Arizona State Head Coach Kenny Dillingham
On players availabilities after the bye week:
“Offensively, hopefully Isaia is back and hopefully Cade will be back and healthy from those two guys. Hopefully those two come back for us, it would be huge. Running backs DeCarlos Brooks we hope to get back this week or next week. Just still kind of feeling that out. Defensively, the break for JC was a positive so we still are battling back and getting back to full speed but he played over half of the snaps two weeks ago and so I feel like he’ll be good. So I feel like the guys that were out for not season endings got healthier, still banged up but definitely better than what we were.”
On how much can the returners help the team:
“It was huge. Last game we were down quite a few guys, so to even get two guys back if we were to get Isaia and Cade, Sione is still questionable but hopefully he comes back from practices and you were to gain three of your guys back. That’s three guys who are starters to start the year, that is a critical addition if that happens but we’ll still have to monitor throughout the week, we haven’t seen them practice yet.”
On the offensive line assessment
“Depending on who’s healthy the combination of getting the best five to eight guys in rotation, I think that’s the key is you can play five guys all game. I think if you play five guys all game, you should have five worldbeaters up front. I think the combination of trying to get to seven or eight is the number to keep guys fresher and healthier, especially when you’re banged up is the ideal situation. So, really depending on what guys are available can we get to number eight? If he is in, where does the other guy go to get the best five on the field?”
On self-scouting the team during the bye week
“Third downs, specifically third and shorts and fourth and shorts for us, which we knew just another glaring deal that we’ve got to get better at. We were better at it the prior week when we went 2-for-2 on fourth and shorts. Then defensively, third and longs. It was too many extra, extra longs were being converted, which has to be cleaned up. Not like third and nine, which I call long, but third and 18s, third and 22s, too many third and just absurds that have accounted for 21 points which is crazy to think about when you have the third and absurds and you account for how much better we could play. And that was really the message and then, offensively, explosive plays,our longest rush we have for the season is still 18 yards. We have to find a way, we have to do different things the last three weeks to change that. We're gonna try some other things this week to change it because you're just not gonna win many football games if you can’t create explosives. Specifically, if you can’t run the ball or creative explosive runs in any way, shape or form. That limits you to two dropback and for two drop back, you have to be ready to pass protect and throw the ball down the field and drop back. So, we’re really looking at those explosive plays, not that we can create that without necessarily holding the ball.”
On facing Washington QB Michael Penix this week:
“Contain is the correct word. His release is incredible. The ability for him to get the ball out to somewhere where he’s not looking. He had to throw this Saturday going throwing the ball to his left on the third down where he was looking to his right and there was a free hitter on his left and I mean he got the ball from the moment that he wanted to release the ball into the receiver's hands, it was 12 yards away down on the field for a first down. I could’ve sworn it was two seconds. It was throw, catch because he had strong arms, a quick release and I think that’s one of his greatest skills is he doesn’t get sacked. He doesn’t get sacked because this year I believe five in the system. He was with coach at Indiana and he had a lot of success and then he came out here and this is two years, so this is a guy year four in the system. I was so comfortable on their system and he’s a vet and he’s a freakish talent. He’s really good.”
On ASU QB Jaden Rashada’s Status:
“(Whether Jaden Rashada comes back) depends on how the rehab goes. He's been doing a good job rehabbing and getting out. He's gonna start to get a little bit more engaged in terms of the game plans and being more dialed in and stuff like that this week just to get his mind back in that mold because he's been focusing on the physical side of the rehab and he's still gonna do that. So it just depends on where he is, in two, three, or four weeks from now.”
On what makes Washington’s offense special:
“Outside of (Michael) Penix, what makes the Washington offense so special is your motion shifts, eye candy. They do the same stuff but they present it a bunch of different ways.They do a really good job. Their staff and their office coordinator and their head coach do it. They've been together for a long time and they do a really, really good job creating leverages in the passing game with split variations. They do such a good job varying up and then their offensive line is good. It helps when your offensive line can pass protect on a consistent basis and you can go through your third fourth, and fifth reads on a consistent basis. You're gonna be a good passing team when you combine that with the weapons they have the scheme they have. I would say this is one of the rare teams that has difficult scheme with good players and a great quarterback and not often do you have to play all three. Usually you get to play a simple scheme and we're gonna beat you through our players and they have better players. Very rarely do you have to play a team that is super well coached with great players that use that advantage, which is kudos to them. They do a really good job.”
