Big 12 move will enhance ASU football's efforts at recruiting in Texas

Arizona State football coach Kenny Dillingham has had a carefully crafted plan since the day he arrived. He added Bryan Carrington as his defensive backs coach, not just because he was a young dynamic coach with whom his players could relate, but for his roots in Texas too.

The same could be said for running back coach Ra'Shaad Samples.

Texas has a long talked about tradition, particularly when it comes to high school football, and ASU has had success getting players from there in the past. But a presence in the state is more important than ever with the Sun Devils headed to the Big 12 next season.

There will be 16 teams in the Big 12 next season, four of those from the state of Texas. Now, ASU will be going head-to-head with its conference foes for the top prospects. It is trying to set the tone now.

ASU currently has 16 players on its roster from Texas, including six from the 2023 recruiting class. While there has already been a presence in the state, expect the Sun Devils to expand on that.

The Sun Devils already have secured pledges from 17 recruits for the 2024 cycle, six of whom hail from Texas. Three of the school's four pledges for the 2025 cycle are also from Texas, with two of those commitments coming a day after the seismic announcement of the move to the Pac-12.

"You have to adapt. I’d like to say I had a plan, since if you’ve noticed how we’ve been recruiting in that region of the country since I’ve been here," said Dillingham, at 33, the youngest head coach at a Power 5 program. "I knew that was an option and we made sure we diversified where we were recruiting in this class, that way we were ready for whatever decision was made.”

"That was a big reason we brought them in was their football acumen but then their relationships in the region and knowing there was a chance this could happen and we wanted t make sure that we had a plan regardless of where we were in which is why I was never worried because I knew we had a good plan regardless."

Carrington came to ASU from TCU where he served as offensive analyst and recruiting coordinator for a program that made it all the way to the College Football Playoff semifinal last January. He was also previously on the staff at Texas from 2017 to 2020, during which time he was twice recognized by 247Sports in its College Football's Rising Stars 30-Under-30. In 2018 and 2019, as the Longhorns' director of recruiting, he helped produce back-to-back Top-3 recruiting classes in the nation.

He's noticed a different vibe in the week that the change of conferences has been announced. In the days of social media, you have to have a campaign and this one has been dubbed #Texas2Tempe with the coaches using that each time they get a commitment.

NCAA rules prohibit a coach from commenting on any recruit who has not officially signed but Carrington says he has gotten positive feedback from prospective players.

"There's a lot of new juice with us getting in the Big 12. I can't be more excited as a position coach, especially somebody that has roots in Texas. Before I was just pushing the opportunity to play in a Power 5 conference outside of home, in the West," Carrington said. "Now you have the opportunity to play a game at Baylor, a game at Texas Tech, a game at Dallas, areas where coach Samples and I have a lot of ties so now we have the opportunity to take Texas to Tempe on a world tour."

Among those who will join the fold next season when the change of conferences takes effect is defensive lineman Mason Fleming out of Manvel, Texas, a suburb of Houston. He made his commitment in June, long before the move even seemed like a possibility.

The others are wide receiver Elijah Baesa out of Mesquite, cornerback Chris Johnson out of Aledo and cornerback Tony-Louis Nkuba out of Lewisville, all neighboring areas of Dallas-Fort Worth. Also committed are cornerback Rodney Bimage out of Dickinson and athlete Zechariah Sample out of Fulshear, near Houston.

"It's really pretty exciting to think about being able to play in front of my friends and family," Fleming said. "I just trusted the process and really believed ASU was the best place for me before this (alignment) all happened but have talked to other guys and we have texted each other and I definitely think guys are going to be taking a serious look (at ASU) now."

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The two commitments that came over the weekend, both from 2025 cycle recruits, came from safety Joseph Albright out of Westfield High School in Houston and cornerback Joseph Smith out of Legacy School of Sport Sciences In Spring, also near Houston.

Dillingham says the next step is to establish a footprint in other areas, most notably Oklahoma. While the University of Oklahoma is departing to the SEC, Oklahoma State remains a top contender in the Big 12. But he says while there is an increased focus there he won't be paying any less attention to California and Arizona.

"It (conference move) definitely allows us to go into different homes that maybe didn't want to come play for us because of the region where we would play away games now us traveling to Texas, traveling to Oklahoma," