In just three days, Kenny Dillingham, the Arizona State Sun Devils’ HC, will coach his 11th-ranked team, per the AP preseason poll, in their first game against Northern Arizona. Ending 2024 with an 11-3 overall record, Dillingham is maintaining a calm demeanor before his third season, and his preseason training is set to conclude with practices before Saturday. The expectations are high, and the program is looking forward to delivering, but there are some last-minute jitters.

The big stage always comes with its own set of nerves, but Coach Dillingham has made it clear that he leans into those feelings rather than avoiding them. He admitted that the butterflies don’t just show up before kickoffs. “I have jitters before every game. I have jitters before practice. I want it to be perfect every time,” he said after Wednesday’s session. That admission isn’t weakness, it’s wiring—an insight into a coach who is as competitive in walkthroughs as he is in primetime.

For him, the long physical grind has been handled. Now, the pivot is all about sharpening minds. “I just told them the physical – they’ve been physically preparing their bodies since January. Physical is basically over. We have one more 40 minute fast Friday deal. Other than that, this is all mental. This is all getting their body right to feel as good as possible for Saturday now. But the physical is over, and I feel good. I like our team. I’m excited to see them play football,” said Dillingham.

That shift in emphasis matters. The mental component of football has derailed even the most talented rosters in openers. With seven months since the last live game action, it’s not unusual for teams to stumble out of the gate. Coaches love to say that football is “90 percent mental,” and for ASU, ranked inside the top-15 for the first time since 2014, the challenge isn’t just execution—it’s shouldering the weight of expectation. These Sun Devils have been touted as Big 12 contenders since spring. Dillingham’s ability to frame the week as mental prep rather than physical grind is a deliberate attempt to keep his roster loose without sacrificing edge.

Defensive coordinator Brian Ward echoed that perspective, admitting that this Week 1 test may be as tricky as any he has faced in his career. The HC said, “I’ve been a part of both sides of it. Usually the team, the veteran teams are better in openers. The younger teams aren’t as good in openers, and they’re [NAU] a veteran team too.” Arizona State may boast blue-chip returners, but Northern Arizona’s experience makes them a dangerous opening act.

Veteran teams tend to play with rhythm from the first snap, while younger squads often need a quarter—or a full game—to adjust to live speed. Ward’s comment underscores that NAU won’t be showing up as cannon fodder; they’re showing up as a team expecting to punch. That’s where Dillingham’s mentality threads through the roster. He’s been unflinching about his approach: “There’s no holding back. There’s no hiding.” It’s the type of mantra that works both in the locker room and in the film room. When a coach projects fearlessness, it bleeds into the roster.

The decision to release a depth chart showing nearly 30 potential starters is a nod to the versatility and internal competition this team has fostered since January. Players like Sam Leavitt, who return with responsibility, represent stability in key positions.

Kenny Dillingham’s 30-man flex

If you thought Arizona State’s depth chart was just another sheet of paper, think again. Kenny Dillingham dropped a curveball this week when he explained what makes this version of the Sun Devils so dangerous heading into 2025. When asked about a roster that features nearly 30 players capable of starting-level snaps, his grin said it all.

“Yeah, just the depth of a football team is better, and obviously, it’s a huge positive. You can have more sub-packages on offense, more sub-packages on defense, [and] make teams prepare for more things. When you can line up in 12, you can line up in 20, in 21, you can line up in a dime. You can line up in quarters if you want to put five tackles on the field. So when you do that, you can really have a wrinkle each week around game weeks.”

That’s not just versatility. This is, without question, the deepest Arizona State roster we’ve seen since at least the 2021 campaign. Depth isn’t just about having warm bodies—it’s about matchups. Ward and his staff have created new positions just to maximize this surplus, almost like inventing a new tool in the toolbox.