College Football Team to Host Open Tryouts After 'Atrocious' Showing

Following Arizona State's 24-14 loss to Cincinnati on Saturday, head coach Kenny Dillingham has issued an open call for a kicker, signaling a pressing need to address the team’s special teams woes.

The Sun Devils could not ride the momentum from a 27-18 victory against No. 16 Utah. The Bearcats scored all of their points in the first half and coasted to the victory.

Dillingham was especially annoyed by his kicker, Ian Hershey, who was 0-for-2 against Cincinnati. He missed back-to-back kicks from 41 and 48 yards in the second half.

"Our kicking game is atrocious. If you can kick and you're at Arizona State, email me," Dillingham said in his postgame press conference. "We're going to have kicking tryouts on Monday ... I'm dead serious. We're going to put it out on our socials. We're going to have a kicking tryout on Monday. We need to find someone who can make a field goal."

Arizona State has used two kickers this year — Hershey and Carston Kieffer. They've combined to go 7-of-11 on field goal attempts and have made all but one extra point. The kicks missed by Hershey on Saturday would have made it a one-possession game.

"It is what it is. We have to do our job to get him in a better mental state to kick. But at the same token, I have to do a job and get guys on the field who can perform in those situations," Dillingham said. "We'll have a tryout and see if someone is good enough. If somebody is not, status quo and we'll keep going to work. If somebody is, we'll add them to the team."

Arizona State has a bye week to determine its kicking situation. It will return on Nov. 2 for a matchup against Oklahoma State.

Related: Kenny Dillingham's Legendary Postgame Interview Goes Viral After Utah-ASU