TEMPE – Arizona State football coach Kenny Dillingham isn’t trying to build his roster the same way everyone else does.
After an offseason filled with turnover, Dillingham and the Sun Devils are taking a unique approach to roster construction as they navigate the revenue-sharing era.
“We’re trying to win at the highest level, and you can’t do that by building teams like everybody else,” Dillingham said. “You’re not going to be able to try to win a margin or try to bridge a gap that you may have. So what we’re trying to do is do it a little bit differently in our own way.”
The revenue-sharing era has dramatically changed the college football landscape and the way that teams build their rosters. Schools are allowed to make direct revenue-sharing payments to athletes. Football receives a significant portion of those payments, adding another factor for programs to consider when constructing rosters.
With another resource added in the evolution of how teams build their rosters in college football, Dillingham expressed the importance of being strategic.
“We can’t be wasteful,” Dillingham said this week as ASU prepared for its season opener Saturday against Morgan State at Mountain America Stadium.
The Sun Devils brought in over 40 new players this year to build on last season, when ASU went 6-3 in the conference, finishing tied for fourth in the Big 12.
Dillingham emphasized the importance of adapting the scheme to fit the strengths of his players, even if it requires him and his coaching staff to move outside their comfort zones.
“You have to challenge the staff,” Dillingham said. “I know we don’t like to play in this personnel grouping, or that’s not my background or coach’s background. Well, that’s the best personnel for us right now. So let’s figure out teams and let’s study teams that have done this in the past.”
For Dillingham, that flexibility means building the system around the strengths of the roster rather than forcing players into a predetermined scheme.
“Are you willing to kind of adapt around what you got, and are you willing to say players matter more than schemes?” Dillingham said. “So let’s acquire the right players, and then let’s figure out the scheme later.”
Along with bringing in players who are talented at their positions, Dillingham expressed the importance of building a culture for the players as well.
“At the end of the day, the culture and the type of people you bring in for us are invaluable,” Dillingham said. “We have to be able to twist and change our schemes a little bit based on what types of guys fit us and who is on our roster.”
After months of competing for the starting quarterback job, Cutter Boley, Cameron Dyer, Jake Fette and Mikey Keene quickly formed strong connections with each other.
“I couldn’t speak more highly of those three dudes and the type of people they are and the type of players they are,” said Boley, a transfer from Kentucky. “Mikey’s got so much knowledge that I can learn from, and same with Jake and Cam. They’re in the building every day, long hours grinding.”
Dillingham is ready to see what Boley can do after he was named the starting quarterback Saturday.
“What can he handle?” Dillingham said. “How good are they at actually seeing protections in real speed ? Do they handle tempo and live speed? How do they handle a two-minute drill when it’s real? So I would just say, how is their composure? In a game there’s just a little bit, a little bit different feel for those quarterbacks.”
Saturday’s season opener will give Dillingham his first real look at the identity of this year’s Sun Devils, who are favored by 43.5 points. Morgan State beat the North Carolina A&T Aggies 17-7 in its season opener last week.
“If we’re gonna leave Saturday and there is going to be an identity of the team it’s not going to be an identity of old,” Dillingham said. “It’s a brand new team with a brand new identity. We want that identity for as long as i’m here, hopefully it’s physicality and passion. Hopefully we leave and “say man we were a physical football team.””
After months of practice, Saturday will give the Sun Devils their first chance to see how the new roster will come together against an opponent.
“We just get a chance now to transition to get to see somebody else,“ ASU offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo said. “I think we put in a lot of work. Guys are gelled. Get a chance to see some chemistry and combinations now with the guys you think of as ones and twos there and go out there and give us a good look on Saturday and get excited.”
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