After practice, junior defensive back Montana Warren said the “fresh start” could not come soon enough.

“Last night I’m up, I could barely fall asleep, I’m ready to go," Warren said. 

While Warren lost sleep from excitement, Dillingham focused on the team’s punting struggles that plagued 2025.

Dillingham said the Sun Devils stood “dead last in the country” in punting.

“That is not good at all,” Dillingham said. 

In response, ASU hired Mike Scifres, who played for the then San Diego Chargers for 13 seasons as a star punter. 

Scifres will coach the specialists for the Sun Devils, which Dillingham said will make a difference.

“To get a guy who’s done it for a long time and to only focus on those details, I think, is going to be really good for us,” Dillingham said.

Another experienced member of the coaching staff is assistant head coach and defensive passing coordinator Bryan Carrington.

Recently, Dillingham promoted Carrington to assistant head coach, a role Carrington said will help drive success within the program.

“When you talk about the wealth of knowledge in that room … We got me, who has done it for a long time and we got coach Gibby (defensive coach David Gibbs),” Carrington said. “I am a firm believer that iron sharpens iron.”

Entering his fourth year at ASU, Carrington described the competition his defensive backs face as a “boxing match.”

Carrington said he looks for athletes who maintain composure and can let the previous play go in chaotic moments.

“We want guys to have emotional maturity and emotional stability,” Carrington said.

When practice ended, Dillingham challenged his players to keep their emotions in check as they watched Thursday’s film.

“Don’t go watch the film and seek praise. Go seek progress,” Dillingham said. “Go find the plays you remember you did something wrong on and watch those first.”

In terms of seeking progress, Dillingham hammered home his mission to make the squad a “mentally strong” football team.

Dillingham said the team will have a solid foundation once players can respond to a big play by executing at their best afterward.

Last season, the team did not show up in crucial fourth-quarter moments, Dillingham said, and he wants the team to return to performing in those situations this season.

“The moments that are the toughest are the ones that are the most emotional, and we got to become a team that can perform in the biggest moments,” Dillingham said.