Shaun Aguano’s coaching style can be sufficiently summed up using one word: family. The interim head coach hammered home that concept last week and again touched on it following Saturday night’s loss to Utah. For Aguano, family dinners from here on out won’t be limited to just those who share his name and live under his roof. Players, coaches, and their families enjoyed a huge Sun Devil family dinner at the facility on Sunday night. The first supper of the Aguano era was well attended, with approximately 170 strong on hand to break bread and talk about anything. Just not football.
“We had a great team dinner with our coach’s families and our kids last night,” Aguano said. “I’ve always had family dinners on Sunday night in my family since I was a little kid. Last night all of our coaches brought their families and spent time with our kids in here to let them know that when things don’t go right, we all are here for you. I love their fight, and I want to make sure they know that they’re supported. We did not talk about football at all.”
Aguano has indicated that any changes he makes in the middle of this season won’t be groundbreaking. The last thing the interim head coach wants to do is confuse players who have spent an entire preseason learning the ins and outs of an offense tailored to them. With that being said, Aguano also said that he is someone who won’t hesitate to make changes that he feels are absolutely necessary. A number of players played poorly in the lopsided loss to Utah; quarterback Emory Jones was especially off his game. The Florida transfer still has the full support of his new head coach.
“We’ll take responsibility to maybe simplify what he needs to do; maybe we’re too complicated, so we’ll take that as a coaching staff,” Aguano said briefly. “I never had any thought about changing the quarterback. He’s my guy, and I’m going to roll with him. Every time he came off the field, I could see that his head was down because he wants it so bad. I’m going to roll with Emory, and he knows that I have his back as well.”
The ASU offense plans on being relentless in its attack; Aguano said he wouldn’t stick to a game plan for too long if a certain aspect isn’t working like he or coordinator Glenn Thomas thought it would.
“It relates to basketball; if you can’t get that outside shot going, we’re going to try and score elsewhere,” he said. “If the passing game is struggling, we’re going to use Emory to attack you in other ways.”
One of the few ASU bright spots on Saturday night came in the return game, specifically from running back Daniyel Ngata. He had a number of big chunk returns on both kickoffs and punts. The job was DJ Taylor’s to begin the year, but Ngata had been integrated during the first three games before assuming the main role in Aguano’s first game. Sun Devil fans can expect to see a whole lot more of number four taking the ball out of the end zone.
“Every job is up for competition. He’s done the job; he’s the guy,” Aguano said of Ngata. “He’s such a fierce competitor, and now I’m asking him to be more of a part of the offense.”
We heard nothing but glowing praise for coach Aguano from the captains and from his fellow coaches during his first week at the helm. It’s clear, however, that not everyone in the locker room was on board with the sudden coaching change. Defensive backs Keon and Kejuan Markham were inactive and not with the team on Saturday for the game against Utah, something Aguano says will continue for the time being.
“It’s a personal matter,” he said of the twins. “I think it’s hard on them in regards to the coaching change, so we’ve been talking, and we are going to keep them away from the team until we get that sorted out.”
The Shaun Aguano welcome gauntlet continues this week as Arizona State travels to Los Angeles to take on No. 6 USC. The Trojans present various problems for even the most polished defenses, which ASU is far from through four games. USC is averaging 42.5 points per game on 480 yards of offense. Quarterback Caleb Williams is regarded as one of the top quarterbacks in the 2024 draft class, and he has several weapons at his disposal. According to Aguano, slowing down the Trojan offense’s machine is as simple as keeping it off the field.
“From a defensive standpoint, we want to make sure their offense is off the field, and from an offensive standpoint, we need to move the ball and control the time,” he said. “Whenever you have a high powered offense, you want to make sure that they don’t get a rhythm, and they don’t make those plays that put you in catch up mode the whole game. That’s going to be our focus this week. I’m a guy that will be aggressive on first down if we have to. All those decisions will be me making sure USC’s offense is not on the field.
“They’re a very athletic team. I believe that we can take and exploit the athleticism; we need to make sure that our details are taken care of. What gives us the edge is making sure we’re fundamentally sound in the things we do.”
Aguano took time to praise defensive lineman Nesta Jade-Silvera, who had 11 tackles in the loss. For an interior defensive lineman to log tackle numbers like that is a testament to Silvera’s athleticism. His ability to lead both on and off the field is something Aguano has identified as a testament to his strong character.
“He was successful on the field, and then he was successful getting our kids together after the game. He did a great job, and I made sure that everybody knew that.”
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