Kenny Dillingham on the USC Trojans, calling plays and 'elite' Caleb Williams

Arizona State is coming off a terrible offensive showing in a shutout loss to Fresno State and head coach Kenny Dillingham is shaking things up on that side of the ball. The Sun Devils will be without starting quarterback Jaden Rashada and welcome in the No. 5 USC Trojans on Saturday night. Dillingham spoke to the Arizona State media several times early this week and here’s a look at some of what he said regarding the upcoming game.

Dillingham on the USC Trojans

“They’re really, really good. So that’s the biggest challenge is they have, I mean, unbelievable players all over the field. Every spot is an unbelievable player. So there is no real weakness of his football teams. So the challenge is, you have to play a game that is clean. You have to make them earn every yard, you can’t give them MA’s to give them free plays. They have to earn it. And they’re gonna make some spectacular plays, because they have really good players, right? You just got to weather the storms, and continue to play good defense, and you’ll get them off the field.”

Dillingham on the difference in play calling between he and Beau Baldwin

Dillingham called offensive plays during Arizona State’s Tuesday practice. He said he would “probably” call plays this Saturday against the Trojans.

“Identical, really identical,” Dillingham said of his approach compared to offensive coordinator Beau Baldwin’s. “Everybody thinks a little bit different. So there may be a little bit of different thought processes going into this game than another game. But identical. Coach Baldwin and I are on the same page. This isn’t about who’s calling the plays. This is about me getting more involved in the side of the ball right now that needs more attention. If our defense was struggling, I would do the same thing defensively. If special teams were struggling, I’d be way more involved in special teams. This is just me saying, okay, you know, we need a bump in offense. So where can I go help the team right now? I can go help them focusing all my energy on offense right now. And that’s really what it is. Nothing more than that.”

Dillingham on USC quarterback Caleb Williams

“He’s great at everything. He’s smart, he’s elusive, he’s calm. He can throw from different arm angles. He can make the big throw. He knows when they get out of plays. He knows when they get into plays, and him and (USC head) coach (Lincoln) Riley are on the same page, they’ve been together three years. So, they know what each other are thinking. Not many flaws, if any, in his game. One of the best quarterbacks in the country this year, but one of the best quarterbacks for sure, since I’ve been coaching college football. He could be one of the best to come through. He does it all, and it’s a great, great challenge for our guys.”

Dillingham on how to contain Caleb Williams

“You can’t. You can’t. You have to limit him. You have to, when you’re there to make a play, you have to limit him. To say you’re going to stop him is almost unrealistic. The goal should be to limit him. Limit the explosive plays. Don’t let him get comfortable and in a rhythm. Don’t bust and give him open people to get into a rhythm. But to say you’re going to stop Caleb Williams, that’s tough to do. The goal is to limit him, get them off schedule, get them in a position, get after the passer while still being able to keep coverage, and when you get to him, be able to contain him. He’s the master at pump-fake, evade. He feels pressure He waits, he waits, he waits and he’s like a boxer. Counterpunch. He’s elite at that. So we have to know what he’s going to do before he does it. That sounds easy. Really, really hard.

“He is not a running quarterback. Nobody believes that. He is a pocket passer, that can evade. That’s his M-O. He’s a pocket quarterback that can then extend plays. So you have to take away his ability in the pocket, one, and then try to contain him, two.”

Dillingham on if there’s a balance between showing the ASU defenders what Williams can do but not pumping him up too much

“No. Understand who you’re playing. You’re playing a really good player. You’re playing a player that, if you’re not disciplined, he’s going to tear you apart. If you don’t stay in your rush lanes, if you don’t track the outside hip when you’re a pass rusher, if you’re blitzing and you fall for a pump fake, if you don’t understand that that’s who you’re playing…You’re playing one of the savviest players in college football, somebody who gets free people at him all the time and who makes that guy miss. If you don’t understand that then you’re going to go out there and you’re going to look like a fool. You better understand who you’re playing against. This is an elite player. This is a savvy player.”

Dillingham on USC’s wide receiving corps and the Trojans spreading receptions around

“They’ve got about four to five guys, four guys mainly, that are their main targets, that you’ve got to try to stop.”

Dillingham on the Arizona State early-week injury report

Quarterback Drew Pyne “has a chance. Probably will return this week. There’s a chance [offensive lineman] Cade Brigs can return. Small chance. Not getting reps right now, but there is a chance he can return. [Defensive lineman] Clayton Smith is doubtful right now, but to say he’s out is not accurate. But very, very doubtful. [Quarterback] Trenton [Bourget] is very, very doubtful. But obviously, when you’re dealing with injuries that are like ankles and tweaks, some kids grow and respond faster than others and some kids have a higher pain tolerance to kind of deal with things and function and positions affect that. So we won’t really know until we get to Thursday, Friday. And then [defensive lineman] Anthonie Cooper is back.”

Dillingham said tight end Jaylin Conyers will be back this week for the Sun Devils as well. He’s a big one and potentially Arizona State’s best offensive player.

Dillingham on the ASU mindset heading into this game

“If you don’t expect to win every game, you’ve got a problem. I don’t care if I’m playing Michael Jordan in basketball, I’m not playing him to lose. Otherwise, why would I play? I’m not just going to play because it’s fun. No. What’s fun is competing to win. You’re playing to win. That’s it. Whatever happens after the game, it doesn’t matter. You then watch the tape you get better and you grow and get better and grow and get better. And eventually, Saturday nights are going to feel better. But if you don’t take the field and expect to win the football game, something’s wrong. You should expect to win. Otherwise, you shouldn’t be on the field.”