August 29, 2024 |
Photo – Mountain America Stadium in Tempe, AZ – Courtesy thesundevils.com
In Tempe this week, lots of questions have been swirling around the Sun Devils football team at Arizona State.
ASU is trying to recover from last year’s three-win season where the quarterback position was a revolving door under first-year head coach Kenny Dillingham. Six different players rotated through the QB position last year as Dillingham was reduced to mix-and-match as he dealt with with an injury-riddled team.
A new offensive coordinator arrived at ASU this year.
Heading into his second season, Dillingham is dealing with a new set of problems. Defensive back Macen Williams retired from football and potential starting offensive lineman Jalen Klemm is reportedly out indefinitely with a health issue.
On Monday, Dillingham said linebacker Tate Romney would miss 4-6 weeks with a broken hand while offensive lineman Sean Na’a and defensive end Prince Dorbah deal with leg issues that would sideline them 2-4 games.
Then there’s that other problem. The Wyoming Cowboys arrive in Tucson Saturday night looking to pick up where they left off last season—with a win.
Dillingham sounds a bit like the way a dog looks when its chasing its tail. He admits it. He’s trying to figure out what wrinkles the Cowboys have added to their offense and defense in the offseason.
For ASU, only a handful of starters returned this year. They include running back Cam Skattebo and 2023 All-Pac-12 honorable mention center Leif Fautanu.
New coordinator Marcus Arroyo, who put some time in Laramie a few years ago, will call plays for the offense. ASU is hoping for more predictability on offense this year after stabilizing the quarterback position. The Sun Devils offense promises to be more stabilized this year.
The big question in Tempe this week is, “Can the offensive line keep quarterback Sam Leavitt upright against the Wyoming defense on Saturday night?”.
Stay tuned. We’ll find out Saturday night. The season kicks off at 8:30 here on Bigfoot 99. The pregame show starts at 7 p.m.
