TEMPE — The Bill Kajikawa practice field was buzzing with activity Saturday as the Arizona State football team welcomed back fans at the end of the first week of spring practice.
ASU head coach Kenny Dillingham has emphasized high intensity and competitiveness all week, and he hoped opening practices to the public would further motivate his players as they put on pads for the first time this spring.
“I think we’re going to see some improvement (from Tuesday to now), but then we’ll see some things drop off,” Dillingham said. “But when you put the pads on, people lose their minds a little bit because they're ready to practice…so the juices flow. That's why we brought people here.
“All we're trying to do is distract our people, create adversity, and actually get them to focus on their work and repeat it.”
Dillingham also extended an open invitation to all former ASU players to attend practice. Former defensive line standout Will Sutton was in attendance Saturday.
Nice to meet Will Sutton! pic.twitter.com/gLYua8BCwF
— Doug Tammaro (@DougTammaro) March 30, 2024
Dillingham told reporters that other practices will be open to the public during the spring.
How is ASU's quarterback tackling spring practice?
Sophomore quarterback Sam Leavitt tweaked his hip early in Saturday's practice, but Dillingham said he was “okay.” ASU remained cautious and postponed the Michigan State transfer for the rest of the day.
Levitt's size stands out at 6-foot-2 and 200 pounds, with a solid frame and wheels that make him a threat in the open field.
The Sun Devils are practicing without Jaden Rashada, another sophomore quarterback who is expected to compete for the starting spot. Instead, he was on the field for mental reps while recovering from a reported thumb injury.
Arizona State football coach Kenny Dillingham talked about seeing his QB in pads for the first time this spring. pic.twitter.com/zMF6DhLMR0
— Arizona Sports (@AZSports) March 30, 2024
Dillingham said he's asking a lot of his quarterbacks and they're happy with it.
“They're doing well. “We're putting a lot into (the offense). We're putting three times as much into this spring as we did last spring,” Dillingham said. “So we're trying to put a lot of stress on the players mentally right now so they can get everything done and hopefully get things cleared up in late spring.”
Navi Bruzon, a freshman quarterback from Liberty High School in Peoria, was impressed early on with his ability to turn nothing into something.
“I don't look at the navigation system and say, 'Oh, this is a walk-on.' I look at the navigation system and say, 'That's a two-time Gatorade State Player of the Year,'” Dillingham said. Told. “And you know he's smart to make plays where he scrambles out of the pocket and gets going.
“I told him if he played like that he would eventually get a ‘Welcome to Football’ hit, but if you look at his mindset, you can see why he was so successful and why he was on the team last year. You can see what led them to a state championship.”
Bruzon threw for 3,287 yards and 32 touchdowns, rushing for another 972 yards and 21 touchdowns to become the top seed in the Open Division and then win the state title.
Which ASU linebacker impressed you during spring practice?
“We talked a lot about disrupting the ball and different ways we can do that. It's not just scoring,” Dillingham said. “I think we had four deflections in the team period today, which is huge. When you talk about third downs, being able to knock down two balls out of 15 third down plays. , which means it could be the difference between winning and losing a football game.”
In addition to the ball, perhaps the biggest defensive highlight of the day was transfer linebacker Keyshawn Elliott (New Mexico State)'s interception from the middle of the field.
Dillingham noted that Elliott and other transfer linebackers such as Jordan Crook (Arkansas) and Zyrus Fiaceu (San Diego State) have shown to be “very smart football players.”
“I'm very pleased with the intelligence with which they detected this plan,” Dillingham said. “The players we signed are all savvy soccer players and it shows in the team setting, especially when it's real soccer (with pads on).”
