Kenny Dillingham speaks about hiring Hines Ward

Kenny Dillingham and Arizona State football made a splash this weekend when announcing the hire of NFL legend Hines Ward. Ward will be taking over as the wide receivers coach for the Sun Devils, replacing Ra’Shaad Samples. Samples recently accepted a new position as the running backs coach with Oregon.

On Saturday Dillingham spoke for the first time about the new addition to his coaching staff.

Dillingham speaks about adding Hines Ward

“Any room he steps into, any family that feels that passion that I felt in that room, they’re going to want to play for him,” Dillingham said. “You watch him play the game, all he did was prove people wrong with his effort and physicality. That was his identity as a person. Then when he’s in your office and he says, ‘I want to prove (to) people that I can be the best at this,’ you can feel it.”

Ward is a legendary receiver who spent a 14-year NFL career with the Pittsburgh Steelers. In that time he made four Pro Bowls, won two Super Bowls, as well as a Super Bowl MVP. He finished his NFL career with over 1,000 total receptions (including regular season and playoffs), racking up over 13,000 yards and 96 total touchdowns.

Ward retired following the 2011 season and has had various coaching positions since. Following his NFL career, he returned to the Steelers as an offensive intern in 2017, then as an offensive assistant with the New York Jets from 2019-2020. Ward then turned to the college game and spent the 2021 season coaching WRs at Florida Atlantic. Most recently he was the head coach of San Antonio Brahmas (UFL) in 2023.

“There is no doubt in my mind that he’s going to challenge those guys to get the best out of them every single day because that’s who he is in everything he does,” Dillingham continued. “At the end of the day, every player is a reflection of their coach. So what the room’s going to look like is hopefully a reflection of him.”

Offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo also praises Ward

Dillingham isn’t the only member of the staff excited about what Ward offers. New offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo also shared his excitement about Arizona State football’s latest addition.

“You add Hines to it, and you’ve got a young group with a ton of talent and then (an) experienced guy who knows and (has) been through it,” Arroyo said. “That room is about to explode.”