The last day of fall camp isn’t necessarily supposed to be a notable yard marker in ASU's preseason preparations. Yet, it ultimately was a no-pads practice that head coach Kenny Dillingham was extremely disappointed with its performance, taking full blame for the Wednesday morning display that lacked an effective level of attention.
“Well, we wanted to get legs back, obviously, getting into this part of the season,” Dillingham said. “We had a bad day, though. There was a very, very poor focus. Started with the staff, started with myself, to the players. That was our worst full day of fall camp.
“I thought today the lack of focus, it just wasn’t there the intensity wasn’t there. We had practiced really well in our other two helmet practices. Today, we kind of took the day off, and that's my fault; that's our staff's fault for allowing that to happen.”
Dillingham spoke early on in fall camp about wanting to front-load the difficult sessions so his team would be well rested in the days leading up to the season opener. Now that week one preparations are on the Sun Devils’ doorstep, Dillingham said he won’t know if this approach was the proper decision until the on-field performance showcases itself.
“We definitely stuck to it,” Dillingham said about his intended camp schedule. “I won't know if it benefited until week one when we see how fresh our players feel. Because that was the whole premise was to really get after them, make them tired. The benefit is this back end, to kind of get their legs back underneath them. So we'll find out week one.”
Dillingham was asked about the idea of preseason games in college football, no different than what is imploded in the NFL, to allow players to get in shape against different programs and break the routine of teammates repeatedly facing each other. The NFL model is one that many in the sport look at as a good idea for the college game to incorporate.
“Oh yeah, preseason. Any time you can play football versus somebody else. It's huge.” Dillingham asserted. “The best way to emulate a game is to play the game, and we try to simulate that versus ourselves, right? But you see the same people over and over and over and over again.
“You’ve got to try to find a way to bring up the monotony of a camp, whereas [NFL teams] get to practice versus other teams, to break up the monotony and to get different looks. You don't really get that in college.”
From an intangible perspective, Arizona State did benefit tremendously from the structure of this year’s fall camp, as players consistently spoke of the growth and chemistry that has developed in the locker room and learning more about each other off the field. These are all aspects that are credited when seeing players and position groups gradually improve.
Dillingham stated that he saw a major improvement in the team's attitude when the chips didn’t fall their way, crediting the intense nature of fall camp in its early stages to the team's adjusted and improved demeanor.
“I do think that we don't complain as much as we have,” Dillingham remarked. “We'll find out on game day. But we're getting better at that. So I think that was part of the early strain we tried to put on them.”
Dillingham claimed it wouldn’t be possible to recreate a gameday environment during Saturday’s practice. However, he did say the energy level would be met with added motivation now that the players and coaches feel the season opener is rapidly approaching.
“We're going to simulate a game day on Saturday,” he said. “We'll all be on the same sideline, and we'll go versus the scout team being the other side of the ball so we can flow like a game. Defensive coaches can talk after a defensive series on the new (Microsoft) surfaces and vice versa, so we'll simulate a game as much as possible.”
“We're not able to simulate the environment or the enthusiasm, and usually this day, there's a little bit of energy because it's (season opener) a week away. We made it here, so there's usually a little bit of juice and extra focus, but our Saturdays.”
The first game of the year, or any given game day, will inherently create a new and more intense rage of emotions than practice; yet, for Arizona State’s head coach, it’s the preparation itself, more than the end result, that he does truly cherish.
“I'm kind of weird. I love to practice,” Dillingham admitted. “Like the games are fun, yes, I want to win the games. Once we have a game day, it's all the players at that point. You know, we're just there to put him in the right state of mind. And now, with iPads, I guess, you know, cheat (laughs).”
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