On attempting to match Washington’s offensive production:
“We get a lot of first downs. This is a defense that they've changed. I shouldn't say they've changed their identity of who they were last year, but they were a quarters team and they've kind of changed that and you can look at the numbers and say they're a quarters team but then you look at when they run quarters and that's when they're up by 70 points. I think they were installing what they wanted to install last year and they were very simple. They were about not busting being in the right. They did a really nice job and this year, they really expanded on that and been able to add this. They have more coverage than any team we faced all year on early downs. They're in year two of the system and they're comfortable in it. They're good up front so they know they can rush for and get to the quarterback and they'll bring some simulated pressure. So, I mean, it's a great challenge for us, but our guys are up for the challenge.”
On playing receivers in the back field.:
“(Our receivers) were productive. I thought we missed one on an option route the other day. We got a matched up versus the defensive end with the little snap motion, but we are just trying to create explosives and some of those guys are our most explosive players, so trying to put them in different spots to create the best one-on-one advantages we can create. I think week-by-week, depending on how a team plays defense. If a team is a true zone defense, there's not as much advantage as it is with a team who matches coverages more. So basically you can run the pick-and-roll and get a center on your point guard versus a team that's gonna just zone everything off now on the pick-and-roll. It's useless like when you're creating those advantages. I think that it just depends on the team we play and what they do defensively.”
On reflecting on himself during the bye-week:
“From a football standpoint, I've looked back on a lot of ‘what ifs’, a and a lot of ‘man that was, that was close’. If we just did this better we could be three and three, right? If we just did this better, we could be four and two. It's just that, but that's how close football is and that's why winning is hard and that's why winning takes time. In terms of me, I didn't really have time to reflect on myself or my own personal experience. I was more trying to figure out how to put our players in the best position moving forward this year and after the season. I'll definitely look back and reflect. Obviously we take notes every week on schedules and what I liked and what I didn't like and the staff and the away games scheduled, and all the other stuff that goes into it. We'll talk about those things when the season ends.”
On TE Jaylin Conyers running with the wide receivers:
“Last week, schematically we were doing a lot of three by one sets and try to isolate a feel boundary corner, and some stuff to work 1-1s, we felt like we were in a lot of open sets in general last week. So we can either put him at the point to block for the perimeter screens or we can put him over at the X to which he can have some 1-1s, which we tried to give him some early. Unfortunately he was sick so, he is going to continue to be moved around, around the field, he’ll workout with the Hs, throughout different game plans. He will become the solo X a little bit but for us that is not the X, so moving forward it'll get back to the H, that was just more of a game plan deal, what was best for him and us going into that week.”
On getting explosive plays and if he watches old film:
“Yeah I go to prior years and I look at the explosive players in college football this year because if I go back to look at eight years ago every defense is gonna play tight quarters and your explosive plays are going to be some sort of play action posts because it's a tight quarters game because its a tight quarterback run driven game at that point. Well the game has evolved past that and teams have become significantly more high again because the quarterback run game is not as prevalent in college football as it was eight years ago. Which means now all your three level floods, all your throwbacks, your 1-1 throws are becoming the trends in terms of I look for creative ways to run screens, creative ways to run throwbacks, creative ways to scheme up open people because at the end of the day if you face a post safety defense everybody is gonna run postwheel. If you face a quarter team everybody is gonna run post climb. That is everywhere in college football and if those plays aren't creating your explosives, now how you do that creating leverages, and splits and motions to create the leverages during the same thing is what makes coaches really good but if you're still not having success with those then how can you create a little more uniqueness to try and get one like the quarterback sneak with no aline men last week. How do you do things that are a little more different based on what your struggles are and that's always what Im lookin for. You can’t make an excuse, nobody cares, go find a way to be better, that's it every single day, find a way to be better, nobody gives a crap if you are running for 3.8 yard carry, find a way to run the ball. We are going to be more creative to find a way to run the ball, find a way to try and be explosive, that's ball in hand explosives.
