Schemes, NIL progress, and team culture were all topics of interest for ASU football's head coach, Kenny Dillingham, during his press conference on Thursday.
His press conference arrives just over a month before the spring game, which will take place on April 26.
Dillingham confirmed sophomore quarterback Jaden Rashada's thumb injury on his throwing hand and said he won’t be active in spring ball.
"He'll be out until we think he's in a good space to get back," Dillingham said.
The team is addressing new practice techniques, including new schematic coaching points, as it prepares for its debut season in the Big 12 Conference. The Sun Devils are facing such changes due to multiple factors, such as their hiring of new offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo and ASU's shift to a new conference.
According to Dillingham, ASU's new offensive will be a 60-40 divide between his system and Arroyo's, which includes slightly different offensive verbiage.
"You'll definitely see more under center, more shifts, more motions, and more of that world, which we did at the end of last year," Dillingham said.
In the Big 12, ASU's offense will face different defensive personnel groups, like the 3-3-5, which employs three defensive linemen, three linebackers, and five defensive backs.
Additionally, the Sun Devils will face a lot more 12 personnel groupings — two tight-ends — on defense, which they’re currently preparing for.
The team's NIL landscape has also been changing. Dillingham said the team has been making immense progress, but is still playing catch-up to other programs. Stressing the role of fans and other spectators in improving ASU's NIL, Dillingham emphasized the impact social media posts can have on potential recruits.
"More than ever, in college football, kids are affected by the random dude on social media," Dillingham said. "They’re affected by these little things that go on. So, the fanbase, the community, what we push out, is important as a whole."
Dillingham's added camaraderie on social media can be productive in helping the players and point people in the right direction in terms of NIL.
"So when people look on social media about us, when they look at NIL about us, everything is trending forward, everything is trending up," Dillingham said. "And if we can get to that point, you’re gonna see local kids start to be like, ‘Man, why not ASU?'"
The team has already recruited some players, including transfer redshirt freshman quarterback Sam Leavitt from Michigan State.
Quarterback recruit Navi Bruzon, from Liberty High School in Peoria, has also been practicing with the team during spring practices. The two-time Arizona Gatorade Football Player of the Year clinched a walk-on opportunity to play for the Sun Devils and will see reps during practice, according to Dillingham.
Dillingham said the incoming freshman Bruzon will be a huge asset for the program, along with being "one of the best players in their team Madden league."
ASU has also sought to build depth at positions other than quarterback. This is particularly important because the team's thin roster depth last season often affected the outcome of games.
It's certainly an offseason priority going into 2024.
READ MORE: Young ASU football players continue to step up for the team amid injuries
Dillingham said that ASU's deepest positional groups were at offensive line, defensive line, safety and in the wide receiver room. He said the team could still use a "body or two" at running back, tight end, and linebacker.
One of the team's new coaching tools is a large screen displayed from wall-to-wall that simulates in-game reps for players. ASU’s application of this technology represents a greater trend in football, and the Sun Devils aren’t the first Division I football team to implement these tools, according to Dillingham.
"(The screen) allows us to teach in a meeting room setting, just like we always would," Dillingham said. "But we get a life-sized picture in which we can walk through, take a drop, and throw a ball against a wall that's 30 yards long from sideline to sideline."
After being the head coach for a year, Dillingham said one thing he learned about the transfer portal was the need to be brutally honest with players and look for guys who are passionate about the program.
"I don't care what changes in college football; these are still guys that are in college football living out their dream," said Dillingham. "It is a privilege."
According to Dillingham, the biggest difference in this year's squad in comparison to last year's is team culture, particularly in terms of player behavior.
Every day before practice, the coaching staff receives a list of infractions, including players who were late to practices or missed their classes. Such infractions have significantly gone down.
"Last year, having nobody on the list was a success," Dillingham said. "This year having somebody on the list is failure."
This change is a microcosm of what Dillingham describes as "setting the minimum standard." By having a clear floor in terms of team output this season, which ASU didn't have last year, they're hoping to reach new heights.
"The goal is you slowly raise the minimum standard because it's the valley of what your program is going to be in a down year," Dillingham said. "The whole goal is to get your minimum standard so high that when you have a down year, people still think you’re pretty good."
Edited by Alfred Smith III, Shane Brennan and Caera Learmonth.
Reach out to the reporters at jwkartso@asu.edu and katrinamic03@gmail.com and follow them @kartsonis3 and @kat_m67 on X.
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Jack is a sophomore studying sports journalism. This is his second semester with The State Press. He has also worked at other student journalism organizations.
