DevilsDigest TV: Dillingham sees improved team culture enhancing Camp T experience

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Kenny Dillingham said today’s practice was much more back and forth than previous practices, and the defense came to play today. The team traveled up to Camp T a day early, and were well rested for todays practice

Xavion Alford was all over the field today during scrimmages. He was making tackles, breaking up passes, and overall disrupting the offense. Great sign to see on defense from one of the returning veterans.

In the later half of the practice, Montana Warren made back-to-back big hits on running back Alton McGaskill. As he jogged off the field, coaches ran over to him, appreciating his intensity. Safe to say the defense was excited for the first practice with full pads.

The battle in the trenches was very even. Both sides of the ball made plays during team runs, and made sure their opponent heard them. After a TFL, Clayton Smith was heard saying, “You can’t hold us!”

Jacob Kongaika made his presence felt in the scrimmages. He sacked the quarterback once and had multiple TFLs. He was also among the vocal players during scrimmages, even on the sidelines.

The play of the day on defense was during team runs. Shamari Simmons picked up an interception off the hands of Tyson after Tyson was unable to corral the ball. The whole defense crowded around him and celebrated, their first forced turnover of the day.

Kyan McDonald forced the second turnover of practice. After giving up a catch to Kaleb Black, he ripped the ball from Black and recovered the ball. It was a great example of not giving up on the play, and the coaches preached that all throughout practice.

Today’s practice was exactly what Dillingham was looking for. The previous two practices the energy was down, and the consensus seemed to be that it would change once the team go to camp. Everyone came ready to play and while everyone was in a joyful mood throughout practice, the scrimmages were strictly business.

The Sun Devils first day up at Camp Tontozona sparked some exciting plays on the offensive side of the ball

During the WR vs DB one-on-ones, Senior Malik’s McClain burner his man for a deep ball as Sam Leavitt timed his throw to perfection jolting the entire offense into celebratory frenzy

Along with McClains smooth TD, DeCarlos Brooks put the move on his man, the senior RB wasted no time getting open over the middle

However McClains best highlight came in toward the end of practice during 11-on-11 action, he rushed for a 20 yard score breaking multiple tackles along the way

To round out the RB highlights Cam Skattebo made a big play during the OL line blocking drills protecting Jeff Sims during the drill like his life depended on it

During the WR vs DB endzone drill, Leavitt found McClain over the shoulder for a difficult catch

Leavitt also made a big play too Jordyn Tyson in difficult coverage, Tyson was forced to bobble the ball but recovered on his dive toward the ground after fighting off the contact

The 7-on-7s saw Sims get comfortable with Cameron Harpole for back-to-back receptions creating some big plays

Tuesday saw an abbreviated practice at Mountain America Stadium as the team departed for Camp Tontozona after the session. The defense rebounded some from yesterday, but the offense did build on their strong showing yesterday and once again stood out.

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Football is back, and the action is heating up. With six practices in the books, @Joe Healey & I dive into the latest fall camp position battles and story lines to emerge through the first week. We also talk to a pair of new Sun Devil running backs: Alton McCaskill (41:55) and Jason Brown (46:01).

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Our strength of schedule is going to be way up toward the top with this OOC schedule plus B12.

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“I think both those kids can play on Sundays. I firmly believe that.” Even when trading places, quarterbacks Sam Leavitt and Jeff Sims excelled during Monday’s practice, engineering a notable offensive performance to begin the second week of fall camp

ASU is entering the lion's den of basketball conferences but is equipped with an exceptional level of talent. Now that the roster rebuild is complete (we think ), Erik Pierson examines the team's makeup and expectations from each player

Throughout the 2024 season, @bdenny29 and I are partnering with Sun Devil OL Ben Coleman for his "Unblocked by Ben Coleman" series on Speak of the Devils where he'll give fans an inside look at the life of an ASU student-athlete. He'll also check in with us on the podcast on a regular basis to give his insight throughout the season.

Ben is an incredibly bright guy, holding degrees from Cal and ASU, and he comes from a long family line of Sun Devils. I really think y'all will enjoy this series!

For Episode One, Ben gives us a look at teammate DeCarlos Brooks' Cutback Giveback Haircut Event, which is an annual event hosted by Brooks in Tempe where kids can get free haircuts.

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Kenny Dillingham was highly impressed with the offensive performance today, calling today's practice one of the best for that side of the ball. Here is our detailed report on today's numerous standouts, with some interesting names emerging

The change of venue to Mountain America Stadium and practicing for the first time in the evening ironically halted the string of solid fall camp sessions. Kenny Dillingham stated that Saturday's practice was the worst in this young fall camp, and our report details what did take place, who were the surprise standouts and more changes in the two-deep