On Washington’s 4th down play calling:
“I thought that game was a really really good football game you look at coach Debor went for it at the end of second quarter in the two minute drill and converted a fourth and one right, great job being aggressive and extending the drive you looked at him at the end of the game going for it so it just wasnt one side of the ball being aggressive in that game it was both sides of the ball. Both of those coaches are really good football coaches because they play to win the game, they play aggressive and they attack over and over again. I think it goes back to critical moments, win or lose games and we face those critical moments havent been our best moments which has been unfortunate and those critical moments can change the game. So to answer your question, no.”
On the excitement of players returning from the bye week:
“I feel like the guys taking a break not just physically but mentally is important for people to get refreshed so I think there was definitely a sense of okay we're ready to get back to work like we are ready to go back and continue to get better. I definitely felt that in terms of physically and on the field. I don’t know yet we’ll find out when we practice on Tuesday but I’d be lyin if I told you, it’s still a week so it’s not like we all went into the Austin Powers tela ice machines and then became like a new person like we still have bumps and bruises, I wish we could do that.”
On leaning on players from last year’s victory to Saturday’s game:
“Well I look at that game and I told the guys today that it was the pick-6. If you want to win games like this. You have to be the team that has the pick–6 on your side. There was a drive in the second half where they stopped them on a 4th-and-1 on their own 28-yard line, they stopped Washington when they went for an aggressive 4th-and-1 call which I think is a good decision because that’s why they’re good on offense is because the coach is so aggressive but they stopped them. SO they won those two downs and those two downs aquated to 14 points. That’s the football game. I think when you’re looking at the why, and they (ASU) ran the ball at a higher rate over six yards-per-carry. So if you run the ball for over six yards a carry, you create a 4th and 1 stop on their own minus-28 and you create a pick-6. The odds of winning the football game are through the roof. So i challenge our guys that we have to have explosive plays, not just on offense but we have to have those explosive plays on defense and on special teams to put us in position to win the football game.”
On where ASU is at in N.I.L. after seeing Utah players get trucks after retweeting a post:
“I retweeted it because I’m happy for the kids. To be honest that’s cool, that’s awesome. Anytime someone gets something like that, that’s pretty cool for them. They all get a brand new truck. That’s awesome so that’s why. People get all in their feelings about it but when I see something that’s cool, I’ll give you a car. It’s very very simple. In terms of us, I think we’re very close to turning the corner in the space. And its essential. Point-blank. It’s absolutely essential. There’s not a better word to describe its value other than that. It really is over 80-85 percent ofthe process now. For 80-85 percent of the kids are a huge piece of it and honestly why should it not be. They’re working really hard and it’s part of it.”
On if his conversations with boosters have urgency:
“I think they do. I think we’re close to making action on it. I think right now when we got here there was really nothing in the N.I.L. And there’s been a lot done over the last nine-ten months. I think what’s really been done over the last 10 months is the education, the educating of people of what it is. People don’t know what it is, people don’t know how to do it, people don’t know the value of it is and people don’t know anything about it. So its been educating people from ground zero. So i like to say we were 2-3 years behind on the educating of people in this space and now people are catching up. I think our President is on board, he understands and he’s a supporter of it. So I am in hope for what the future holds in that space. Not down the road but hopefully soon like now. I have a meeting here at 1 p.m. where i’m driving down to meet somebody on the importance of this space and building a roster. Not just guys bringing in the attention if players but the whole process of what goes along with it.”
On trying to separate N.I.L when it comes to recruiting:
“It’s really the same to be honest as it was before. You can’t tell when somebody is going to get paid, you just have to express what other guys on your roster make. That’s really what NIL is, is just expressing that this guy makes this so I can see you probably making something similar of what I would assume. But you can’t make promises, can’t guarantee anything. Kids are kids. They’re the same kids, they can just make money doing it. I mean Yeah, i’m all about that. But I don’t think that changes the makeup of a kid or if a kid says if this is important to them then it changes what I think of the kid? Not at all. I think everyone is raised differently, everyone comes from the different backgrounds and money to some kids is more valuable than other kids. And there’s nothing wrong with that. Because they may’ve grown up in a different environment where people say five dollars to one person is five million for someone else. You can never judge somebody off of what they believe in that. You just have to get to know the kid and hope you have the best situation for them to help the city behind the team that why those kids can make money when they get here.”