Arizona State head coach Kenny Dillingham wanted to send a message to his players after Tuesday’s practice, which he labeled “the worst practice by far” since spring football earlier this month.

Thursday made a better impression on the 32-year-old coach, who felt it was clear from the jump that the players were more engaged and had clearer mindsets to attack the day’s installs and activities.

“You can tell when we do our pre-practice walkthrough, right, how guys are communicating, how practice is going to be,” Dillingham said in an interview after practice. “Are they using hand signals? Are they screaming? Are they communicating? Or are they just saying the call? Tuesday, we just said the call. Today we actually communicated.”

With eight practices in the books, Dillingham’s offensive scheme is starting to come to life. As Oregon’s offensive coordinator, Dillingham produced a top-five scoring offense that generated explosive plays at an impressive rate. The vertical passing game unveiled some of that high-flying potential within the first week and the team’s first scrimmage last Saturday. On Thursday, Dillingham continued to build more layers by emphasizing the short game and screen packages.

Overall, the offense creates one-on-one matchups across the board, which has allowed the wide receiver and defensive back rooms to experience critical scenarios and a sense of importance every time they line up to take a rep.

“A position group that’s really stood out is the defensive backs and the wideouts,” Dillingham said. “I think we’re pretty skilled. I think we have the talent to match up with people outside. I think that’s definitely a strength of who we are, and I think the competitive nature, you know, fire breathes fire, and when those guys have energy and passion versus each other to win a one-on-one, to lose a one-on-one, it only makes you better. I think you’ve seen that out of both groups.”

The wide receiver group is particularly impressive, boasting a strong supporting cast of returners and transfers. Redshirt junior Elijhah Badger ranked fourth in the Pac-12 last season with 70 receptions, which he took for 866 yards and seven touchdowns. Jalin Conyers enjoyed a breakout at the tight end, producing five touchdowns over the team’s last five games. Slot target Gio Sanders moved the chains on 70 percent of his catches. Transfers Xavier Guillory, Troy Omeire, and Melquan Stovall have racked up several highlight moments through camp.

It’s a testament to the teaching of wide receivers coach Ra’Shaad Samples, who worked with the Los Angeles Rams running backs group last season as the youngest position coach in the NFL. Samples is 28 years old and has been an assistant for Houston, Texas, and SMU. He is an influential recruiter with deep roots in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, as well as across the entire Lone Star state.

It would be fair to say Dillingham sees much of himself in Samples, with the ambition, mentality, and command to lead a football program despite his young age.

“I think we have a staff that’s full of guys who are going to be head coaches,” Dillingham said. “When you think of Coach Samples, this is a guy who’s been an assistant head coach in college football from the time he was 26. He’s been a position coach – the youngest position coach in the NFL. This guy will be the youngest head coach in college football someday. It will happen. There is no doubt in my mind he’s going to be. He’s ready for it. He could go run a program today. I don’t know if somebody is going to hire somebody that young – they think I’m young – but if somebody did, they could hire him today, and he’d go run a football program.”

“He’s a young dude, but he has a presence. He has leadership. He’s not a young dude where everyday kids walk over him. He’s a guy who has kids in the meeting rooms with him early; he’s a guy who is hard on guys; he’s a guy who has a standard. You know, everybody thinks young, and they think, ‘oh, well, that means there’s no standard, there’s no discipline. You’re just one of the new era people.’ His dad is one of the best coaches in high school football and is old-school.

Samples is one major piece of the puzzle, but the entire Arizona State staff has brought a fresh vibe to day-to-day football operations. The coaches have transformed practices into a lively, energetic, and engaging atmosphere. Players are coaxed into giving their all in moments of competition. The rapid pace and flow keep everyone on track and focused.

“If you are just genuinely who you are as a coach every single day, we have enough personalities, enough different people that we’re going to find somebody to get a player to respond to,” Dillingham said.

And so, when sophomore wide receiver Javen Jacobs underwent a position switch, it was an easy acclimation for the staff to get the former Saguaro talent the ball. Jacobs backed up the slot and handled return duties as a freshman but found himself buried on the receiver depth chart to begin spring. At running back, Jacobs returns to the natural role he played in high school that will feature his athleticism and increase his touches.

