Kenny Dillingham entered fall camp looking for ASU football’s competitive edge to show itself, and he said on Saturday the “magic” had returned.

“My biggest concern was would we get ‘it’ back? … Everybody who watched us play last year knows what I mean when I say ‘it,’” Dillingham said. “The magic, the effort, the passion, would we get it back?

“(Friday’s) practice I felt it, (Saturday) it was back. And the question is can we keep it? Can we grow from it ’cause our talent is here. … I talked about the edge and what is our edge, it’s that ‘it.’ Today we had it. Yesterday we almost had it, today we had it. Let’s keep it.”

While Dillingham said the competitiveness dipped on Thursday, every other day has given the coach a lot to like.

“That was our best day. That was awesome, that was fun. That was a day right there, that was competitive all freakin’ day. That’s a football team,” Dillingham said after wrapping up the team’s first session at Mountain America Stadium on Saturday.

The amount of scuffles seen in camp already has been a big indicator of the competitiveness, and Dillingham invites them as long as helmets stay on.

“At the end of the day, sports are fun, but it’s only fun when you’re competing,” the coach added. “Nobody wants to play horse versus someone who sucks. You may as well just shoot around. You want to play horse versus someone who can compete with you. … We competed today, and it’s fun when you compete.

“Defense had periods, offense had a play, defense had a period, offense won at the end. Defense probably won the day, that’s how it should be.”

ASU football to utilize tight end-heavy packages

The tight end room was one of the highlights of the first week, and Dillingham said it could lead to personnel packages that include two, three or even four tight ends at once.

“Love the versatility of that group. We’re gonna be in some 12 (personnel), we’re gonna be in some 13. Crap, we’re gonna be in some 14 obviously in heavy sets,” Dillingham said of what the positional strength allows for. “We’re gonna be in the middle of the field in 13 personnel sometimes and see what teams do, see how they match us.”

The Sun Devils return all-conference player Chamon Metayer along with Cameron Harpole at the position. They add Kentucky transfer Khamari Anderson at 6-foot-5 and 255 pounds and AJ Ia, who could be the team’s most impactful true freshman at 6-foot-6 and 260 pounds.

Special teams could be most improved area for ASU football

The kicking game was one of the Sun Devils’ biggest weaknesses in 2024, and if the way Eastern Michigan transfer Jesus Gomez has kicked in spring and fall camp is any indication, it will be a strength in 2025.

It’s become a normal sight to see the football cross the goalposts near the top of the uprights and straight down the middle, regardless of where the newcomer is setting up on the field. Dillingham has made note of Gomez’s calm confidence.

ASU was just 11-for-20 on field goals in 2024, including 3-for-8 on kicks from 40 yards or longer. Gomez was 20-for-25 in 2024, including 9-for-13 from 40 or more yards.

The improvements extend to the punting game, where Australian punter Matt McKenzie was added to provide competition to returning starter and true sophomore Kanyon Floyd. Dillingham has said it’s had the intended effect, bringing out another level from Floyd.

“The special teams period today was probably our best special teams period we’ve had since I’ve been here from the competitive standpoint,” Dillingham said. “This is the deepest roster we’ve had, and you can really see that on special teams.

“When we tried to go good on good, there was a lot of good.”

Arizona Sports’ Jesse Morrison contributed to this story.