Arizona State Head Coach Kenny Dillingham
On any updates for the injured players ahead before this week's game:
“Prince Dorbah is going to be out the first two to four weeks, somewhere in there. (He’s) coming back off of a knee injury. He has already had surgery and he’s on his way back. Sean Na’a, (is on a) very similar timeline. From that perspective, different injury but they had to go in there with him under the knife so he's out. Very similar timeline, another two to four weeks, somewhere in there. Raleek Brown is battling back from a hamstring injury and he hit 90 percent or right around 90 percent the other day in practice so I don't have a true timeline... he will not play this week and then from there we're fairly healthy. I think through a physical camp we had some guys go down there but luckily for us nothing was out for the season. Nothing along those terms.”
On linebacker Tate Romney's status:
“Tate broke his arm so he'll be out here for four to six weeks. If not a little bit longer, but probably four to six (weeks).”
On seeing the preseason poll and the grit and culture of his team:
“No... it's such coach talk when people say the kids or the coaches don't see something out there (in the media). You can hide it from yourself but somebody's going to send you a text message, whether you let it affect you or not it's a different story. It's more like, ‘yeah nobody believes in you, you should have a little bit of a chip on your shoulder’ from that perspective. Great teams are not built off of what the media's perception of them is, great teams are built because they're wiring away to just get better throughout the process every single day. That's what we've been focused on. And yeah, do I put it up on the screen every once in a while? Of course, why would I not? 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 just in football but in life.”
On what the lesson in running back Cameron Skattebo's journey coming out of high school:
“Yeah, just keep fighting and I think the biggest thing for him is how much he's matured in the last eight months. It's just incredible. He's a different person just from a maturity level, from a focus level, from how he practices, how he puts in the work in the off season. I mean that's a guy who I couldn't be more proud of in terms of how he's changed his outlook on work and I think he's just a great story in terms of keep pushing and don't let people tell you you can't do something.”
On if Skattebo still plays like he has a chip on his shoulder:
“Oh yeah, he lives it every single day. He lives with the chip on his shoulder... I think before he may have thought he could achieve these things and ‘I want to have this chip on my shoulder, that I should be there, or I should accomplish this.’ I think he's realized that that is actually a realistic possibility now. Before it was almost out of reach, and now it's all of those things he had a chip on his shoulder for are possible. So, I think for him, he had to take a different approach of ‘wow, I got to stop the way I'm preparing or the way I do things with everything is me against the world’ and start saying ‘how can I just maximize myself and what can I do to be better instead of find somebody to say why I should be better’. And I think he's really changed a lot of how he processes him versus him, and I think that's been the biggest jump for him. He's been competing versus himself every single day. We're doing special teams, he's starting on our kickoff team. He's our L5. He's one of the positions that's going to come down and hit you in the face. It's the mentality of our football team that we're going to put our best players on special teams and we have the depth to do that now and he wants to do that. He runs down and he hits 20 to 20.5 miles per hour almost every day in practice when he does that period. Last year, no chance would he have, one, wanted to be on kickoff. Two, would he have run down full speed. Three, would he have hit 20 or 20.5 miles per hour. But, the way his mindset has changed has put him in a situation to where he gets excited to sprint full speed down on our kickoff team and hit 20 miles per hour every single day and I think I showed that to the team the other day because that's a reflection of what I want our football team to be.”
On his ability to lead this team heading into year two:
“Yeah, I hope better but in reality you don't know what you don't know when you're talking about yourself. I don't know if I was ever a good offensive coordinator. I don't know if I was ever a good quarterback coach. Relative, me versus me, it's really hard to judge yourself. So, I would hope through experience that I'm better this year. I would hope through experience that I've grown as well as the players have grown and our team has grown.”
On the process of analyzing Wyoming’s scheme versus last year's home opener:
“Well obviously (they have) a new head coach (who was) promoted from within from the defense coordinator role. This is a head coach who'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, Wyoming, going back to small ball starting at Mount Union. So having his entire process, he's only been around winning teams and winning cultures. Then the identity of who that guy is promoting the linebacker coach to become the defense coordinator (Aaron) Bohl, who's the son of the retired old head coach because they were good on defense and they wanted to keep the same philosophy. So, on defense you kind of have a beat for how they want to operate. At the same token, they were really good on defense but 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 that they may now add from the same coaching tree. You kind of have to chase some ghosts. You try not to chase too many but you definitely have to chase some this off season in order to keep you sanely insane as a coach. You have to do that. Then from their offensive side of the ball it's a little trickier because you're adding a guy who's been a coordinator before from a different scheme. A guy who was way more tempo. A guy who was more 11 personnel, more open sets, and run-pass-options. That was completely different from what they were in the past so how much are they going to keep their identity of we're going to shorten games and make it eight or nine possession games versus do we want 12 or 13 possession games and everything you read says that they're going to speed up the tempo when they want to do that. We'll see what their identity became over fall camp. Nobody knows that, and we all know they can have the identity to run the football at you. Directly, not around you, directly, and shorten games. So, that's still going to be there if they need it, it's just going to be a matter of what they choose to do. We can read all the articles we want but the identity of a football team that won nine games, that had Texas tied and beat Texas Tech last year, was a team that limited possessions, won the turnover battle, played great defense, and punted the football on the plus 45. I'd be shocked if that identity completely changed with all the success they've had there.”
