Kenny Dillingham’s 2024 Arizona State Sun Devils were one of the surprises of last season. A year after taking over a program that had back-to-back losing seasons (with only one win in two seasons), and starting with a season that included a self-imposed bowl ban for 2023, Dillingham managed to carry the Sun Devils to the College Football Playoff. Not only that, they also gave Texas a run for their money at the Peach Bowl, taking the Longhorns to two overtimes.
Now, Dillingham’s mind is on how to follow on that superlative second season. The first stop on that route? The Big 12 media days began this Tuesday and continue on Wednesday at The Star in Frisco, Texas.
Speaking this Tuesday, with Sports 360AZ, Kenny Dillingham opened up about the biggest thing he wants his Sun Devils to improve going into 2025 (3:25).
“Obviously turnovers. Turnovers are one thing that you can control, but sometimes they’re a fluke, and turnovers are drastic. The top turnovers in the country are usually the best. And can we play with the amount of passion we played with last year? You know, can you play with that chip? Can we play with that passion? Can we coach with that passion? Is that emotion still there that everybody in the state of Arizona saw?” Said Kenny Dillingham
It’s interesting, and a bit contradictory, that Dillingham says that turnovers are something you can control and, at the same time, calls them flukes (Call it football superposition, it is and it isn’t at the same time). However, it’s something the team could certainly do with as the inability to produce turnovers cost them the Peach Bowl against Texas (They only produced one).
Regarding energy, that’s something you can’t manufacture, and every coach would love to have. You just hope that everything else you have prepared pans out, and the energy will be there.
Kenny Dillingham on the state of college football recruiting
Kenny Dillingham spoke about recruitment during Big 12 media days, touching on the topic of recruitment rankings and offering a rather bold opinion.
“To me, recruiting is dead,” Dillingham said. “Retention is alive.”
“It’s not about recruiting. I don’t care if we’re ranked dead last in recruiting my entire career here. Who knows… it’d be like if the draft was for one year, then half of your draft picks leave. So it’s all about retention now. That’s my entire thing.”
The statement does sound like an oxymoron. What would Dillingham and the Sun Devils retain if they don’t have a successful recruitment process? But probably what the coach is referring to is the fact that with the rise of the transfer portal, schools cannot take for granted that they will retain their recruits once enrolled in the program. Regardless, recruitment remains the name of the game, and Arizona State would do well to remember it.
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