The first week of spring practice has officially wrapped for Arizona State football. Saturday was the first full day in pads and also featured a public practice where fans were encouraged to come out and watch. Head coach Kenny Dillingham has said repeatedly that he wants to “activate the valley” and what better than to have fans at practice?
Not only did many fans come out but many former players and potential recruits also came out on a hot, but windy day.
Here is what we saw today:
Arizona State football practice report – 3.30.24
Defensive Line
The defensive line has much more depth and a lot more size and strength than last season.
Over the offseason, Dillingham and defensive coordinator Brian Ward made an effort to get bigger along the line. “That’s where the game is won,” Dillingham has noted several times over the last few months.
Among the notable additions include
- Jeff Clark (Transfer Louisville)
- Justin Wodtly (Transfer Cinncinatti)
- Jacob Rich Kongaika (Transfer Arizona)
Those three and all the other returners mixed with new freshmen defensive linemen made a huge impact during Saturday’s practice. It was noticeable that the line was getting in the backfield much more often and closing gaps in the run game much quicker.
Arizona State football has a very strong RB room
The running back room for ASU is very strong. Kyson Brown had a long touchdown run of about 40 yards right through the teeth of the defense. Both Cameron Skattebo and Raleek Brown can shift side to side on the dot from any spot on the field.
Dillingham has been doing one-on-one drills of running backs versus slot corners and Raleek and Skattebo have gotten past the corners in every instance.
The speed and versatility of the ASU running backs may make an argument for the best running back room in the Big 12 next season.
A lot of tempo on offense
Per usual in a Kenny Dillingham offense speed and tempo on offense are evident. Throughout the team periods, the offense ran tempo spots from every place on the field.
Going into the Big 12, the most notorious league for tempo offense, it will be important for ASU to master it after they struggled with it a year ago. Most of the tempo offense included medium-range passing also including some nice running plays as well.
The nice thing this year for ASU will be the added depth at every single position. With the added depth they will be able to create more tempo on offense without the worry of someone not being able to come in if needed at any point.
Jake Smith
The Texas/USC WR transfer had to sit out all last season due to the “two-time transfer rule”. Smith is back this year and is fully suited up and ready to have a huge impact this upcoming season. Throughout the team periods, Smith seemed to be one of the main targets for any quarterback that was throwing.
Smith possesses very fast feet and is very crafty. He moved around the field playing slot to moving to the boundary.
The Scottsdale native is a very versatile player who is sure to have a huge impact coming off of a season where he had to sit.
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