Despite weeks of diligent preseason preparation ahead of the 2024 campaign, some aspects of preparedness cannot be replicated to a game-like atmosphere. The Arizona State players have faced an intense fall camp, filled with adversity to test their mettle, but only their performance between the lines starting this Saturday can reveal to ASU head coach Kenny Dillingham perhaps the biggest unknown trait of his team.
“How much they trust each other at the moment,” Dillingham said, regarding the one team aspect that is still undetermined. “Are you gonna trust the person behind you to do their job, and are they gonna trust that you do yours? I think that’s what makes really good defensive and football teams, the trust that in the biggest moments, you just have to do your job because you trust the other person will do theirs.
“That’s not a commitment thing; that’s not anything more than under the fire, under the lights; when it matters the most, you have to be able to take a deep breath and trust that the other ten (players) will do their job. That’s what I’m looking forward to, how much we trust each other so you can play your game and do your job.”
Following last year's 3-9 record and being picked at the bottom of the 2024 Big 12 Media Preseason Poll, the introduction to a new conference has carried low outside expectations. Unlike other head coaches, Dillingham never pretended to be unaware of the preseason narrative attached to his team. He even joked early in fall camp that his team is “a group of misfits and underdogs that nobody thought was good enough.” Therefore, when addressing his players with the proverbial ‘us against the world’ mentality, he knows how much that can improve the collective drive of his team, but still without disturbing their movement process.
“It’s such coach talk when people say the kids or coaches say they don’t see something out there,” Dillingham noted. “You can hide it from yourself, but somebody will send you a text message, and whether you let it affect you or not is a different story.
“But it’s more like nobody believes in you, and you should have a little chip on your shoulder from that perspective. But great teams are not built off of what the media's perception of them. Great teams are built (that way) because they're wired in a way where they trust the process every single day. And that’s what we have been focused on. So yeah, do I put it up (the poll) on the screen every once in a while? Of course, why would I not?
“But if the identity of our football team is, ‘Let’s prove a whole bunch of people who don’t know who we are wrong,’ then we’re teaching a horrible message to our players, not only in football but in life.”
When the second-year coach was asked about his growth in that role, Dillingham claimed to have difficulty judging his impact and ability.
“I hope I’m better, but the reality is you don’t know what you don’t know when talking about yourself,” he admitted. “Like for me, I don’t know if I was a good [Offensive Coordinator] or quarterback coach me versus me. It’s really hard to judge yourself. So I would hope through experience that I’m better this year, that I’ve grown as well as the players on our team have grown.”
Dillingham was content with his team’s fall camp performance and has been impressed not just with the play on the field but also with the mental facets the players have demonstrated, such as their dedication, excitement, and desire to continuously improve. This is why he’s excited to see the Sun Devils display the fruits of their preseason labor this weekend.
“I think the guys are in a really good place,” Dillingham remarked. “Our guys want to be good and they want to be successful they love the game. That’s what I’m most pleased with through it all is the want to is there. Now we’re going to have to be able to do that under the fire.”
‘The Fire’ comes in the shape of Wyoming on Saturday as they travel down to Tempe for ASU’s season opener. The Cowboys finished 9-4 last season, beating ASU’s Big 12 opponent Texas Tech in the 2023 season opener.
The Cowboys are enduring a transitional period, however, as head coach Jay Sawvel is set to begin his first year at the helm following Craig Bohl’s departure. Bohl managed them since 2014.
Sawvel has been the team's defensive coordinator since 2020, and while Dillingham doesn’t expect drastic changes from Wyoming in years past, he is sure Sawvel will have something up his sleeve.
“New head coach he's a veteran, he’s worked for some of the best head coaches in the country dating back to his time at Minnesota, Wake Forest, and Wyoming.” Dillingham praised. “He’s only been around winning teams and winning cultures.
“Everybody changes and has wrinkles so trying to stay ahead of the curve of what wrinkles they may add in their system. What teams in their system have added wrinkles in the past? You try and chase some ghosts and try not to chase too many but you definitely have to chase some this off-season.”
Dillingham has been abundantly pleased with the several transfers that have made an impact on camp. He is also eager to see two returning players who could be thought of as newcomers as well since each hasn’t played in quite a long time. Senior wide receiver Jake Smith and junior safety Xavion Alford. Much like dozens of other undergrad multi-team transfers were denied from seeing the field in 2023 by the NCAA, and have not let that affect their performance in preseason sessions as both figure to be key players in their respective positions.
“I think it makes them appreciate the practices more,” Dillingham said. “Both of these guys haven’t played in over a thousand days. Both those guys were five-star, high four-star recruits that everybody in the country wanted. For them to be a thousand days since their last game for a multitude of reasons, I think they are excited that they are finally going to play on Saturday after a thousand days of work. Process that. Doing something for a thousand days just to play this game on Saturday.
“That’s pretty powerful, and you see it in how they prepare, their focus level, and how they treat their body in the off-season.”
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Dillingham announced today that four players who were injured during various stages of fall camp will not only miss the season opener this weekend but also some games to follow.
Sophomore offensive lineman Sean Na'a, who was slated to be the right guard starter, will be sidelined for the next two to four weeks due to a leg injury. In recent practices, senior Cade Briggs was assuming that role, and he is the presumed starter for this Saturday.
Junior defensive end Prince Dorbah's prognosis also includes missing the next two to four weeks. He injured his leg in the Sun Devils’ Camp Tontozona scrimmage and was seen on crutches that day. Senior Elijah O'Neal, whom Dillingham called the most improved player in fall camp, has been running with the first team for a couple of weeks now and is expected to get his first collegiate start when ASU faces Wyoming.
Sophomore linebacker Tate Romney, who broke his arm last week in practice, will miss the most time, according to Dillingham, and is expected to miss between four and six weeks. In fall camp, Romney was rarely running in the two-deep and was behind shoo-in starter and junior Keyshaun Elliott, as well as senior Caleb McCullough and juniors Zyrus Fiaseu and Jordan Crook, who round out the two-deep.
The least serious injury Dillingham announced was for sophomore running back Raleek Brown, who has been battling a hamstring injury since the first week of fall camp and has been sidelined after practicing in less than a handful of sessions. The ASU head coach noted that Brown was 90% recovered and will sit out this Saturday’s contest. If his recovery goes well, he could be back for either the Mississippi State or Texas State games in the upcoming weeks. While he was expected to see significant game day reps, a deep running back room should be able to withstand this absence, as the senior tandem of Cameron Skattebo and DeCarlos Brooks are projected to get the bulk of the carries against the Cowboys.
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