Kenny Dillingham Gives Key Program Updates Ahead of Spring Practice
In this story:
TEMPE -- Arizona State's spring practice is on the doorstep of beginning, as the Sun Devils will begin the sessions on Thursday morning.
Fourth-year head coach Kenny Dillingham took part in a press conference in anticipation for the 15 practices in mind on Tuesday.
To watch the full press conference, view below.
Below is a partial transcript of some of the most pertinent topics surrounding the program heading into spring - with added commentary.
Dillingham Praises Incoming QB Cutter Boley
"Yeah, what excites me about him is his completion percentage was fairly high for what they were asking him to do down the field. Have a 65 ish completion percentage is pretty high in college football... So what excited me was I saw the tape. I saw him operate within their system really well, hit the ball to where they were supposed to go, extend with his legs... He's a big dude... And then there's this weird testing called the s2 scores... his score was really, really, really, really good, which is a cognitive test that basically tells you your reaction time in real time."
Boley is the presumed starter, as he was one of the very first players to commit to Arizona State once the portal window opened in early January. The athletic traits, arm strength, and consistent ball placement have made a transition into the Dillingham/Marcus Arroyo offense relatively seamless, while his cognitive testing coming off the charts should be massively encouraging for Arizona State fans as well.
Dillingham Recounts Clayton Smith Receiving Extra Year
The EDGE was granted another year of eligibility due to an injury that was suffered while at the University of Oklahoma - which has lent the opportunity for the mainstay in the program to be tested at different positions.
"There's a chance, based off something at Oklahoma, that he could get that year back as a medical and he wanted to do it... The waiver came back. It approved. Him and me met and you know, he already knows our defensive system... So we talked about what they're doing in the spring, what other things he could potentially add to our football team, and where we can try him out in the spring and then make a decision on where he actually plays next year. So I'm excited about spring ball with him."
Smith will receive reps at both EDGE and wide receiver during spring - it will certainly be fascinating to see how he fits into the plan on both sides of the ball.
Leadership Council Set to be Rebuilt
"Normally we have a leadership council right now. Normally we get guys back that were on the council and that I had, like, three to four guys to it. We have a council. We go on our team, compete teams, because we have competition teams all off season. And this year we graduated so many guys that told everybody, listen, we're not, not just putting people on leadership council."
Essentially every player that was on the Pat Tillman Leadership Council last season (save for DT C.J. Fite) has moved on from Arizona State. While new players will be named to the council, Dillingham made it clear that those spots will have to be earned.
Kevin Hicks is an Arizona State alumni and now serves as the Arizona State Beat Writer On SI.