On working with quarterback Sam Leavitt:
“He’s a worker. The biggest thing I always tell quarterbacks is you’re gonna lose way more games than you win them. Second and 10, I’m great. First down throwaways, I’m great. Midfield throwaways, I’m great. Third down throwaways or make a play, don’t turn the ball over, I’m great. But when we get into plus situations, when we get into favorable situations, you can’t put yourself in second-and-16. Not many quarterbacks are gonna be good if they’re in six second-and-16’s in the football game or third-and-12’s. So it’s more don’t force anything, play your game and it’s okay to throw it away. Not every play has to be perfect. I think sometimes when you deal with guys that study so much and they prepare so much and they want everything to be perfect, when something spooks them or when it’s not what they thought, they try to make a play. I think there are times to make a play and then there are times to go to the next play. That’s really what I’ve been harping with him. (If it's) Third-and-11, and there’s a free runner on you, yeah make a play. Make a miss, go be athletic. Second-and-4 and there’s a free runner on you, you try to make a play and get sacked to get us to third-and-11, it’s not gonna be a fun sideline. Throw the ball away, let’s stay at third and 4. You’re too good to be stopped two plays in a row. So I think that mentality is what we’ve really been harping on and it’s the same thing we’ve been harping on in spring ball, the same thing we’ve been harping all fall camp.”
On defensive back Xavion Alford and wide reciever Jake Smith returning to action:
“I think it just makes them appreciate the practices more. Just (appreciating) everything more because both of those guys haven’t played in I think over 1,000 days, like a thousand days they have not played in a football game. Both those guys were five-star recruits, high four-star recruits that everybody in the country wanted. They both left a school and went to another elite program, that’s how high people were on both those kids. For them to be 1,000 days since their last game for a multitude of reasons, I think they’re excited. 1,000 days of work for Saturday, process that. Doing something for 1,000 days just to play this game on Saturday. That’s pretty powerful and I think you see it in how they prepare, see it in their focus level, how they treat their body in the offseason.”
On his message to Alford and Smith when they weren't eligible last year:
“Oh this sucks. But what are you gonna do about it? Nothing. So let’s just keep getting better. Not everything is like roses and candy canes, that’s part of it. The reality is the reality, and sometimes the sooner you tell people the reality and stop sugar coating crap, the sooner they can get by it. So yeah, this sucks. Maybe you’ll get it fixed, maybe it won’t. Just keep working, what are you gonna do, stop working? Then become worse, then when you get to play be a worse player? No, keep working and eventually you’re gonna take the field and that’s gonna be this Saturday.”
On the locker room's excitement to play:
“I think the guys are in a really good place. I think they’re competing. Saturday’s practice was on par with the first shoulder-padded practice of fall camp, in terms of workload. Our guys want it, like they want to be good. They want to be successful. They love the game, and I think that’s what I’m most pleased with through it all. The want to is there, now we’re gonna have to go and be able to do that under the fire. We had a speaker coach, Shep, the other day and he hit a really good point. He said the commitment is there, the commitment is kinda what I talk about the minimum standard. Showing up five minutes early, being in the right gear, doing what you’re supposed to, showing up to class, that’s the commitment to the team. What are you willing to sacrifice is what separates teams. I think our guys are committed and I think in this next cycle of the next 14 weeks, (it's) what are we gonna be willing to sacrifice to actually be successful. And those are two different things.”
On using new in-helmet communications:
“We’ve been using it all spring ball, and all fall camp. Even during the walkthroughs we put a little mall cop walkie-talkie in the guys' ears. So we’ve been using it and it’s been good. You get to communicate with the quarterback, you get to communicate with a defender of your choosing, and it helps us be able to see formations on the defensive side of the ball and get into the right play based off of formational tendencies. On offense we’ve gotta be ready to see people checking, coordinators checking to their mike linebacker mid-play or post-check which is a little bit different. And you have to be able to operate faster in your own offensive checks because of that. Because knowing that there’s a coordinator in the mike or the safety or will linebacker’s ear, that’s gonna say hey if he checks here I want you to blitz opposite. Bring corner cat opposite, whatever that is, everybody’s going to operate differently. That’s not how we operate but some teams will operate like that.
