Elijah O'Neal Discusses Budding Culture at Arizona State
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Kenny Dillingham has worked countless hours to reshape the structure of the Arizona State football program that had previously been in place under Herm Edwards.
The hands-off approach as the steward of the program was no more - Dillingham went all-in on re-engaging a fanbase that had become disillusioned, while also hiring coaches with proven track records and aligned goals.
One of the other major points of emphasis was to build a roster that carried out his vision of football in Tempe.
Elijah O'Neal is a perfect example - the JUCO edge rusher transferred to Arizona State ahead of Dillingham's first year at the helm. He has continued to fight through adversity and nown projects to be one of the most prominent players in terms of snap count on a standout defensive line.
O'Neal joined Brad Denny's "Speak of the Devils" podcast recently to discuss a myriad of topics - including the culture that is ever-developing under coach Dillingham
"From my first year being here (2023) to now, I just feel like it's night and day. The brotherhood in this locker room - and I truly mean this. I'm not just saying this - we have such a strong brotherhood and that's another main reason why I came back too.. the brotherhood here is like no other program. You know, since we got the most returners in the country, we're already molded together and already have that relationship built rather than a bunch of new guys coming into a program that don't know each other. We know each other. We know we're family, and it reflects on the field."
O'Neal is completely correct. The roster is undeniably well-connected and each individual player shows up for one another on a day-by-day basis. That was evident in the shock run to the College Football Playoff a year ago - and it appears to only be growing, as 17 starting players return along with every major coordinator/position coach.
The close-knit bond that the Sun Devil roster has cultivated over the last two-plus years will be on full display as the program enters year two as members of the Big 12 - the season officially opens against Northern Arizona on August 30.
Read ASU on SI's exclusive interview with Jordyn Tyson here, and on where Sam Leavitt lands on the NIL merchandise sales leaderboard here.
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Kevin Hicks is an Arizona State alumni and now serves as the Arizona State Beat Writer On SI.