The Sun Devils had a day to rest before six straight days of practice, which began today. ASU head coach Kenny Dillingham said in an interview on Saturday that he hoped the players would take the day to rejuvenate themselves because of the low energy shown on that night. And although Monday morning started somewhat large, it was anything but a sign of what was about to come from an offensive standpoint.
The inevitable experimentation of fall camp touched the quarterback room and yielded outstanding results. Although redshirt freshman quarterback Sam Leavitt still ran with the first team in the early practice tempo segment, senior Jeff Sims took over the starter duties for the rest of practice.
The end result was a classic win-win scenario.
“You saw Jeff go in with the 1’s and Sam go in with the 2’s, and Sam probably had his best practice,” Dillingham said. “I love that; it’s a little adversity. What happens? I’m (Leavitt) going to have my best day. Try to put me with the 2’s, because Jeff had a good day the day before, I’m going to have my best day. You’re not going to take that away from me, and that’s the mindset and competitiveness that we try to recruit to, to the dawgs. To the dudes who embrace it.
“I think both those kids can play on Sundays. I firmly believe that. The last two guys (quarterbacks) I coached in the last two schools (Florida State’s Jordan Travis and Oregon’s Bo Nix) are playing right now on Sundays. I think both the new guys (Leavitt and Sims) have Sunday ability. We have NFL-caliber quarterbacks on this roster, and we have more than one right now.”
Whether on the ground or in the air, the Arizona State offense showcased its talent and depth at every position, breaking down the defense multiple times during individual battles and scrimmages and displaying sharpness in drills.
“That was one of our better offensive days at a fall camp in a while,” Dillingham noted. “It was third-and-long day and for our offense to come out and execute like that, I was very impressed. From controlling the snap count to getting into good plays to winning one-on-one matchups all across the board, it was a good day for the offense.”
Redshirt freshman wide receiver Derek Eusebio continued to impress today. In his second-team reps, the walk-on saw the second-most targets in his group behind Jake Smith and proved his skills every time he touched the ball. With many of the primary receivers in their junior and senior years, Eusebio seems to be on the trajectory to have a larger role in 2024 and beyond.
“He’s showing up,” Dillingham described. “He consistently makes plays when he’s with the two-group. That dude’s actually fighting to actually be a part of the travel squad. He’s in that position to where he’s putting himself in a position to be seen on Saturday.”
Two players, senior receiver Malik McLain and junior defensive back Myles Rowser, came back today for their first fall camp practice for the Devils. Both received reps with the second team and didn’t show much rust.
“Obviously, it’s easy to come back as a wideout and just run some routes,” Dillingham explained. “Safety is a little bit more difficult to get re acclimated, because you’ve missed all the lineups and formation. But with wideouts, we can just say, run a six-yard out on this play.”
Dillingham and the team head to Camp Tontozona on Tuesday afternoon, and this year, the sessions taking place up north will have a different feel. With the experience Dillingham gained as the team’s first-year head coach last year, he now finds himself employing minor tweaks, such as staying an extra day, to make the transition easier on the players.
“There’s no cell phones,” Dillingham remarked. “It’ll be interesting what the guys do. Do we play Spades? I just want to know which guys are doing what. It’s also that we have six straight days of practice. In the old days, that’s nothing, but now people go three days (in a row), maybe four maximum. I’m looking at who can stay sharp mentally for six days because that’s what this football team needs.
“This football team doesn’t need an influx of talent. It needs this (pointing to his head). It needs the mindset.”
Dillingham is known to be as competitive as they come and has no doubts he’ll get the best of his players in some of the games played. He realizes, though, which games play better to his strengths.
“I’ll beat everyone in Spades; that’s not even a question,” Dillingham boasted. “Chess, Spades, Hearts, Bags, it doesn’t matter. There’s spike ball, but I don’t know if I’ll be cleared with my knee even though I’m running around the field, but if I can compete, I’m going to.”
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Sophomore running back Kyson Brown is just as excited to venture to Camp T. As a returning player to that unique environment, there seems to be a different level of excitement anticipating the ride to the pines near Payson.
“I think it was a great experience,” Brown remarked. “I think we bonded with some of the guys and learned a lot of outdoorsy lessons without being able to use our cell phones. I’m really excited to go up a second time and can’t wait to form new bonds.”
The competition in the backfield is also amping up, with six formidable backs all fighting for playing time. Running backs coach Shaun Aguano has previously mentioned that, given the depth level in the room, he plans to use two backs frequently this season. In the meantime, the competition for playing time rages on.
“I think it’s good to have competition,” Brown said. “It makes us all better in the long run and keeps us fresh. We want to make it hard on coach when deciding who to play while also making it easier for us on the field. It could be a benefit mainly because it allowed us to stay fresh and get our yards per carry numbers up.”
Last year, various offensive linemen were injured frequently throughout the season, leaving the running backs in a tough position. Returning players in the front five combined with increased depth up front have improved run blocking, much to the delight of the Sun Devil ball carriers.
“It’s a big difference from last season,” Brown expressed. “We got a lot of guys that can really move people and that’s been beneficial. We have multiple rotations of guys who can provide a lot of help, so hopefully, we can keep everyone healthy.”
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Freshman offensive lineman Champ Westbrooks has been impressing the coaches with his dedication. While he hasn’t seen the field in scrimmages as often as he’d like to, the leadership from the other linemen has been very impactful for him.”
“They’ve all been very helpful,” Westbrooks stated. “They’ve been helping me with my assignments and my stances a lot. I feel like this past week, I’ve really improved my stance and technique, and they’ve been a big part of that. I was a guard throughout high school, so moving to the tackle position was difficult, but I feel like I’ve adjusted really well.”
Every position brought the energy to practice today, and there’s been much more competition between the offense and defense. While it’s good to get that in-game feel, it also helps both sides of the ball sharpen each other’s game.
“It gets really intense,” Westbrooks noted. “I feel I’m getting better every practice with every rep. The other freshmen are also pushing me to get better, and I’m doing the same, so we’re helping each other out in that sense.”
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