Arizona State's 2025 football recruiting class is turning heads

Kenny Dillingham had a lot of obstacles stacked in his way when he accepted the job as football coach at Arizona State. First and foremost was the NCAA investigation into recruiting violations courtesy of the previous regime.

A slew of injuries at just about every position resulted in a 3-9 overall record in his debut season. But Dillingham's efforts on the recruiting trail are starting to pay off. The Sun Devils have picked up 13 commitments for the 2025 cycle — eight of those coming in the last five weeks. That has ASU ranked as the No. 12 recruiting class and first in the Big 12 by both 247Sports and Rivals.

The class is currently ranked ahead of the likes of Georgia, Oregon, Florida State and Michigan. Yes, there is a long way to go and things could change before recruits actually sign their letters of intent. But the number and quality of pledges show Dillingham and his coaching staff have made significant strides and their message is resonating with prospects.

To put that into context, six of the 16 teams in the Big 12 have three or fewer commitments. Texas Tech the only program other than ASU which has reached double digits in pledges.

"We're trending, absolutely trending. People want to be here," Dillingham said. "I was talking to somebody the other day about, this is not a fallback plan. There are people all over the country wanting to be here. This isn't, `Let me go to check out things and see if I'll fall back here.' Oh no. Oh no no no. This is a place that I take a lot of pride in. And a fall back plan is not one of those. This is not a fall back plan for me, this was the plan. And we're going to sign people here that this is their plan, 100%. And that's what we're going to be filled with. A roster of people that are 100% committed to this. To getting this city behind this program and to get it where I think this place can go."

ASU received two pledges on Thursday — one from interior offensive lineman Maki Stewart out of Millikan High School in Long Beach, California and the other from offensive tackle Rob Lapuano out of Salt Lake City West High School. The current haul includes four linemen, which is a position the Sun Devils have had to rely on the transfer portal in the past.

The highest ranked recruit thus far is wide receiver Adrian Wilson out of Weiss High School in Pflugerville, Texas. He's one of three recruits ASU has from that state. Safety Xavier Skowron of Texas City is another. He made a visit while ASU was in spring drills and committed that weekend. Defensive coordinator Brian Ward and recruiting coordinator Isaiah Williams were his contacts.

Skowron is already familiar with a player on the team after competing in 7-on-7 with true freshman Rodney Bimage.

"I love his energy and his passion and it seemed like he really enjoyed being around his players," Skowron said of Dillingham. "It felt like a home and I could see myself playing there for a lot of years."

The Sun Devils have hit California particularly hard with five recruits from the Golden State, including four from Southern California.

Dillingham has also doubled down on trying to keep some of the state's top players at home with two locals among those commitments. High school players and coaches were out in large numbers at many of the team's recently concluded spring practices.

"We have a lot of kids that grew up a fan here and they're saying why not? That's only the beginning. We're 18 months into this process," Dillingham said. "We're starting to get people to understand. The other day I saw a taxi cab that said Activate the Valley on it. I'm like, that's what this is about. It's a community of people that all have to get behind this cause to get this place where we all know it can go."

Here is the list of pledges so far:

WR Adrian Wilson (6-0, 170), Weiss HS, Pflugerville, Texas: Four-star by 247Sports. and Rivals. No. 16 at his position nationally, 27 in state by 247Sports. Has 24 offers, Oregon, Oklahoma, Penn State among them. Visited ASU April 19.

TE Aaron Ia (6-5, 240), Orange Lutheran HS, Orange, Calif.: Ranked 36th in the state, No. 20 nationally at position by 247Sports. Has 28 offers including Notre Dame, Miami and Florida State. Visited ASU April 30.

S Rylon Dillard Allen (5-11, 165), Mountain Pointe HS, Phoenix: Ranked No. 4 in the state, No. 33 at his position nationally by 247Sports. Has 12 offers with USC and UCLA among those. Visited ASU April 19.

S Xavier Skowron (5-10, 180), Texas City HS, Texas City, Texas: Ranked No. 84 at safety and No. 155 in Texas by 247Sports. Visited ASU April 11. Has 12 offers, including Arkansas and Mississippi.

CB Dajon Hinton 5-10, 175), Saguaro HS, Scottsdale: Ranked No. 6 in the state and No. 67 nationally by 247Sports. Can also be impact player on special teams. Has 15 offers with Iowa State, Oregon, Washington and Tennessee among them.

CB Joseph Smith (5-11, 170), Legacy of School Sport Sciences, Spring, Texas: No. 68 at his position and 115 in the state by 247Sports. Was early commit, doing so last August. Has 15 offers with Utah, Michigan State and Purdue among them.

IOL Maki Stewart 6-6, 290), Milikan HS, Long Beach, Calif.: The No. 74 recruit in California and No. 55 nationally at his position. Totaled 17 offers, with USC, Florida State, Txas A&M and South Carolina among them.

QB Michael Tollefson (6-1, 195), Tustin HS, Tustin, Calif.: Was the first pledge in the group and a four-star prospect. No. 37 recruit in California and No. 29 at quarterback by 247Sports. Picked ASU from 23 offers which also included Georgia, Florida State, Washington and Oregon.

LB Isaiah Iosefa 6-1, 190), Waipahu HS, Waipahu, Hawaii: No. 8 recruit in the state and No. 101 nationally by 247Sports. Visited ASU April 19 and picked the Sun Devils from six offers which also included Washington, Oregon State and Fresno State.

S Benjamin Alefalo (6-1, 190), Orange Lutheran HS, Orange, Calif.: No. 78 at his position nationally and No. 75 in California by 247Sports. Visited ASU April 19 and has 13 offers with BYU, Florida, Penn State and Washington among them.

IOL Matai Jefferson (6-4, 350), St. John Bosco, Bellflower, Calif.: Ranked No. 92 in California and a product of one of the nations premier high school programs. Visited ASU April 19. Other offers included Texas and UNLV.

OT Alema Iosua (6-7, 292), Bishop Gorman HS, Las Vegas: No. 10 player in the state and No. 104 nationally by 247Sports. Other offers include Arizona, Washington and Hawaii.

OT Rob Lapuaho (6-6, 330), West HS, Salt Lake City, Utah: Ranked No. 16 in state and 104 nationally by 247Sports. Other offers included Oklahoma State, Utah and Iowa State. Visited ASU on April 26.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona State 2025 football class among the best in the nation