After chaotic opener, Kenny Dillingham sees where Arizona State football can improve

Now that head coach Kenny Dillingham doesn’t have to worry about whether or not his team will resume playing during a rare weather delay, he can finally dissect the season opener against Southern Utah.

And since he’s gone through tape, he now sees more of the teachable moments from his first game as a head coach.

First game jitters seemed to get ASU at times with its communication. The offense in particular struggled with pre-snap communication and had trouble running the correct plays.

“We played a clean game from substitution, but the communication pieces made us run about seven to 10 dead plays of a football. That percentage of 16 to 18% is a dead play, you have no chance to be successful when it’s communication errors,” Dillingham said.

The defense had issues getting in and out of different coverage calls, but fared better following the weather delay that lasted two hours and 45 minutes. While no one had thought of a weather delay messing with the game’s flow, Dillingham had to do what he could with the challenge.

Pac-12 football power rankings: Conference makes statement with undefeated Week 1 record

“I was so concerned we would have a lack of energy and I probably overly energized them. That’s on me as well,” Dillingham said. “That’s probably why we had more penalties in the second half. We were a little more energy than substance on one side of the ball. I thought the defense kept themselves, but on the offense, they had a little more energy than true substance.”

The oddity of the long break and the midweek game created a dangerous combination that nearly failed the team. Unlike a Saturday game, most players had homework assignments due the next day and planned to finish those on Friday morning. A game that burned the midnight oil made the players resort to drastic measures.

“They’ve busted out their computer because we don’t know what’s going to happen,” Dillingham said. “That’s a learning experience for me to make sure that every homework assignment is complete on a midweek game just in case you get a delay and you have to turn something in on Friday.”

Jalin Conyers’ status looking good for Saturday

ASU went throughout the second half against SUU without one of its best offensive weapons in tight end Jalin Conyers.

His absence was alarming after he exited grabbing his shoulder during the second quarter and then reappeared out of his uniform for the second half. However, his absence will not be long-term after Dillingham said that Conyers would’ve come back into the game had it not been for the weather delay.

“You know when you get something stiff and break for two hours and 45 minutes, it makes it harder when you have those initial wear and tear things to return,” Dillingham said. “We made a decision to hold him because of that break. He’ll be back, he’ll be fine. There’s nothing wrong.”

ASU report card: Sun Devils have a lot of room for improvement despite season-opening win

Xavion Alford not cleared by NCAA

ASU was dealt a blow to its secondary depth when potential starting safety Xavion Alford had his request for eligibility as a second-time undergraduate transfer denied by the NCAA.

Alford transferred to USC from Texas in the spring of 2021 and had significant playing time at strong safety and on special teams as a redshirt freshman that season. His time at USC ended in 2022 when he couldn’t play due to injuries.

ASU also lost another player this season when wide receiver Jake Smith’s transfer request was rejected.

“Very disappointing to have multiple guys on our team who didn’t play football last year not be able to play again,” Dillingham said. “Who both battled things and won’t be able to play again. It’s just ridiculous in my opinion. And there are other teams throughout the country who play guys that shouldn’t be able to play.”

More: What Kenny Dillingham, players said about ASU's home opener

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Kenny Dillingham points out where Arizona State football can improve