BREAKING: Kenny Dillingham confirms major decision on Ian Hershey in recent development

Arizona State football head coach Kenny Dillingham extended his apology to Monday when speaking with reporters, continuing to emphasize his regret over his remarks about kicker Ian Hershey. Dillingham, now in his second season, admitted he “failed” his kicker after criticizing Hershey’s performance in the Sun Devils’ 24-14 loss to Cincinnati, during which Hershey missed two field goals in the fourth quarter from 48 and 41 yards. After initially suggesting ASU students try out for the kicker position, Dillingham took to social media to issue an apology and reiterated it on Monday.

“I’ve never in my career done anything that negatively impacted a kid, and I’ve been through some tough seasons and low pay,” Dillingham told Doug Haller of *The Athletic.* “Absolutely failed him.”

Dillingham first apologized on X (formerly Twitter) after his post-game comments gained attention: “I’d like to apologize for how I spoke about our kicking game in the press conference. I addressed it as I would offense/defense, but the focus fell on one player, which I shouldn’t have done. The team’s losses are entirely on me.”

How confident is Dillingham after the Cincinnati loss? 

Dillingham noted that he did receive multiple emails from students interested in trying out as kickers. However, he clarified that his Arizona State coaching staff is handling the vetting process. Despite this, Dillingham expressed confidence in the current roster of kickers for 2024.

“At the end of the day, we have three guys who are collegiate kickers that are really good,” Dillingham said. “And they are. We just need to do a better job building their confidence.”