Day three of fall camp was the most physical and energetic practice yet, as it was also the first practice with pads. The team won’t practice with full pads until Camp Tontozona next week, but it was clear today that the players were itching for more protective gear to increase the intensity of practices.
On Friday, the linemen on both sides of the ball were naturally eager for contact drills. Down in the trenches, they feed off each other’s energy, and their voices during one-on-ones echoed throughout the dome as they literally went head-to-head.
“Everybody’s so close, and they can feel it,” Dillingham voiced. “I told our guys I’m glad we have some piss and vinegar about ourselves. If you don’t have a little bit of s*** to you now, can you control it and apply it to the next block?” Keep that same passion, keep that same energy. You’re gonna have some response that you just gotta hold in and then apply it and use that energy to football, not the extracurricular.”
The practice was conducted inside the Dickey Dome, and every inch of the facility was used. The linemen conducted drills in the turf behind the endzones, and tight ends were shrunk down to about 15 yards of space to work with along the sideline. That also meant that players were much more rested without having to jog from one field to another like they do when practicing outside.
“This year we had the same, maybe 95%, the same practice we did last year for day one and two,” Dillingham explained. “Days one and two were about 505 and a roughly 510 workload. This year, it was a 575 and a 570 workload. So in the same amount of time, in the same amount of periods, we’re getting 10 to 15 percent more work done. So we needed to take a little bit off our guys. How do you do that? There’s less transitioning here, so we did some things throughout practice to control the intensity.”
Dillingham was also content that the players showed their commitment to offseason bonding, which is now reflected in their play. It was clear that quarterbacks and receivers spent time over the summer molding their games to fit each other’s play styles.
“You can tell that they actually prepped this offseason,” Dillingham noted. “ When you’re a good football team, it’s what you do in the dark. You can see the chemistry show up. I love it when the quarterback and wideout run together after the play, and they’re getting on the same page. That tells me there’s that relationship that has happened all summer and that they care. The dangerous teams are the doubted teams that care.”
***
Competition amped up all across the position board, especially with the two transfer quarterbacks, redshirt freshman Sam Leavitt from Michigan State and senior Jeff Sims from Nebraska. Leavitt earned first-team reps in the first three practices, looking and feeling comfortable in the pocket and delivering pinpoint throws.
Although he arrived in spring with limited time to connect with his receivers, Leavitt wasted no time in practice showing the effective connections they have made in just a matter of months.
“Spring is tough because that’s your first time repping with them,” Leavitt admitted. “Now, as you can see, it’s night and day from then when they’re going to get out of their breaks. How they’re going to get out, where they like balls, high or low, stuff like that.”
Leavitt worked during the summer on building camaraderie with his teammates and coaches. It can be easier to spend time with teammates off the field to build a connection, but growing in familiarity with coaches can be limited at times. Ultimately, the success of that task begins and ends with a high level of communication between the two.
“Coach Arroyo and I have grown a lot,” Leavitt said of his offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo. “From spring to now it’s completely changed from how I feel in the offense, comfortability, so it’s been a lot of improvement, and me and him have worked through a lot of things. We’re still adding a couple of new plays now and then, but we do a really good job using terminology.”
***
After a disappointing season at Nebraska, throwing for 282 yards, one touchdown, and six interceptions, Sims unsurprisingly heads into the 2024 season with a bit of a chip on his shoulder. In his collegiate career, he’s shown his prowess at Georgia Tech, and Dillingham wants Sims to duplicate those successful seasons and combine them with the ability to make the right decisions.
“You watch him play, and it’s like, ' Holly Cow, you’re a freak show for 85% of the plays,’” Dillingham said of Sims. And in these 15% of the plays, it’s like you (Sims) lose your mind. You come here, and we’re gonna try and calm you down in those 15% of the plays, try to give you some peace of mind in those moments.
“Jeff is a good player. He showed today by throwing the ball across his body
65 yards on a home run post on half roll (out), which is one of the best throws I've seen live. It’s one of those things you see on Pro Day with no one playing football around you, and he did it in a real live setting.”
“I feel like we all have a chip on our shoulders as a team,” Sims conveyed. “We’re hungry. You can tell just by the way we practice everybody is competing and going at it. There’s just a different edge to the team.”
As a late transfer, Sims missed spring practice and was only able to attend summer workouts prior to camp. That being said, as a veteran who has seen different styles of play all across the country, he was able to quickly acclimate himself here, ending days two and three in camp with the top plays from each day. He threw a 50-yard touchdown pass to receiver redshirt freshman Derek Eusebio, which preceded the aforementioned touchdown pass Dillingham mentioned redshirt that Sims threw to senior Jake Smith.
“I feel like it’s a good offense,” Sims proclaimed. “There are a lot of good weapons to use, and a lot of pieces and checks, and everything could be made in this offense. I feel like this offense can set any quarterback up for success.”
***
Entering his last fall camp, graduate quarterback Trenton Bourguet has begun to appreciate his last couple of years compared to when he was a younger quarterback. Bourguet was the primary starter for more than half of the season last year when the first and second-string signal callers suffered injuries. He threw for over 1,486 yards. His completion percentage was a hair over 60%, as he he threw just one touchdown and four interceptions for a 109.3 quarterback rating.
“I’m just taking it one day at a time,” Bourguet remarked. “ You kind of take it for granted as a freshman and sophomore, and you're like, I have years to come. But then you blink, and it’s your last year. I don’t know if it feels like six years or 60 at this point. All the coaching changes, three head coaches, seven offensive coordinators, 21 quarterbacks, the numbers continue to grow.”
Bourguet has talked all summer about his love for coaching, and that is a profession he’s likely to pursue after his playing career ends. Dillingham has praised the graduate for his knowledge of the game and his football IQ and believes that he’ll find success no matter the level he will coach at. For all we know, Bourguet could be back on the ASU sideline sometime in the near future, but with a headset as a member of the staff.
“I’ve been blessed to be around a lot of great coaches,” Bourguet described. Coach Dillingham and Coach Arroyo are offensive geniuses, but they coach defense as well. They break down defenses and why they call this play call. I’d love to stay here and work under Coach Dillingham and Coach Arroyo in the future and help lead Arizona State to a lot of great victories.”
