After former ASU wide receiver coach Ra’Shaad Samples left for a coaching job at Oregon, ASU needed to fill a hole in the coaching staff. Head coach Kenny Dillingham didn't disappoint.
Dillingham said at practice last week that he always has a list of guys on hand when he needs a new coach, and shortly after, he announced Steelers legend Hines Ward as the new WR coach.
This week, Ward hit the grass for the first time at the Kajikawa practice fields to get things started early in spring practices. After practice, he talked about wanting to “be a blessing” to the guys and a factor in their goals and success.
“I enjoy being here at Arizona State; I look forward to meeting all the guys … (give) any advice that I can give them because I’ve been where they've wanted to go,” Ward said. “I don’t want them to make the same mistakes that I made, so it’s a chance for me to give back and to help young guys achieve their dreams.”
He also mentioned that not everything is about football; one of his goals is to improve these players as men.
Ward discussed the learning curve between coaching pro and college ball. He said he doesn’t feel out of place due to his year coaching at Florida Atlantic University but noted that he still has to learn.
From a coaching perspective, he said one of his main goals is to get at least one of his receivers on the All-Big 12 team. He knows the team has talent, but they haven’t been pushed hard enough to reach their full potential.
Ward has a motto he uses to help him coach and help his team improve, which he talked about during practice.
“Get 1% better each and every day,” Ward said. “If we do that, by the end of the year, we will be 365% better.”
Another coaching style that Ward utilizes is teaching from experience. Ward has a decorated career in football. He is a four-time Pro Bowler, a two-time NFL champ, and the MVP of Super Bowl XL.
This wasn’t handed to him. He talked about not being a first-round pick, but hard work led him to find success. As a receiving coach, he doesn’t tell the guys to do anything he didn’t do as a player. He has succeeded in the same shoes and wants the same for them.
After playing professional ball, he eventually took up coaching at all levels, qualifying him to be a reliable receiver coach here in Tempe. He started in the NFL, hired by the New York Jets in 2019 as a full-time offensive assistant, working primarily with wideouts.
In 2021, Ward took a job at Florida Atlantic University, where he started as a special assistant to the head coach and assistant to the wide receivers coach. He worked his way up throughout the season and became the wide receiver coach.
Right before his start at ASU, he was a head coach in the XFL, coaching the San Antonio Brahmas, which ended its season 3-7.
Since it's only his first week on the job, he didn’t want to “put them on a pedestal” yet but said all he asks for as a coach is that the players come every day ready to work and get better.
Ward said that this receiver group would reflect him and that “if you don’t block, you don’t get the rock.”
He isn’t super concerned with individual stats, but he wants his receiver group to be playmakers and get their jobs done.
Ward is still getting settled in, but some of his coaching impact could be seen as early as the maroon and gold spring game on April 26.
Edited by Alfred Smith III, Walker Smith and Angelina Steel.
Reach the reporter at hjsmardo@gmail.com and follow @HenryJSmardo on X.
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Henry is a junior studying journalism and mass communication. This is his third semester with The State Press. He has also worked as a sports reporter.
