ASU Football Shifts From Underdog To Front-Runner In Year Three Under Kenny Dillingham

By Logan Brown

PHOENIX – Arizona State played with house money in 2024.

Notoriously picked to finish dead last in the preseason Big 12 Media Poll, Sun Devils coach Kenny Dillingham was not bombarded last year with expectations and outside noise.

Now, with a new calendar hanging in his office, things couldn’t be more different.

As ASU begins its third college football season with Dillingham at the helm, the program has a massive maroon and gold target on its back. No longer the underdogs, the Sun Devils’ resume includes a Big 12 title and a near-upset of the Texas Longhorns in the College Football Playoff, vaulting them to 11th in the preseason AP poll, the program’s highest ranking to start a season since 1988 when they started the season ranked eighth in the poll.

On Saturday night, at a sold-out Mountain America Stadium in Tempe, ASU will get its first chance to prove it deserves the hype when the Sun Devils host Northern Arizona, which last season finished 8-5 in the Big Sky Conference and enters the 2025 campaign ranked No. 18 in the FCS preseason coaches poll.

The Sun Devils return 17 starters – seven on offense and 10 defensively – and brought in some talent from the transfer portal to add valuable depth to the roster. That, according to Dillingham, is what will set the Sun Devils apart from the pack in a wide-open Big 12 race.

“I think our competitive depth on this team is high,” Dillingham said at his Monday press conference, donning his usual short-sleeve hoodie. “If you look at our depth chart, you could argue this dude would start at most places, and I think you can do that for a lot of different positions.”

Year two in the Big 12 presents a tricky schedule for ASU. A nonconference trip to SEC country in Starkville against Mississippi State on Sept. 6 shouldn’t be overlooked. The Sun Devils hit the road Sept 20 for their conference opening, where they will face Baylor, led by rising star quarterback Sawyer Robertson. The Sun Devils will also take cold-weather trips to Utah on Oct. 11 at No. 22 Iowa State on Nov. 1. Perhaps the biggest game on the schedule is an Oct. 18 home date against No. 23 Texas Tech. The Red Raiders reloaded with an extensive haul through the portal and figure to be a top contender for the conference crown.

The Big 12 is filled to the brim with talented quarterbacks, and Arizona State quarterback Sam Leavitt might be the cream of the crop. Without running back Cam Skattebo, who was drafted by the New York Giants in April, the offense will be more reliant upon Leavitt’s right shoulder. As his name floats in NFL mock drafts, Leavitt still feels like he has unfinished business from a year ago, even though the tone around camp is much different than last year.

“Honestly, I don’t even remember there being much excitement last year in the community going into game one,” Leavitt said. “It’s night and day. You see posts and all this stuff from the media. It’s really cool to see.”

At previous stops along his coaching career, Dillingham has worked with quarterbacks who developed quickly into elite signal callers. In the discerning eyes of the ASU coach, Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix, whom Dillingham coached at Auburn and Oregon, shares many similarities with Leavitt.

“The difference in (Nix’s) completion percentage from his transition from Auburn to Oregon and the amount of sacks he took,” Dillingham said. “Sam wants to be perfect all the time. He wants to be the best … I think his game will naturally elevate this year because of the work he’s put in, but I don’t want him to think about those things. I want him to go play his game because he’s a phenomenal football player.”

Leavitt will have a plethora of new options to spread the ball to this time around. With Skattebo out of the picture, tailbacks Kyson Brown and Raleek Brown return alongside Army transfer Kanye Udoh. Kyson Brown earned the starting role after an excellent fall camp.

“He’s no longer just a fast guy,” Dillingham said of Brown. “He’s a fast guy that is 200 pounds. What gives me confidence in him is that if the ball’s in his hands, I know he’s going to give everything he’s got, because that’s all he’s done for three years. If it works, great. If it doesn’t, I can sleep really well at night knowing that kid poured everything he could into the program.”

Wide receiver Jordyn Tyson, whose bond with Leavitt has only grown since last fall, will be the top option once again, hoping to build off a breakout 2024 that ended prematurely due to a broken collarbone against Arizona. Tyson made 75 catches for 1,101 yards and 10 touchdowns last season.

