Kyle Bonagura, ESPN Workers Author
After three straight video games and not using a made area objective, Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham has run out of persistence.
“Our kicking sport’s atrocious,” Dillingham stated after ASU’s 24-14 loss to Cincinnati on Saturday. “So, in the event you can kick and also you’re at Arizona State, e-mail me. We will have kicking tryouts on Monday, so carry it on.”
Requested if he was critical, Dillingham doubled down.
“I am lifeless critical. We will put it out on our social. We will have a kicking tryout on Monday,” he stated. “We obtained to search out any person who could make a area objective. It makes it even more durable late in video games when it is clearly a kick situation. That is when it will get actually exhausting.”
Solar Devils kicker Ian Hershey, who started his profession at Idaho State, badly missed makes an attempt from 48 and 41 yards on the Solar Devils’ last two drives of the sport. Hershey is 7-of-12 on area objective makes an attempt this season and 18-of-19 on additional level makes an attempt. Redshirt freshman Carston Kieffer missed his solely area objective try this season within the opener towards Wyoming.
“[Hersey] was kicking good pregame. So, I felt good about it, however you realize, it’s what it’s,” Dillingham stated. “We obtained to do a greater job getting him in a greater psychological state to kick. However on the identical token, I obtained to do a job and I obtained to get guys on the sphere that may carry out in these conditions as properly.”
Just a few hours after the postgame information convention, Dillingham apologized on X, indicating his feedback needlessly put the blame on one participant.
“I want to apologize in my postgame press convention I talked about our kicking sport like I do offense / protection,” he wrote. “Nonetheless the kicking sport is all the time directed at one participant. I shouldn’t have achieved that and I apologize. This staff’s losses will all the time 100% fall on myself.”
Dillingham acknowledged an open tryout will not essentially result in a change, wherein case the staff will stick to the established order.
“If any person is [good enough], then, you realize, welcome to the staff and we’ll rock and roll from there,” Dillingham stated.
Trying to the scholar physique for assist in the kicking sport is not with out precedent.
In 2022, Ole Miss added punter Charlie Pollock to the roster, after which coach Lane Kiffin, stated, “I do not know a complete lot about him. I feel he was down on the frat home at a keg get together or one thing the place they obtained him from.”
In 2008, the late Mike Leach recruited pupil Matt Williams to the staff at Texas Tech after watching him kick a 30-yard area objective throughout an in-game contest. Williams would stay with the staff by way of the 2010 season.
