Arizona State head coach Kenny Dillingham felt that it was time to make a big change after losing to Utah 42-10. The Sun Devils were beaten like a redneck, and Dillingham did not take long to take action. Even in the regular season, which is where it is uncommon to introduce full live tackling, he restructured Tuesday's practice based on physical condition.
Dillingham Concedes that he went soft with his veteran team
When looking back on the performance of the team, Dillingham freely admitted that his style had become too lax. In his opinion, the lack of physical standards was caused by his confidence in an older group.
He said that he was being overly lenient over the past few weeks and that it began to reflect on game film. Dillingham claimed that he chose to make a change in the way the team practices to regain their competitiveness and responsibility in the field.
Trying to create a balance between Physicality and Player Health
Dillingham has also sought the opinion of other coaches to strike the appropriate balance between toughness and safety of the players as the injuries continue to accrue on both sides of the ball. He admitted that it is a fine line to walk but this time after Utah had taken from the Ridgers 276 yards of a rushing field containing 120 of that by the quarterback Devon Dampier alone, it was time to make changes.
A solution of having the players who were completely cleared train with full contact and those who were seeking rest train out of the field was adopted to solve the problem. According to Dillingham, it is a case-by-case situational decision on who may rest and who must push through basing on the role of the player and his or her preparedness.
Gamers are responsive to the rigorous practice
The shift was as desired. The players welcomed the more challenging environment, and Dillingham said that it was one of the best practices on a Tuesday throughout the season.
He shared that the team’s energy and competitiveness skyrocketed, with louder pad pops, more chatter, and coaches getting more animated on the sidelines. He stressed that although the details of replacing of players, would still be surveyed later, the primary objective was to regain the level of diligence and intensity in training, something he considers lost.
Dillingham also took full accountability for the earlier decline in physicality, calling it a “poor design” on his part. The coach think it was a learning experience and was confident it wouldn’t happen again.
The time when this hardened attention was re-awakened could not be more imperative. Arizona State is about to meet the No. 7 Texas Tech, which has been known to have the best pass rush and best blocking teams. The Sun Devils are aware that to compete, they will have to match that physical intensity, and re-done practices under Dillingham could be precisely what the team is supposed to achieve that.