On Thursday, his players proved him right.

Freshman Cardae Mack showcased his footwork and senior David Avit played with noticeable aggression in the backfield on Day 4 of spring practice at the Kajikawa Practice Fields.

“I challenged him (Avit) yesterday, because he got stoned in the hole,” Dillingham said. “Today he came back and ran behind his pads at a high level.”

Before Avit arrived in Tempe, he thrived in high-leverage circumstances as a Villanova Wildcat.

In short-yardage situations, Avit converted 11 of 16 attempts for a first down while averaging 5.3 yards after contact, ranking him ninth in the country. 

Additionally, Avit turned 71.4% of his opportunities into either a touchdown or a first down while at the goal-line, landing him seventh-best among Football Championship Subdivision players over the past two seasons. 

While Avit's game is centered around third-down conversions, Dillingham said he is doing much more in practice. 

“He’s catching the ball out of the backfield, he is picking up pass pro,” Dillingham said. “(I’m) Very, very happy with how he has practiced so far.”

However, ​​running backs coach Shaun Aguano said he is not interested in Avit’s strong suits; rather, he wants to see his weaknesses.

“I don’t need to praise strength,” Aguano said. “I need to work on weaknesses, and every time I see improvement, I can praise the weakness.”

Aguano tutored a diverse group of Sun Devil running backs, including Rachaad White of the Washington Commanders and Cam Skattebo of the New York Giants, who each have become promising NFL talents.

Through the years, Aguano said he learned to sit back and listen to his players’ perspectives before sharing his own. 

“I was a running back, and a lot of it was feel,” Aguano said. “So instead of me jumping on them, (I have them) explain to me what they felt and then I can coach them off of that.”

While most of ASU’s running backs focused solely on the feel of the position in high school, Mack brought a more versatile background. 

In his senior season, Mack threw for more than 2,000 yards passing and 32 touchdowns, which complemented his 1,500 total yards rushing.

Dillingham said Mack’s two-way resume is the reason why he is on the team.

“I love guys who can do multiple things,” Dillingham said. 

Adding onto Dillingham’s words, Aguano praised the four-star running back’s transition to collegiate speed at such a young age.

“(He is) a very intelligent guy, he picks up the scheme real well,” Aguano said. “I’m on him the most out here because I know his potential, and he is going to be incredible.”

While Aguano sees the potential within the group, Dillingham said it first needs to flourish in the fundamentals department.

For starters, Dillingham said the room needs to be a threat in the air this season.

Last year, Jordyn Tyson’s injuries left a gaping hole in the receiving department, and the running back’s lack of presence in the passing game played a role in the struggles.

However, this season allows for a fresh start with a new offensive set, preparing for whatever opportunity comes their way.

 “We just want to be versatile,” Dillingham said. “We want people to have to defend all five.”

In addition, Dillingham said the running backs need to guard the quarterback by putting their bodies on the line.

“If you want to play for a long time, you got to pick up pass protection,” Dillingham said.

While the running backs are learning how to block defensive ends, graduate student Clayton Smith hunted down quarterbacks as a star defensive end last year, but recently transitioned to wide receiver.

Throughout 2024, Smith led the Sun Devils with 4 1/2 sacks and recorded nine quarterback hits, tying him for the sixth-most hits in the Big 12.

As a result of Smith getting opportunities on offense, Aguano said seeing him on the other side of the field is “awesome.”

“If Clayton can block for us we are awesome,” Aguano said. “I don’t care about catching the ball, just block for us.”

As Smith gets comfortable with the offensive responsibilities, Dillingham said the versatility in the running back group allows him to experiment and rotate guys in and out.

 Last season, only former running backs Raleek Brown and Kanye Udoh surpassed 50 rushing attempts, with Brown totaling 130 more carries than Udoh.

This time around, the increased depth presents a more balanced approach for Arizona State's backfield.

“Our goal is to make every personnel grouping and every formation grouping look identical,” Dillingham said. “That way we are just playing football and good defensive coordinators don’t get to cheat.”