Kenny Dillingham has a tall task in front of him in getting ASU to sustain good football into 2025 and prove its magical 2024 season was not an aberration.
Dillingham was quick to point out in a Zoom call with reporters on Friday that in the history of the Big 12, the only team to outright win the conference in back-to-back years was Oklahoma, which is no longer in the conference.
“How do you get that same group of people to play with that fire, that energy, have that passion, play with that level of ‘the world’s against me,'” Dillingham asked. “I think the greatest challenge for our guys is that. It’s because we have everybody back, we’re going to have expectations.
“The reality is it doesn’t matter,” he continued. “We’re only going to be as good as we prepare and we practice and as good as we want to be, and we’re not just going to be able to show up on Saturday and win games. It’s a process.”
ASU has a head start, returning more than 35 players from last season’s 44-man two-deep, including dynamic duo Sam Leavitt and Jordyn Tyson, but there’s still plenty that needs tweaking.
What will Dillingham change with ASU offense?
The coach said the offense may change as Leavitt gives them more options now than he did as a first-year starter, but the schematic approach may stay the same.
“Maybe we’re not changing things, maybe we’re prioritizing different things more in the offseason because at the end of the day, it’s about maximizing the players on your team,” Dillingham said. “We have a different team, so let’s maximize those guys, let’s maximize our skillsets. So we should look a little bit different this year. And if we don’t, I’ll be disappointed in myself that I didn’t take this new team and kind of adapt around our skillsets.”
Dillingham said the biggest area of improvement he’s looking for out of Leavitt is consistency with his rhythm as a dropback passer.
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“Having rhythm, feet and eyes being basically consistent with one another on certain throws,” Dillingham said. “When you’re an athletic quarterback your entire life, you’ve kind of played free and that’s really important. You never want to take away somebody’s ability to play point guard and play free. … But I think there’s a balance of being able to play so free and then also have some spots of your game that are very, very, very rhythmic.”
He also wants Leavitt in more situations where he’s only making one read and the ball gets there before a defense has time to react in an effort to improve his efficiency as a passer.
“I think it’s our job to try to maximize him. Even if some things are uncomfortable for him at the start, if we feel like it’s best for him, this is the time to do it because if it doesn’t look good through June, (you can just say) scratch this, screw everything we just did. Go play point guard again. I know we can do that.
“But what can we do to try to improve his game? I’d say that’s the biggest thing is eyes and feet together and some of the intermediate pass and short quick passing game.”
Among players Dillingham is in charge of maximizing, ASU added transfer running back Kanye Udoh, who rushed for 1,117 yards and 10 touchdowns last season at Army.
It will be no small feat replacing a program pillar like Cam Skattebo, and Udoh may spearhead a room that also features Kyson Brown and Raleek Brown as key returners along with depth pieces Jason Brown Jr. and Alton McCaskill coming back.
Dillingham said he wants to get on the field in the spring and see how the five rushers look against ASU’s live defense before he knows how the rotation will shake out.
“I know it sounds so boring, but the best running backs don’t get tackled,” the coach said. “I’m excited to see which ones in spring ball — when we go live — don’t get tackled very easily.
“But I think we definitely have some depth in that room that even though we don’t have a (Skattebo), I think we’re going to have a bunch of guys that can pick up as many pieces as possible from losing a (Skattebo).”
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