Behind Tyson is a flock of new faces. Fresno State transfer Jalen Moss has primarily worked with the starters throughout camp. In two seasons with the Bulldogs, Moss caught 103 balls for 1,269 yards and 10 touchdowns. He will also be a punt returner for the Sun Devils after earning All-Mountain West honors as a special teams player last season.

Malik McClain sat out 2024 after transferring to Tempe from Penn State. He made a pair of big catches in the postseason for ASU, including a 42-yard touchdown catch, thrown by Skattebo, in the Peach Bowl against Texas. Jaren Hamilton, a transfer from Alabama, showed flashes in camp as a speed threat on the perimeter. Tyson, McClain, Moss and Hamilton all secured starting roles on the first depth chart of the season.

The defensive side of the ball brings back 10 starters, losing only safety Shamari Simmons to the NFL. Defensive coordinator Brian Ward brought in a trio of experienced players to add to the secondary: corners Nyland Green and Kyndrich Breedlove from Purdue, and safety Adrian Wilson out of Washington State. Breedlove and safety Montana Warren have battled throughout camp to replace Simmons at the nickel.

The biggest point of emphasis has been attacking the quarterback. ASU’s pass rush collected just 24 sacks last season. Each of the starters return along the defensive line that was the best against the run in the Big 12 last season. Defensive tackle C.J. Fite earned All-Big 12 preseason honors, and he believes the cohesiveness amongst the unit will lead to more pressure on opposing quarterbacks.

“We have a lot to work on still, but we made an emphasis on (pass rush),” Fite said following a recent practice. “What you make important will start to grow. Being used to the guys and having that chemistry with everybody, you know who’s rushing next to you. You learn more about each other and feel comfortable on the field. I think that plays a big role, but also the work we put in and the mindset we have with the pass rush.”

The same could be said for ASU’s defense as a whole. With almost every player returning and having more time together, Ward feels his side of the ball is connected enough to compete with anyone in the country.

“It all works together,” Ward said, “everybody doing their one-eleventh, and understanding why we do the certain things that we do is really critical.”

Special teams are in a much better place than a year ago, particularly at the kicker position. After an October loss at Cincinnati, Dillingham publicly called for open tryouts for a spot as the team’s new kicker after a pair of misses in the fourth quarter. Now, Eastern Michigan transfer Jesus Gomez has instilled supreme confidence in his coach with the power of his left leg. Still, don’t expect Dillingham to back down from a challenge on fourth down.

“We’re still going to be aggressive on fourth down,” Dillingham said. “It’s a positive for our football team that we’re going to play this game aggressively, as if we’re going to be successful, not as if we’re scared to fail. But are we going to be able to kick a 52-yard field goal on a fourth-and-six and feel good about it? Yeah, very good.”

Dillingham isn’t looking past Saturday when Northern Arizona rolls into Tempe to kick off the 2025 season. Brian Wright is entering his second season leading the Lumberjacks. In year one, he took NAU to the program’s first FCS playoff game since 2017 and finished the season ranked No. 22 in the FCS. Similar to ASU, many players from last season’s successes return and could challenge the Sun Devils with some unique looks.

“Both sides of the ball create a lot of pre-snap confusion,” Dillingham said about NAU. “They do a really good job of making you communicate. Their goal is to slow opponents down by forcing them to communicate constantly. Double backs on offense, reverses FIB (formation into boundary) formations back to regular, unbalanced defensively. How many times can they make you communicate? I think that’s a philosophy that they use on all three phases.”

The Sun Devils will line it up before a massive crowd at Mountain America Stadium, energized by the new horizons set by the team and coaching staff. After incessant chatter and gossip since January, now is the time for Dillingham and company to back it up.

“The excitement in the Valley is real,” Dillingham said. “It’s what I hoped it can become, but it’s not where it needs to be yet. We’re always growing. We’re always trying to become better and bigger and set a higher standard. I think that’s the key. You’re never satisfied. You’re always hiking, you’re always climbing.”