(Photo: Marina Williams/WCSN)
Wednesday’s Arizona State football practice was the team’s worst throughout the duration of fall preseason camp, according to head coach Kenny Dillingham.
Just 10 days before the team’s season opener against Wyoming on August 31, Dillingham said there was poor focus all around, including from the coaches and the players.
“I thought today … the intensity wasn’t there like it was in our other helmet practices,” Dillingham said. “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, and just letting it happen.”
With the team’s first game quickly approaching, Dillingham pointed out areas that still need improvement from his team. One of these was communication on the defensive end.
The Sun Devils have a lot of depth and veteran talent in each position group on the defensive side of the ball resulting in several different players attempting to step up and lead. Unfortunately, this clashing of voices has led to commotion due to multiple players trying to speak up and direct the team at the same time.
“Right now, we’ve got too many voices sometimes, which causes confusion, which is a good problem,” Dillingham said. “Too many people communicating, but now we got to figure out who’s the Alpha. Who are we going to listen to when multiple people are talking?”
Although Wednesday’s practice didn’t go how the Sun Devils would have liked, Dillingham was pleased with how his staff has implemented its plan for fall camp. Their goal was to front load camp with the harder more high effort practices and lighten the players’ loads near the end.
Dillingham says they won’t know for sure if this practice plan truly paid off until they play their first game, but the hope is that the players feel more refreshed and have their legs back underneath them going into the first week of the season.
The Sun Devils are taking the day off Thursday before simulating a game walkthrough on Friday. The goal for Dillingham and staff is to simulate as close to a gameday routine as possible. Following Friday’s practice, Dillingham says the team will officially turn their attention to Wyoming beginning game prep with Saturday’s practice.
“We’ll go versus scout team being the other side of the ball, so we can flow like a game,” Dillingham said. “We’ll simulate a game as much as possible. …we’re not going to be able to simulate the environment or the enthusiasm, right? Usually, this day, though, there’s a little bit of energy because it’s a week away.”
With preparations and practices ramping up, Dillingham is excited to watch his team perform and get better during his favorite part of the game week cycle.
“I’m kind of weird. I love practice,” Dillingham said. “Like, the games are fun, and yes, I want to win the games, and they’re competitive, and they’re great, but I love the practice. I love the process. I love seeing the guys get better. I love the process. I absolutely love the process. It pains me when we don’t or feel like we don’t get better or maximize it.”
