Jake Plummer is an Arizona State alum, a man who took the school to the Rose Bowl and the brink of a National Championship in 1997, so you know what's happened with the program in recent years cannot make him happy.

Still, when his alma mater was matched up with Boise State in the MAACO Las Vegas Bowl last December, his embarrassment was not for the Sun Devils, who lost 56-24.

"I was a little upset that Boise State was put in a game to play the Arizona State Sun Devils," Plummer told Arizona Sports 620's Burns and Gambo. "That may rile some fans out there, but I thought it was a slap in Boise State's face that they had to play my alma mater.

"I actually was kind of embarrassed."

The good news for Plummer's school is that they have moved on from the disappointment that was last season, having fired head coach Dennis Erickson and replaced him with Todd Graham. And, with the new guy now running the show, the 2012 Arizona Sports Hall of Fame inductee says things are looking up in Tempe.

"They're moving in the right direction now," he said. "The hiring of Coach Graham…they're making the moves to kind of get the right people in place to get the tradition back."

Plummer is impressed with the school getting former players and alumni more involved with the decision-making process, as he feels it will lead to positive changes.

"What's going to turn this program around is to see familiar faces from days past that have done it," Plummer said, "that went to [Camp] Tontozona, that put in the blood, sweat and tears to be the pride that a Sun Devil needs to have.

"I think that these kids had lost that, but they're going to get it back. It will happen."