas City’s) Lucas Niang, who won a Super Bowl, look at what Zach Allen has done — there are so many players who came from New Canaan and played for coach (Lou) Marinelli.”

“To be able to represent this town and those guys is just a special honor to me. I’m proud of my season last year and I’m excited to keep moving forward.”

Pyne’s path to Arizona State couldn’t have been foreseen at the start of the 2022 season.

After a battle for the starting QB job, Tyler Buchner was named Notre Dame’s starter with Pyne as the backup.

Still, Pyne said he prepared for each game as if he was starting.

“Even my freshman year, I was a backup quarterback and we were in the college football playoffs, and I always prepared like a starter,” Pyne said. “I didn’t get named the starter this year, but I said I know I’m going to play a big role at some point, so when that time comes, I need to be fully ready.”

In game two, Pyne’s opportunity came when Buchner went down with a season-ending injury during a loss to Marshall.

Over the next three weeks, Pyne helped lead the Irish to wins over California, North Carolina and BYU, part of a season which saw him win eight of 10 games. He was 4-1 against teams ranked in the Top 25, including a 3514 win over then fourthranked Clemson, when coach Marcus Freeman named Pyne the offensive player of the game.

Pyne had a 66.5 completion percentage, with 22 touchdowns and six interceptions. His 155.3 quarterback rating ranked 20th in the FBS, and he led the nation in completion percentage in road games (.742) and passing efficiency in road games (186.4).

In December, Pyne entered the transfer portal, visited Arizona State and fell in love with the Sun Devils and Dillingham. He announced his decision in a tweet with the words “Committed” and “#ForksUp”, a reference to the ASU trident.

“I just love being able to be in a room with him and talk football,” Pyne said of Dillingham. “He can explain something to anybody in about five minutes about a certain look in the run game, or in the pass game, or what to check, and they would understand it. His brain is so geared for football.”

Pyne’s New Canaan connection remains strong and started when his family moved to the town just before his high school years. He said he was blessed to play for Marinelli, and assistant coaches Chris Silvestri, Jason Miska, and Dan Farina, who was recently named the head coach for Newtown.

“Those guys are such great guys and coaches and I’ll have a great relationship with them for the rest of my life,” Pyne said.

Team chemistry was key and started with the coaches.

Pyne told a story of one Friday, the night before the homecoming game, when the Rams were in a “lockin” mode.

“We’d have to stay until 10 or 10:30 and it was a great team bonding thing,” Pyne said. “All the coaches were there and I remember coach Sly sitting on a hammock, playing a guitar, and we were all singing along with him the night before the game.”

During his New Canaan career, Pyne set program passing records for yards (9.411), touchdowns (105), and completions (701). He ranks in Connecticut’s top five in all those categories, and is one of just six state QBs to reach 100 TD passes in their careers.

“Coach Marinelli took a chance on a 15-, 16-year-old kid coming into a new town and playing quarterback,” Pyne said. “He didn’t hand it to me. I didn’t start the first game of the season, but he was fair to everybody. I ended up playing the rest of that season and four seasons for him.”

After his trip home to New Canaan, and Saturday’s stop in New Haven, Pyne was back in Tempe, Arizona, on Tuesday, taking the next steps in his football career.

“We’ve got a lot of transfers and (coach Dillingham) has brought the team together really well,” “We’re starting practice Tuesday and I just can’t wait to get the ball in my hands again and get back on that field.”

And there’s one final challenge.

“I’ve been in South Bend and New Canaan for the past how many years of my life and now I’m going to be in 110-degree heat,” Pyne said with a laugh. “I’ll play in all the elements.”