PAYSON — The Arizona State football team will not practice at Camp Tontozona on Friday, Aug 14 — instead conducting a walkthrough.
The change is reflective of hw productive the week at Camp T has been. Coach Kenny Dillingham has held a full practice on the three previous Fridays that he has taken the team to Camp T.
That Friday session will not be open to the public.
Instead, fans who want to get an early look at the team will have to wait to do so until Saturday, Aug. 15, when the team holds its annual scrimmage, starting at 9 a.m. at the wooded retreat 17 miles outside of Payson. That scrimmage traditionally draws more than 3,000 spectators.
This week's practices have been a reprieve from the heat in the Phoenix area. The temperature hovered around 65 as the team took to the field over the last two days. It was still in the 70s when the team wrapped up for the day.
The week has been all about camaraderie.
“Coaching staff continuity is not as important as team continuity, but it’s really important,” Dillingham said. “So even us being in there and hanging out together in the morning, having an eight-person line to get coffee out of the one coffee (machine) and we’re just waiting, all those things, it helps the staff too.”
The secondary has stood out in recent practices. Leading the way are safety Adrian "Boogie" Wilson and cornerbacks Ashton Stamps and Rodney Bimage. Skill drills on Aug. 13 featured the defensive backs going after the wide receivers, and Stamps put a hit on Raiden Vines-Brights that drew gasps from onlookers and players as well.
Late in practice, the offense drove the field and got into the red zone, with Wilson stopping Kyson Brown on a fourth-down try that loomed as one of the other standout plays of the day.
The team will return to its normal practice schedule in Tempe, beginning Monday, Aug. 17.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona State changes course, closes Camp Tontozona practice
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