On having more experience going into his second year as head coach:
“I really love the direction of both sides of the ball schematically. Even the defensive side of the ball, I’m way more familiar from a verbiage standpoint with what's happening offensively on both sides of the ball and special teams wise. I feel like I’m way more involved in all three phases than I was last year, in which I was kind of battling a side of the ball. This year, I’m way more balanced and that puts me at a lot more ease, knowing that I’m going in the defensive room, the special teams room and I’m giving my two cents and I have enough time this year to watch all those three phases and give my opinion on all three phases. Then see what the plans are instead of, 'hey what’s the plan real quick, oh we’re gonna bring blitz to the back, okay perfect see you later.' I’m way more balanced from a head coach as opposed to just sitting in one room 90% of the time and then trying to speed date to learn what the other sides of the ball are doing that week.”
On the offensive line comparison to last year:
“I definitely think through camp, we're in a good spot from an injury standpoint up front. Some things you can't control, and you can't control them, but I think we're in a good spot. I definitely feel like we have the depth to go into a season. Last year it was... we have to stay healthy. We can't have an injury, and then when it rains, it pours. This year, you can't control some things, but I definitely feel like we're in a situation where if a guy's helmet pops off, and we have to put somebody else in so that we have enough depth early in the season to survive some things from things that could potentially happen, which is a huge positive. You know, when you go into a game and you're like, 'if we lose one guy, we're screwed.' That's not very fun.”
On what secondary has to do to create takeaways:
“Catch the football. I mean, you gotta catch it, right? Then you have to swarm the ball. We didn't create enough fumbles last year. Everybody talks about turnovers and interceptions and interceptions, interceptions, and that's nice. You've got to be a good player in the good position and then make a play. But creating fumbles is a lot of effort. You've got to harass the football, 24/7. You've got to run to the football, so when the ball is on the ground, you recover it. Those types of fumbles, there's some luck involved, for sure... some teams consistently create them because they're swarming the ball. They always fall on the ball. They're lucky. Well, why are they always falling on the ball? Because they run to the ball harder than the opposing team's offense does, and then they strip at the ball, they make it a torture run the football every single game because they're going to take shots on the ball and they're going to miss the ball and hit your arm, and they're going to play the game with violence every single time that the running backs held up, the wideouts held up. I think that's something that we've been emphasizing in terms of takeaways, is swarm the ball, and if the guy is held up, strip at the ball, punch at the ball. Make it hell to run the football because we're going to attack it every single snap.”
On what he doesn’t know about the team until they take the field on Saturday:
“How much they trust each other in the moment. I think it's really easy to say, 'Oh, I'm going to squeeze and tackle the back because I know my linebacker is going to scrape and play the quarterback in practice on third-and-1.' Who cares? But, when it's third-and-1 and it's a tie game, and your job is to squeeze and tackle the back, and the quarterback just pulled it and ran it two plays earlier, and he got a first down. Are you still going to trust that the person behind you is going to do their job? And are they going to trust that you're going to do yours? And I think that's what makes really good defenses and really good football teams are the trust that in the biggest moments you just have to do your job, because you trust the other person will do theirs. And that's not a commitment thing, that's not anything more than under the fire, under the lights, when it matters the most, you've got to be able to take a deep breath and trust that the other 11 are going to do their job. And I think that's what I'm looking forward to, is I’m looking forward to how much do we trust each other, that you can just go play your game and do your job.”
On if the new two minute warning grants a strategic impact:
“It does, because it gives every team another time out. So essentially, you can't end a game with over two minutes left on first down. Before, you could. Before, the game could be over, because you could run the clock out. Now, 2:04, left, right, you're punting if every play is five seconds, you're punting with roughly 35 seconds left in the football game. Before that would have been the end of the game. There are going to be more times, in my opinion, because of the extra timeout that you're punting with :25, :24 that you're probably doing some in-game scenario stuff. So it does affect, it doesn't affect the players or much of the game. It just affects clock management at the end. In college, you could really have a clock sheet out to like the 4:30 mark, 5:00 mark, in terms of what you wanted to do, and do you fall down and not score? Do you score? It makes it way more difficult with the two minute warning. In the past, you may hit a big run and fall down with 2:30 left knowing that the game can be over. Well, now you can't do that until under two minutes, so it does create an easier barrier for game day situations. So I actually think it's easier for coaches in college to work the end of the game versus before, when you kind of had more time that you could do some, you know, clock situations in terms of not scoring and be creative.”
On if the new NFL dynamic kickoffs can be implemented in college soon:
“I think anything you see in the NFL is a year or two away from college. So I think anytime that you see something, you should just plan on that eventually getting into the college game for the most part. You saw the two minute warning just enter. I think that's just the nature of it, is the NFL does it first. They're a smaller organization that can really change things really, really fast and quickly. Whereas, there's a lot of teams in college football, (it's) a little bit more difficult just to get a meeting with 32 owners and change rules, as opposed to in college football, there's a few more people who have to agree.”