By Adam Beadle
Multimedia Specialist
Last season marked several firsts for Arizona State during Kenny Dillingham's second year as head coach.
The team won six games, claimed a Big 12 Championship trophy in its first year as members of the conference, and made the first-ever 12-team College Football Playoff.
Despite two road losses to Texas Tech and Cincinnati during the regular season and the heartbreaking loss in the Peach Bowl in overtime against Texas, winning was a constant for the Sun Devils throughout most of the season.
But for Dillingham, last year’s triumph means nothing now.
“I want it to become monotonous,” Dillingham said. “Like, who gives a crap? You’re going to be told so many good things forever, you better just [let] it become monotonous to you that it’s irrelevant.”
Dillingham let that message of irrelevancy be known to his players as he blared the lyrics of Queen’s “We Are the Champions” throughout the Kajikawa Practice Facility during ASU’s first practice of spring camp.
While winning remains the primary goal, Dillingham said his players have to learn a new skill this offseason: facing adversity.
“(The coaching staff) talked to our guys, ‘We’re going to handle success fine,’” Dillingham said. “‘How are we going to handle this year when we get punched in the face? Because nobody’s punched us in the face, nobody’s talking about punching us, they’re just giving us our roses.’ So we got to be ready to get hit in the face this year.”
In particular, sophomore quarterback Sam Leavitt hears what Dillingham is preaching.
Leavitt, who has been deemed by one of the top returning quarterbacks in college football this season by several outlets, accepts his roses but said there is still plenty to build upon.
“You still have to prove yourself,” Leavitt said. “Coming into this offseason, you know, I said ‘I’m going to win every single race in the (conditioning workouts)’ and I tried. I didn’t win every single one, bu you know there’s a few. Just continue to put your head down and get out the mud, and finda new passion and drive. In the past it’s always been people didn’t believe in me. It’s the same thing now on a bigger scale. How well can I play to do the best that I can?”
Leavitt returning as the starter for ASU this season marks the first time the Sun Devils have a returning starting quarterback since now Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels played for the Sun Devils.
Leavitt called himself out for not having a good practice on Tuesday, but echoed that facing adversity like that will shape him into a better quarterback day-by-day and find ways to help continuously improve the team for the upcoming season.
“It’s not the same as last year, and I wasn’t going to come out here and just be the same, which I kind of expected a little bit,” Leavitt said. “But you know, you ain’t played ball in over three months, and so, it’s just new and different, you know? I’m going to have to find my way around it.”
Commenti