‘It was crickets:’ ASU OC Marcus Arroyo says headset went silent when he made 4th down call

OK, so here’s the situation: Arizona State trailed 7-3 in the first quarter of the Big 12 title game. It held possession on fourth-and-1 at its own 34-yard line.

It was a wild leap of faith for ASU to go for it so early on and that deep in its own territory, even if the Sun Devils had bruising running back Cam Skattebo ready to carry them to a first down.

To call a deep shot that ended with a 63-yard completion to receiver Melquan Stovall required even more faith.

After the game, Kenny Dillingham pointed all credit to his offensive coordinator, Marcus Arroyo, who told Arizona Sports’ Wolf & Luke on Monday that he sensed a tinge of doubt among his coworkers when he called the play into the headsets.

“It was crickets on the headphones when I called it,” Arroyo said. “(Dillingham) said ‘go for it,’ and I think they all thought I was going to a (different) call. And I said, ‘Nah, let’s take a shot.’

“I don’t know if the communication cut out or not, but there wasn’t anyone saying anything back to me. I said ‘Hang on, we’ll be alright.'”

They were.

Arizona State OC Marcus Arroyo's play call led to "crickets on the headphones" from Kenny Dillingham and the rest of ASU's staff on Saturday, Arroyo told @WolfandLuke.

Nonetheless, the Sun Devils dialed up a deep shot to Melquan Stovall in a fourth-and-short pretty deep in Iowa… pic.twitter.com/w6yCszgNfo

— Arizona Sports (@AZSports) December 9, 2024

 

Arroyo said the Sun Devils always practice one short-yardage shot play as part of game preparation, and that gave him confidence in making the call. He put in Makua Pule as an extra offensive lineman and moved him across the line before the snap to really sell a run play was coming.

“(With) Skat, everyone in the country knows on short-yardage who you’re going to give it to,” Arroyo said. “We worked it all week. Quan did a good job of what we wanted to get done executing. What the defense allowed, what they do kind of leans itself towards how you scheme that up and fake blocking on that guy who’s used to coming up in the box.”

The offensive line held up for Stovall to get past linebackers in coverage after he faked a block for the play that looked like a Skattebo run. Quarterback Sam Leavitt’s pass was on target. And Stovall made a relatively easy grab before getting chased down in the red zone.

#ASU goes for it on 4th & 1 from their own 34 yard line and Sam Leavitt hits Melquan Stovall for 63 yards!! 🔥 #SunDevils #Big12Championship pic.twitter.com/iysCF5F8la

— 🏆🥇 (@fsh733) December 7, 2024

Kenny Dillingham deflected credit to Marcus Arroyo about that fourth-down call

Dillingham laughed after the game when he was asked about dialing up that play-call.

“Yeah, I had nothing to do with that,” he said. “That was coach Arroyo. He called it and I was like, ‘Oh, crap.’ Like, alright, bud, let’s do it. He watches more film than me when it comes to offense right now.

“I trust it. I trust our quarterback. I trust our players and he thought that was the best call for that situation. I almost wanted to say, ‘Just hand it to Skat, just hand it to Skat.'”

The play represented a turning point in the game.

ASU scored three plays later and never trailed again. But Arroyo’s call also stands as a key representation of Dillingham’s willingness this offseason to relieve himself of play-calling duties and find one of the more experienced OCs — who happens to be a former head coach — on the market.

The pair had never worked together before this season. Arroyo said their talks have been open, honest, aggressive and efficient.

“We’re both high-energy guys, ultra-competitive,” Arroyo said. “I probably have pulled back a little bit more because I realized I’m with a head coach who has as much juice as me or (former Southern Miss head coach Todd) Monken or guys I’ve been around. We communicate probably as effectively as I’ve imagined.

“I’m really happy with the way we communicate. … When you’re with somebody for the first time, a lot of things that come up — pressure situations under time constraints — you can get mumbled up. We actually communicate really well. It’s kind of special.”

Follow @kzimmermanaz