Arizona State football at Pac-12 Media Day

The Pac-12 held its annual media day today in Las Vegas at Resorts World. Kenny Dillingham along with Jordan Clark and Jalin Conyers spoke to the media. For the first 15 minutes, Dillingham talked about the team and answered questions from the media. For the second 15 minutes, Conyers and Clark went on stage and answered questions.

Kenny Dillingham at Pac-12 Media Day

This was the first media day for Dillingham since he became the head coach at Arizona State. In his opening remarks and questions from the media, he talked about the people. He said that the most important thing at ASU is the people who make it. From the fans, players, and everyone involved at Arizona State.

One of the hot-button topics he was asked about was the quarterback competition. Currently, ASU has three players competing to be the starter come week one. Trenton Bourget, Drew Pyne, and Jaden Rashada will all be competing for the job. Dillingham did note previously that Bourget took most of the first team reps with the team throughout the spring. This comes a season after Bourget took over for Emory Jones after he got hurt midway through the season.

The new culture at Arizona State football

One of the topics that Dillingham was most passionate about was his team and the culture they have created. Although it has been a short time he feels the team has come together greatly not only on the field but off as well. The players have been hanging out with one another as much off the field as they have on the field. He is very interested to see how the bonds between players help them in adverse situations throughout the season. Everything so far has been fun and games, but things will be a lot different when the true season begins, Dillingham noted.

When asked about what he has learned the most about being a head coach is the meetings. Most of the meetings he has are about football which is normal but he has had to adjust to the non football ones as well.

“I may be in a meeting about running counter but then I have to go to a meeting about putting a concrete slab down on the practice field so we can put an ice cooler down,” Dillingham said. Those are the meetings he said he has had to adjust to in his new position. 

Jalin Conyers and Jordan Clark at Pac-12 Media Day

ASU veteran players Jalin Conyers and Jordan Clark were selected by Dillingham to represent the team at media day.

The first thing both of them were asked about was the new culture and meeting Dillingham for the first time. Both of them recalled the first team meeting they had when Dillingham was hired. Every player, including them, could not stop raving about how energetic and passionate Dillingham was about the game. The team knew immediately that ASU had gotten the right guy and this was only the beginning.

One of the main questions Conyers was asked about was his late-season rise. For most of the 2022 season, Conyers was behind teammate Messiah Swenson. Conyers noted that he was going to be patient and supportive and he would come in when the time was right. The game that Conyers mentioned was the Colorado game. That one day in Boulder, Conyers caught six catches for 108 yards and had three touchdowns. Conyers and Bourget had lived with one another prior and knew the chemistry would be there right away.

Clark on the other hand has had his set of circumstances. Clark, the son of former NFL player Ryan Clark, felt he was playing under a shadow. He felt that most people saw him as the son of Ryan Clark and not a player himself. He believed that last season his play on the field helped take that narrative off the table. 

Why did Conyers and Clark return to Arizona State?

Piggybacking on those points, both Clark and Conyers shared why they decided to come back for another season. Both players were a little hesitant to return after Herm Edwards was fired last season. Once they met Dillingham and saw the passion he has for the game their doubts were put to rest.

One of the most important things that was said all day came from Conyers at the end of his podium time. Conyers said that one of the main reasons for coming back is wanting to “reignite” Sun Devil nation. He said that he had been watching games from the 2010s against the likes of Notre Dame and wants the same energy to come back. He is willing to do anything for those days of Sun Devil Stadium to be full again.

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