Kenny Dillingham’s competitive drive sees him turn to unique strategy while playing pool

Kenny Dillingham has a knack for how competitive he is, and that drive extends well beyond the gridiron.

ESPN College GameDay host Rece Davis took a tour of Arizona State football’s players lounge, which Dillingham unsurprisingly calls “Competitionville.”

During the tour, Davis and Dillingham battled over a golf simulator, took a stab at table tennis and hit the sticks for a friendly game of EA Sports College Football 26 on the PlayStation, but it was a game of pool that really showcased Dillingham’s drive to win.

🏈 @ReceDavis continues his journey across the U.S. to spend time with CFB coaches shaping the game

Next stop ➡️ @ASUFootball

Davis sat down with @KennyDillingham for a deep dive into @TheSunDevils‘ shocking rise to the ’24 #CFBPlayoff after winning the @Big12Conference Champ pic.twitter.com/y1i6zGFB24

— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) July 29, 2025

“I’m not very good at pool, so I will literally, when I play somebody better than me — you can ask my dad because we grew up playing pool — I will literally put all of my balls not in the pocket,” Dillingham said to Davis as he explained his weird pool strategy.

“So (my dad) gets to the 8-ball, because he’s not very good either, he eventually scratches because he physically can’t make a ball in because I have shielded the entire 8-ball … with his balls around it … because I know I’m going to struggle to win. And he says it’s cowardly to play like that, but I just want to win.”

Dillingham later clarified he means hitting the balls around the pockets to protect from the 8-ball going in, not hitting the balls around the 8-ball itself, but nevertheless it seems Dillingham isn’t shy about getting creative to find any edge he can, even in the game of pool.

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