LONDON — Arizona State football coach Kenny Dillingham is giving his players some freedom during their downtime here, but he isn't affording himself the same luxury. The Sun Devils boss is thinking football 24/7, even on foreign soil.
The Sun Devils arrived in London on Sunday and hit the practice field for the first time Tuesday, Sept. 15. Some players had time to walk around a bit, but not Dillingham, who said he's been holed up in a room watching film, preparing the game plan. For him, it was business as usual.
"That's the first time I've been outside in 48 hours," Dillingham said after his team wrapped up its first practice. "We're kind of letting our guys go, and if they want to see part of London, great. But for us, it's just kind of status
quo and getting into the work from the staff perspective. But this is the first time I've been outside since we got here."
The best part of the setup abroad is that the Sun Devils are practicing where they are staying: the Lensbury Resort, 10 miles from downtown London. The venue has two rugby fields converted to football fields. Arizona State also sent three of its own groundskeepers to line and set up the fields.
The Sun Devils took to the practice field about two hours later than usual, as part of acclimating to the time change. Dillingham usually hits the ASU facility before the crack of dawn, so he appreciated the luxury of sleeping a bit later.
He went 36 hours without sleeping, counting the trip from Texas to his first arrival day..
"I slept like a baby," Dillingham said. "Like an older baby. A seven-month baby, not a three-month baby. I woke up, and there was light outside, and I thought, 'This is not good,' then I reminded myself we moved everything back. "
Right tackle Jalen Klemm and defensive tackle C.J. Fite met with the media after practice and said they have been enjoying their time. One of their first stops was a nearby restaurant for fish and chips, which drew rave reviews from the players.
They have excursions planned for later in the week, including a boat trip down the River Thames and an outing near it at Tower Bridge.
Dillingham trusts his players.
"We tell them to go in fours," he said, "because if one wants to make a bad decision, the other three will stop him.
"They're not hostages here. If you want to go do something, just make sure we accomplish what we need to get done. Get your schoolwork done. Make sure you study like you're supposed to study. Make sure you get your treatment when you're supposed to get it. I told our guys, 'If you would normally go to a mall and you want to go to a city and walk around, I don't care.' Just be smart. Be with your teammates and make good decisions."
When asked if he planned to do anything special, the coach doubled down on his earlier statements.
Both ASU (1-1) and Kansas (1-1) are coming off double-digit losses, ASU to Texas A&M and Kansas to rival Missouri. The game is particularly important because it is the Big 12 Conference opener for both.
"We're playing a football game," Dillingham said. "Absolutely not. We're playing a football game, and the people that have time can go do things and go in and experience it. Awesome. That's why we came out here. There's no advantage from a football perspective, Week 3 of a season, to fly across the country to play a football game. There's zero positives. The only positive is our kids get an experience I wasn't going to rob them of, right?
"They're still college athletes, and I wasn't going to rob them of an experience (to) go see London. Go be able to experience things, play in a stadium that is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. My job is to get the best plan in place. Instead of a date with my wife, we'll go to the Thursday event, but I don't plan on being anyplace other than this hotel."
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: ASU coach Kenny Dillingham sets record straight on London 'business trip'
