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The first game of the 2025 season is five weeks away for the Arizona State football team, but the start of fall camp is just around the corner. The Sun Devils find themselves in the unusual position as frontrunners after securing their first Big 12 championship in their inaugural season in the conference.
They aren't heading into the new season looking to forget a 3-9 record. That's a refreshing change. The feel is different, although the mentality hasn't changed.
"It's way different because we got so many people back," said head coach Kenny Dillingham, who is entering his third season at the helm. "Last year I talked a ton about getting to know each other, going out together. Go to the lake together. Go to a movie together. Go to somebody's house.
"You have to get to know each other. You have to become friends. And this year, when I say that, they already hang out together, and they already know each other. So it's just different."
The Sun Devils return 17 starters as well as most of their key backups, so Dillingham could be more selective in the players he plucked from the transfer portal. There was no huge area of need that had to be addressed. Not only is there more familiarity with each other, but the offensive and defensive schemes have been implemented, and a routine and culture have been established.
The entire coaching staff is back, too, so the coordinators can expand upon the schemes they installed last season when fall drills commence on July 30.
Six players, sophomore quarterback Sam Leavitt and junior wide receiver Jordyn Tyson among them, represented ASU at Big 12 media day on July 8 at the Ford Center in Frisco, Texas, but a dozen or so others met with the media on July 23, a week ahead of the official camp start date.
They say complacency won't be an issue. If anything, they have more motivation because they were just one play away from a Peach Bowl upset of two-touchdown favorite Texas in a College Football Playoff quarterfinal that went to double overtime.
The Big 12 looks to be as balanced as ever, with as many as five schools drawing first-place predictions from preseason media projections. ASU has been singled out as the favorite in two but was pegged as far down as fourth in another despite the number of returning starters, which is the most of any in the conference and tied for the most of any FBS competitor.
"We're still hungry," said senior Myles "Ghost" Rowser, the team's leading tackler in 2024. "Some people might think we're going to get complacent, but those are the people who don't really know us. We were so close last year to a playoff win. That makes us even more hungry."
Senior linebacker Jordan Crook knows about the target on the backs of this year's Sun Devils.
"We're going to be everybody's big game, so we have to be up to the challenge," he said. "Our best from last season is not going to be good enough this year. We were kind of under the radar, so we snuck up on people. We're not going to be able to do that now."
Among the newcomers is redshirt freshman wide receiver Jaren Hamilton, a transfer from Alabama. Hamilton enrolled early, so he was able to participate in spring drills and was among the more impressive performers.
"I could tell right away there are expectations and high standards here," Hamilton said. "I like that because I hold myself to a high standard, too."
The team is keeping its usual routine, one week of practice before heading to Camp Tontozona, where it will start four days of drills on Aug. 6. The festivities end with an early-morning scrimmage Aug. 9 that will be open to the public.
"It's not a matter of guys getting comfortable, guys being friends, guys knowing the system," Dillingham said. "Now it's how do we advance that. How do we get them to do things beyond what we did last year and become better, so I think it is different from that perspective."
ASU will kick off the season Aug. 30 against Northern Arizona at Mountain America Stadium. The Big 12 opener is at Baylor on Sept. 20.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona State football is ready to begin defense of Big 12 title
Continue reading...
They aren't heading into the new season looking to forget a 3-9 record. That's a refreshing change. The feel is different, although the mentality hasn't changed.
"It's way different because we got so many people back," said head coach Kenny Dillingham, who is entering his third season at the helm. "Last year I talked a ton about getting to know each other, going out together. Go to the lake together. Go to a movie together. Go to somebody's house.
"You have to get to know each other. You have to become friends. And this year, when I say that, they already hang out together, and they already know each other. So it's just different."
The Sun Devils return 17 starters as well as most of their key backups, so Dillingham could be more selective in the players he plucked from the transfer portal. There was no huge area of need that had to be addressed. Not only is there more familiarity with each other, but the offensive and defensive schemes have been implemented, and a routine and culture have been established.
The entire coaching staff is back, too, so the coordinators can expand upon the schemes they installed last season when fall drills commence on July 30.
Six players, sophomore quarterback Sam Leavitt and junior wide receiver Jordyn Tyson among them, represented ASU at Big 12 media day on July 8 at the Ford Center in Frisco, Texas, but a dozen or so others met with the media on July 23, a week ahead of the official camp start date.
They say complacency won't be an issue. If anything, they have more motivation because they were just one play away from a Peach Bowl upset of two-touchdown favorite Texas in a College Football Playoff quarterfinal that went to double overtime.
The Big 12 looks to be as balanced as ever, with as many as five schools drawing first-place predictions from preseason media projections. ASU has been singled out as the favorite in two but was pegged as far down as fourth in another despite the number of returning starters, which is the most of any in the conference and tied for the most of any FBS competitor.
"We're still hungry," said senior Myles "Ghost" Rowser, the team's leading tackler in 2024. "Some people might think we're going to get complacent, but those are the people who don't really know us. We were so close last year to a playoff win. That makes us even more hungry."
Senior linebacker Jordan Crook knows about the target on the backs of this year's Sun Devils.
"We're going to be everybody's big game, so we have to be up to the challenge," he said. "Our best from last season is not going to be good enough this year. We were kind of under the radar, so we snuck up on people. We're not going to be able to do that now."
Among the newcomers is redshirt freshman wide receiver Jaren Hamilton, a transfer from Alabama. Hamilton enrolled early, so he was able to participate in spring drills and was among the more impressive performers.
"I could tell right away there are expectations and high standards here," Hamilton said. "I like that because I hold myself to a high standard, too."
The team is keeping its usual routine, one week of practice before heading to Camp Tontozona, where it will start four days of drills on Aug. 6. The festivities end with an early-morning scrimmage Aug. 9 that will be open to the public.
"It's not a matter of guys getting comfortable, guys being friends, guys knowing the system," Dillingham said. "Now it's how do we advance that. How do we get them to do things beyond what we did last year and become better, so I think it is different from that perspective."
ASU will kick off the season Aug. 30 against Northern Arizona at Mountain America Stadium. The Big 12 opener is at Baylor on Sept. 20.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona State football is ready to begin defense of Big 12 title
Continue reading...
