Kenny Dillingham and the Arizona State Sun Devils capped a stellar 2024 season with an 11-3 record and a Big 12 Championship. The Sun Devils advanced to the College Football Playoff quarterfinal, pushing the Texas Longhorns to double overtime before falling short.
Dillingham, entering his third year as head coach, is making some changes based on the lessons he learned in his first two seasons. One notable shift is opening spring practices to the public, which he believes will inspire players.
"There's a reason you guys are out here other than to get you guys content," he told the media on Thursday. "Things are getting filmed. Have a day off. Lose in a one-on-one rep. It's going on social media. You can't just take a day off, because everybody's going to see it. You can't just sit out a rep. And in today's day and age, you need as many things that can motivate guys."
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"Guys gotta know there's pressure on them always in practice. Practice cannot become complacent. It has to be like a game. So having 1,000 fans out here on the field watching, cheering, it just gets the energy level up. It puts the pressure on a little bit [for] some of the younger guys. ... It's what we're trying to create every day in practice, just a little bit on steroids."
Arizona State will look to continue its upward trajectory under Kenny Dillingham
Kenny Dillingham became the Arizona State Sun Devils coach before the 2023 season. It was his first head coaching job after spending the previous season as Oregon's offensive coordinator. While the Sun Devils only won three games in his first season, they improved tremendously after moving to the Big 12 this past season.
Next season, the Sun Devils will try to prove they can consistently compete at the top of the Big 12. There is little reason to believe that they cannot have similar success. They have a significant portion of their roster returning, with the biggest loss being RB Cam Skattebo, who entered the 2025 NFL draft.
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