Dillingham praises toughness after first padded practice

Arizona State’s first full pads practice of the spring brought a noticeable increase in energy and intensity to an atmosphere that has already featured an uptick in those categories under first-year head coach Kenny Dillingham. Players were fired up from the first whistle to the last, eager to hit their teammates they had spent a week mostly sparring.

“Saturday, I thought it was a little bit soft,” Dillingham said bluntly. “Today (Tuesday), they responded with some intensity and physicality. That’s what it takes to win in football. Physicality.”

There should be physicality, but not too much. The first padded practice yielded some flared tempers on Tuesday. A brief scuffle ensued after a pair of players engaged in intense blocking on the defensive side, while the same was seen on the offensive side of the field just a few plays later. Dillingham was heard booming, “break it up!’ from his trusty microphone.

“It should get chippy, but being under control of yourself is the key,” Dillingham explained. “If it gets chippy because you run over a guy, the person who’s going to get chippy is the guy who got run over. If you’re in control of yourself and saying, if I get beat, shut up and get back, we won’t get the chippy penalty. If we can be in control and celebrate accordingly, we won’t get those penalties.”

As heated as the competition can get, Dillingham doesn’t want his players to forget that they’re all wearing the same colors and chasing a common goal. The time they spend cultivating relationships off the field is meant to withstand the adversity a team can face on the practice field.

“I mean, we’re in this together; I tell the guys all the time we’re in this together,” Dillingham reinforced. “This is us; this is our team. We all have a major part in making it go; everything matters. Everyone wants to blame players all the time when it is a whole program’s job to take the next step.”

Coaching at his alma mater, a short drive from the neighborhood where he grew up, it would be understandable and even encouraged for Dillingham to be floored by the impressive ascent of his career. He takes the time to appreciate it, but when he’s on the field, football is football.

“When I’m on the field, I’m just coaching football, so it hasn’t really hit me there,” Dillingham said before letting his guard down just a bit. “But when I see guys I used to coach high school with, that’s the stuff where I say, 'whoa, this is pretty cool.'”

ASU football players have been tasked with learning this coaching staff’s “football language” before they can even learn a playbook. It’s clear that being a chess piece in Dillingham’s system will take as much, if not more, work outside of the facility as on it. Players won’t be able to get away with skimming their notes like an elective course.

“We have installed a lot; we’ve thrown a lot at these guys,” Dillingham said. “If you don’t prepare on your own, you have no chance. We want to make sure guys know that. You really see which guys want it and the guys who don’t expose themselves.”

On the other side of that coin, Dillingham has been largely impressed with the mental makeup of his players through the first week plus of spring practice. He knows he has a cerebral bunch and one that is motivated.

“I think the guys want it. The thing that’s unique about these guys is they want it. They show up every day, and they want to be coached. There aren’t many 18-22-year-olds who genuinely want to get better every day, and that’s all you can ask for.”

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Melquan Stovall is a name that has certainly jumped off the page through the first week of spring. The Colorado State transfer isn’t the most physically imposing presence, but his technique has allowed him to stand out.

“I’m just trying to build chemistry with the whole team and get on the same page as the quarterbacks,” Stovall explained simply. I’m trying to improve on my whole game and being a leader in the room. The only thing I can do is be myself.”

The decision to come to Arizona State wasn’t easy for Stovall, but he based it on relationships and trust with the ASU staff. It’s a group that boasts a plethora of valuable football experiences. Stovall explained that playing under this kind of coaching and it being at the power five level ultimately allowed him to be confident in his decision to come to Tempe.

“It was always a dream of mine to play in the Pac-12. Coach Baldwin, he coached my brother (Melquise Stovall) at Cal, so I had that relationship there,” Stovall explained. “Coach Dillingham has been coaching since he was 17, he’s a young coach, but he brings a lot of experience. Coach Samples coached for the Rams, so the coaching staff was a big part of that.”

Stovall touched on the high-intensity nature of ASU’s practices and how the makeup of their group fosters such an atmosphere. The receivers are brothers, but there is no shortage of competition as each competes for the depth chart.

“We’re very competitive,” he said with a smile

.Samples, who did indeed join Dillingham’s staff from the NFL ranks with the Los Angeles Rams, oversees Stovall along with a very deep group of pass catches that should provide Arizona State quarterbacks with plenty of options.

“He just works and works, and he doesn’t ask questions," Samples noted. "You put a lot on him, and he takes it in stride and doesn’t blink. It’s a testament to his work; he stays after practice, the whole group does.

"Melquan being an older guy, he’s been through that maturation process; he’s able to take on more and continue to roll with it. You can just kind of tell; he has that look in his eye that says, 'I just want to go.' He leads by example.”

Dillingham offered one final thought on the depth of his receiver room before he left his media session following Tuesday’s practice.

“I think we’re deep; we have a lot of guys who can make an impact at the wideout and tight end position. Those are two spots that are really good for us right now.”

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