Arizona State DL Adapting to Modern Game

One of the major hires that Arizona State head coach Kenny Dillingham made following the 2023 Arizona State season was none other than Diron Reynolds as DL coach.

The second year Arizona State staffer has 30 years of experience in coaching at both the college and NFL levels - he was instrumental in the defensive line making a true jump from adequate to great in what was one of many factors behind a jump from three wins to 11 over one season.

Reynolds joined Brad Denny's "Speak of the Devils" podcast on Wednesday to discuss many topics, one of which was based around adjusting to the modern landscape of the collegiate game.

Reynolds when asked about what he's picked up in the modern college game - techniques, trends, and more:

"I mean, the biggest thing, you know, for me is just I think I missed the whole era of the non-mobile quarterback. You wanted those blonde deers back there where you could just go rush them and you knew where they're going to be. But, you know, mobility of all these quarterbacks, you got to evolve the rush, you know, the way you rush guys. And you hear the guys at this last pass rush summit really talking about how, you know, they rush together, being able to create a net around the quarterback."

"I mean, that's always been, but it's even more crucial and critical now for guys to be paired up on each side, knowing what, where the lanes are and being able to rush as a group and not really caring who gets the sack as long as the group gets the sack. That's been the biggest takeaway here as of late."

The Sun Devils possess talented pass rushers off the edge - including Prince Dorbah and Elijah O'Neal, while interior forces such as C.J. Fite could drastically improve as pressure from the inside.

As the game has evolved, so has Reynolds - the Sun Devils have truly built up in the trenches and should be able to hold up on a consistent basis when being pitted against incredibly high-flying Big 12 offenses.

The first time to catch Reynolds' group in action is August 30 against Northern Arizona.