“He’s thick and versatile,” Dillingham said on Jacobs. “He was a 1,000-yard back in high school. We’ve had a few guys dinged up at that position, so he has the versatility to do that, and in college football, substitutions allow matched subs. The rule changed about 15 years ago. So, if you sub, they can match your sub. So, you always want to play with people that I call are hybrids – guys that can play wideout, guys that can play running back, guys that can play tight end.

“The more of those guys you have on the field, the more versatility you have on the field, which means more advantages you can scheme to based off your defensive personnel. I think he can be one of those guys that can give us an advantage based off the personnel.”

On defense, Dillingham spoke favorably about the ability of his players on that side to disguise pressure. The defense recorded 12 sacks in the scrimmage and have been able to cause havoc in the pocket in every practice. Dillingham’s description of the unit “flying around the ball” is a stark contrast to how Arizona State played defense last season. The defense rarely blitzed, stayed in the same look all game, and suffered severe casualties in the run game as a result.

Early indications are that will not be the case anymore, specifically with how great junior BJ Green and the rest of the EDGE players have looked under defensive coordinator Brian Ward.

“They’re athletic, and this is a scheme where you are a defensive end in the country, you want to come here to play defensive end,” Dillingham said. “There is not a better place to come play defensive end than here. I scheme versus it all. I’ve been on the other side versus this team. You do not want to play these defensive ends in this scheme. They attack, they attack, they attack, they attack, they attack.

“And when you have athletes that are constantly on the attack, they’re not reacting as much as they have a plan to attack and impact the quarterback. That’s what every defensive end wants to do in the country when he’s recruited, and that’s our philosophy. And it’s really hard on a quarterback, really hard on an O-line, because it just limits what you can do offensively.

“Are there some negatives to it? Yes. But if our negatives are we’re too aggressive; I’m going to sleep just great at night.”

Redshirt senior defensive back Willie Harts agrees that the defense has been able to pick up Ward’s scheme with ease.

“Three weeks as a defense, I feel like we excelled very fast,” Harts said. “Even though we just learned this defense, we’re clicking to it faster than we thought we would. I love it. Basically, our coaches tell us, ‘go play.’ We get our assignments, but we go play and be an athlete.”

Ward produced 33 sacks at Washington State last season. His unique ways of loading up the line of scrimmage and bringing pressure from several directions place an immense amount of trust in the defense’s coverage players to stay disciplined and win matchups. As a safety, Harts likes Ward’s coaching style and ability to break down the intricate details using unique phrases.

“I love him as a coach because it’s more than football with him. He makes a metaphor besides football, so he loves boxing because he was a boxer. So, a lot of terms he will use come from his background. So having that, it’s more of a connection with him, and it helps me understand the defense way faster.

“Like in the phone booth when you’re in man, he taught us that. We haven’t practiced the drill, but he’s told us it’s basically you move, and there’s a bag behind you, and you have to stay there. Basically, you’re sliding, you ain’t moving.”

Harts is playing an exclusive slot role to start spring after playing a traditional safety role over the top of the defense in his four seasons with the program. It fits like a glove and has allowed him to accumulate several pass breakups over the last two practices. Harts said playing the slot has allowed his football IQ to blossom.

“I’m very smart,” Warts said. “I can recognize route concepts by one person moving. As long as you can read an offense and know what they’re going to do before they hike the ball, that’s all you need.”

Harts’ most notable moment as a Sun Devil came in 2019 when he picked off a pass in the Sun Bowl and returned the ball to the end zone, scoring Arizona State’s only touchdown of the game. He played in 11 games as a true freshman but has struggled to stay healthy and find his way onto the field. With fresh eyes on him, Harts is reaping the benefits of waiting patiently for another chance to showcase his skills.

“Gotta wait for your shot,” Harts smiled. “That’s all it is, just sit back, grind, do what you can, and wait for your shot. Once you got your opportunity, go shine.”

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