Everything Kenny Dillingham said at Big 12 Football Media Day

The Big 12 is holding its annual Football Media Days on Tuesday and Wednesday, and Arizona State has predictably been at the center of attention. Things got kicked off with remarks from Commissioner Brett Yormark, who made the announcement early on that Arizona State had won the conference's first ever Commissioner's Cup.

Dillingham was the final coach to take the stage in the press conference portion for the day, and he opted to forego an opening statement and jump right into the question and answer portion. One of his earliest questions concerned rising star receiver Jordyn Tyson, who Dillingham mentioned has added "good weight" while seeing his speed scores improve.

Dillingham also added that wide receivers coach Hines Ward has had a tremendous impact on Tyson, not only as a football player but as a person.

The conversation quickly turned to Sam Leavitt, who was named the Big 12's Preseason Offensive Player of the Year the day before. When asked how to encourage Leavitt to push for individual awards, such as the Heisman, without getting too caught up in his own performance instead of the team's Dillingham was blunt:

The Arizona State head coach elaborated that Leavitt pusing to be a Heisman contender will almost surely mean the Sun Devils as a whole are doing well, too. "You don't get individual awards if the team isn't doing well," he added.

Dillingham was then asked about the conference's decision not to put out a coaches poll this season. A year ago, that same poll picked Arizona State to finish dead last, and Commissioner Yormark admitted during his remarks Tuesday morning that it hurt the Sun Devils' national perception as they made their playoff push.

Prior to Dillingham taking the stage, several other Big 12 head coaches - notably, Texas Tech's Joey McGuire and Kansas State's Chris Klieman - made reference to Arizona State being negatively impacted by the poll. But when Dillingham was asked if he felt the same way, his response was pretty much what you'd expect from the charismatic coach:

One area of the football team that Dillingham highlighted as needing major improvements in 2025 was the special teams unit. That was rather evident to anyone who watched this team, and Arizona State already brought in kicker Jesus Gomez via the transfer portal.

But it goes beyond that for Dillingham. He mentioned that he anticipates being more hands-on with the unit, whereas he's been more devoted to the offensive side of the ball in his previous two seasons helming the Sun Devils.

Dillingham shared that it's already been an exciting transition for him, as his history coaching quarterbacks has never brought him into contact with special teams. "When special teams has their practice portion, I was always in a session with the quarterbacks."

One thing to expect with Dillingham more involved in special teams? More fake.

Of course, it was only a matter of time until Cam Skattebo was brought up.

The superstar running back is now a New York Giant, and the Sun Devils have several options to replace him. Dillingham specifically name-checked three players - Kyson Brown, Raleek Brown, and Army transfer Kanye Udoh - before admitting that it will take more than just one player to replace Skattebo.

Overall, it sounds as if Dillingham is entering this season with more confidence than he's had at this point in his previous two seasons. Winning a conference championship will do that, of course, but Dillingham also made it clear that simply reaching the College Football Playoff isn't enough.