Dillingham's Strategy for Success in Tempe's Football Scene

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00:00So what about Willingham? I mean, he did a great job in Tempe. He's got a great young quarterback

00:07who I think's got a bright future. I mean, that kid looks to me like there's people comparing him

00:13to Ben Roethlisberger, etc. And he was, I thought, fantastic last year in Levitt. Do you think they

00:21can live up to what they did without Scaraboo, a different season? It's not the same season ever,

00:28year to year. People think it's automatic that, you know, Arizona State's going to be good or

00:33Indiana and all these teams that were in the playoff. Are you buying that he's just going to

00:39keep it rolling there in Tempe? I think that we'll have some success. There's a lot of pressure on

00:45him. And that's something that Kenny Dillian talked about this week is, you know, they're trying to

00:50put last season behind them and not talk about it because he wants to focus on this season.

00:54But, you know, there's going to be so much pressure on this team moving forward with this

00:58idea of, can they repeat? You know, can Sam Levitt come out there? They don't have Scadaboo,

01:02but can Sam Levitt come out at quarterback? Is he the guy that's going to be able to work around

01:06some things because they're going to need to find some pieces in that running game? Their defense is

01:10going to be just as good, maybe even better this year, but there's going to be a challenge.

01:14They're not going to sneak up on anyone. Let's not forget, you know, Arizona State was picked to

01:18finish last in the Big 12 last year in the preseason media bowl. They come out to win it.

01:23You know, no one's going to be fooled by this team. So I think it's going to be a little bit

01:27of a challenge, but I think they also realize, you know, they've got the pieces that maybe they

01:30can make a serious run. They've got to find a way to get past, like I mentioned, some of those teams

01:34like Iowa State, you know, maybe Baylor, you know, maybe also Kansas State as well.

01:41Yeah, we talked about him yesterday, Dillingham, that he's going to, you know, at 35, he's going to

01:47potentially get bigger job offers. Do you think he's the kind of guy that would take the bait?

01:56Or do you think he's the kind of guy that wants to build something in Tempe long term?

02:02I think he wants to build something in Tempe long term. I mean, I think every time you talk

02:06to him about it, he seems like he is at home there. He really enjoys being there. He enjoys

02:11the fan base, enjoys what they're doing. You know, it's not like a guy that you could see maybe a year

02:16from now going, okay, this job's opened up, I'm going to jump here, maybe go there for a couple

02:20years and jump somewhere else. I think he's really determined to try to build something special there

02:24at Arizona State. That's not to say that five years from now, there was a dream job that opened

02:29up for him that he might take an opportunity, but I think it would take a lot. But he is a good

02:34up and coming coach. They did a lot of things last year. And they have an opportunity to do some

02:38more special things this year. He's recruited well, he uses the portal really well. And I think as long

02:44as he continues to do that, they have that success, I think he's going to be a hot commodity. But I

02:48think he wants to stay in Tempe. I think he wants to see this thing and build it up and actually get

02:53it to a brand that everyone knows and recognizes on a yearly basis.