A short week game prep week leading into the road matchup with Texas State produced challenges that did contribute in part to an uneven performance by the Sun Devil over the course of the contest. Aside from being pleased with the 31-28 win, head coach Kenny Dillingham was also pleased with his team’s demeanor. A question he wanted an answer for on the eve of the season opener was how his team would respond to being “punched in the face.” He witnessed it for the first time in the second half of ASU’s week two matchup with Mississippi State, and during long stretches of its last matchup, he once again saw the resolve of his players.
“Our guys didn’t flinch in that game,” Dillingham said. “That was awesome to see. There was never a wavering, never a flinch, just on the sideline with their body language with anything. That’s a perfect sign of the program's direction, is when you win games like that, and our guys don’t flinch.”
After an unsettling second half against Mississippi State, Dillingham seemed to set the stage for the struggles ASU displayed in the first 25 minutes of play in San Marcos. Dillingham felt he didn’t fully condition his team with the schemes he drew up, but he also identified that the mistakes made in the game were things that he just had to adjust when it came to countering the hosts' game plan.
“I think last week was humbling,” Dillingham recalled. “I thought we played horrible, specifically in the first half. Over 50 MA’s (missed assignments) as a football team in a football game, even though it’s a short week, is not good for anybody. And it starts with me, so we probably did too much in a short week. Both of our sides of the ball are more schemed up, so the short week was probably harder on us than some other teams just because of how we play.”
2023 Team MVP graduate nickel back Shamari Simmons has come up big in multiple games and displayed his physical play multiple times in the win over the Bobcats. From forcing a fumble to bulldozing wide receivers attempting to block him on a screen pass, Simmons has altered the way teams on ASU’s schedule draw up plays on his side of the field.
“Shamari isn’t going to talk a lot, he’s just going to do,” Dillingham noted. “X (safety Xavion Alford) is going to talk, and it’s a perfect combination. Shamari is just going to work whether he’s banged up or not, and he was banged up and still going out there and making game-changing plays. He’s making coordinators when they’re watching his tape and saying, ‘Oh crap, this guy is so physical I don’t know if we can block him.’ He’s doing such a good job there at the nickel and buying into the role, and it’s a huge game changer for the football team.”
The Sun Devils' upcoming game against Texas Tech (2-1) will not only give ASU the chance to start 4-0 for the first time since 2016 but also carries historic implications as the program’s first Big 12 conference game. The experience is also a first for Dillingham, who has yet to play in Lubbock, Tex., and is enthusiastic about the environments the Sun Devils will play in this week and other league venues.
“This game will go down in history,” Dillingham expressed. “There’s only a few times in sports where you get to accomplish a first. It’ll be remembered forever as Arizona State’s first Big 12 game. I’m excited about it because it’s a challenge, but it’s what college football is supposed to be. It’s going to be an unbelievable environment for our guys to play in, and that’s the exciting part about joining the Big 12, is the environments we play in.”
Texas Tech is coming off a 66-21 victory over North Texas, at one point scoring 21 points in the span of one minute to put the game out of reach. The prior two weeks the Red Raiders narrowly beat Abilene Christian at home 52-51 in overtime and lost on the road 37-16 to Washington State. In their loss, they were missing star running Tahj Brooks, who rushed for 1,541 yards and ten touchdowns last year, representing the running back gauntlet the Sun Devils will face in the Big 12. The Red Raiders keep opposing defenses guessing by switching up personnel each game, making it difficult for the Sun Devils to prepare for what they might see this week.
“They score a lot,” Dillingham remarked. “They’re very creative, and I have a lot of respect for what their (offensive) coordinator does. You never see the same thing in back-to-back games, which I think is a testament to him. So whatever you show your guys, you’re probably not going to see on game day, different formation, different motion, different shift. You may see the same plays, but you’re not going to see the same physical picture from game to game, and I think that’s what makes them successful.”
Redshirt sophomore wide receiver Jordyn Tyson led the ASU receivers last week with six catches for 120 yards, highlighted by a 52-yard touchdown reception to bring the Sun Devils back into the game in the second quarter. One of his strongest abilities does not show up on the stat sheet, and that is his blocking. Wide receiver coach Hines Ward is regarded as one of the premier blocking receivers in NFL history and has assisted in Tyson’s growth when it comes to perfecting that trait.
“I think he’s grown up a lot, not just physically, but mentally,” Dillingham commented. “He’s grown up, and I think that’s a testament to coach Hines Ward, in terms of, he has a guy who kind of gets the mentor and can both be dogs in the blocking game. So I think when he sees the career Hines had, I think that’s helped him grow up a little bit. He’s one of the guys that I’m most proud of, just in terms of his growth.”
Following his 10-20 passing for 69 yards against Mississippi State, redshirt freshman quarterback Sam Leavitt took responsibility for his play. Yet, Dillingham was quick to remark, at the time, that it was his fault for overlying on the ground attack and forcing Leavitt out of his rhythm. Leavitt certainly redeemed himself, completing 19-30 passes for 246 yards and a touchdown in the Texas State win, as well as a 40-yard scramble in the third quarter that set up a score for the Sun Devils. Leavitt also added a rushing touchdown on that night, and his lone interception proved to be inconsequential to the final result. Dillingham recognized that his signal caller’s conduct hadn’t changed from week to week and was never influenced by his personal stat line.
“He’s just a worker,” Dillingham realized. “People are going to ask me questions about Sam every week. He’s the same dude every single week; he’s going to show up early and leave late, he’s going to do everything he can to prepare, and he’s going to be hard and critical of himself. He’s an ultra-competitor, and you can see that when he plays. I’m glad I get to say my tenure here is linked very strongly to him.”
Dillingham and some of the players will see a familiar face in a Texas Tech uniform in former ASU tight end Jalin Conyers, who spent his first three years as a Sun Devil and transferred this past offseason to the Red Raiders. Dillingham still appreciates his relationship with Conyers and is excited to see him again.
“Jalin was an awesome Sun Devil,” Dillingham recalled. “He had his podcast here, he was one of the most liked people in our program, and I brought him to (Pac-12) Media Day as a (team) captain to Las Vegas. I had such a good relationship with him, and I’m glad to see his success. I couldn’t be happier for him and what’s happened in the first three games, but hopefully there’s one bad game in there on week four. But other than that, I wish him nothing but the best.”
Dillingham said that several players who missed games this year due to injury have healed and will see the field in Lubbock on Saturday.
Junior defensive end Prince Dorbah, sophomore offensive lineman Sean Na'a, and junior linebacker Jordan Crook are all expected to make their 2024 season debut this weekend.
A pair of defensive tackles who didn't finish the Mississippi State game, junior Jacob Kongaika and sophomore defensive tackle Zac Swanson, are both #50-50," according to the ASU head coach, who added that he hopes to have one of them back in the fold on Saturday. Running backs sophomore Raleek Brown and senior DeCarlos Brooks are also questionable for the Texas Tech contest. Brooks was also out for the Texas State game, while Brown made his season debut last Thursday. During that game, Brown didn't look as if he was fully healed from a hamstring injury, and therefore, Dillingham said that he would monitor that situation and make a determination later this week.
Two players are out for this week: junior cornerback Latterance Welch, who played in the season opener against Wyoming but hasn't played since due to a lower right leg injury, and sophomore linebacker Tate Romney, who is still sidelined with a broken arm.
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