As the Arizona State football team wraps up final preparations for Wednesday’s Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas, key members of the program’s “Foundational Five” hope to help the Sun Devils secure their 20th victory in two seasons.
Defensive tackle C.J. Fite, who recently announced he was returning to ASU, and safety Montana Warren are expected to play. Running back Kyson Brown is questionable with an injury, and cornerback Keith Abney II won’t suit up because he recently declared for the NFL draft but joined the team to provide support.
Justin Wodtly and Keith Abney getting into the holiday spirit as ASU arrives in El Paso for the Sun Bowl @KFOX14 #CollegeFootball #ASU #ForksUp pic.twitter.com/uSrvFYDXHt
— Chas Messman (@ChasMessmanKFOX) December 28, 2025
The fifth, offensive lineman Sean Na’a, recently entered the transfer portal.
The new landscape of college football has created a scenario in which nearly 10 players could be making their first career start for the Sun Devils Wednesday.
“It’s going to be a challenge,” coach Kenny Dillingham told reporters. “I think we have 32 or 35 guys that we’re down, something like that, which is part of it, the nature of it. Like I told our guys, we still plan to go win the football games, so we have to go compete, do whatever we can do to scratch and claw and try and win the football game.”
Who are the “Foundational Five”? In Dillingham’s first high school recruiting class, he signed 19 players. Only five remained in the 2025 season.
Together, they helped lay the groundwork for the Sun Devils’ rise from the bottom of the FBS to national prevalence. After a College Football Playoff appereance, ASU is bowling again.
Dillingam was hired Nov. 26, 2022, following a 3-9 season and as ASU dealt with a self-imposed bowl ban. However, the five’s faith in the program and Dillingham never wavered.
“When something is so authentic and real, it is hard to lose trust,” Abney said. “I haven’t been lied to here about anything. I feel like the coaches just keep it real. I love my teammates, and we all got a great bond. We are all very close and tight-knit, so that all plays a factor.”
It is a standard Dillingham set dating back to his first press conference at ASU.
“There are two choices: You can lie to a kid, or you can be honest with a kid,” Dillingham said that day. “I’m going to choose to be honest with the kid. I firmly believe if you’re honest, if you’re genuine, you’re going to reap what you sow.”
The group’s trust showed following a 3-9 freshman season. Fite described the year as a “blur,” but said it motivated him to put his head down and work even harder.
If ASU secures its 20th win Wednesday, it will be the first time the program has met this mark since the 2012 and 2013 seasons.
In 2024, all five players contributed to the Sun Devils’ Big 12 championship and run to the College Football Playoff. Each appeared in all 14 games except Na’a, whose season was limited by injuries.
Fite earned second-team All-Big 12 honors, and Brown scored the Sun Devils’ longest touchdown of the season on a 68-yard catch and run against Wyoming.
In 2025, Abney surged up draft boards with a standout junior season. Pro Football Focus ranks him as a top 10 corner prospect in the 2026 NFL Draft, as he has accumulated an 85.6 grade this season, which is the 17th best in the nation.
Abney’s breakout season prompted him to declare for the draft and opt out of ASU’s bowl game. He has a chance to be the first Sun Devils defensive back drafted in the first round since Damarious Randall in 2015.
Warren also came up big this season, stepping into new roles across the secondary as the Sun Devils faced injury after injury. Against Texas Tech, Warren knocked the ball out of a receiver’s hands that popped into the arms of linebacker Martell Hughes for a momentum-turning interception.
But their impact extends beyond the field.
Both Abney and Fite were part of the Pat Tillman Leadership Council, and as players who have been in Tempe every year throughout the Dillingham era, they also provide valuable guidance to recruits entering the program.
Jacob Rich Kongaika, a defensive tackle transfer from Arizona, mentioned Abney as one of those who made his transition to Tempe easy.
“It was really getting along with people here like K1 (Abney),” Kongaika said. “He was super cool with me and really accepting, even though I came from the school down south. Everybody was super welcoming. Everyone welcomed me with open arms. It is easy to click with people like that.”
Even with all the success, the biggest thing for this group is the relationships formed. Abney and Brown, as well as Fite and Warren, were freshman year roommates, and Abney and Brown still room together.
“We talk every day,” Fite said. “It’s a brotherhood around here. When new guys come in, it’s not like they are an odd man out because everybody loves everybody. Everybody feels the brotherhood, the energy, the love, and I feel that as time goes on, it’s going to continue.”
As the future of the quintet begins to diverge between the NFL Draft and the transer portal, it is clear that their impact will be felt among fans in the Valley for years to come.
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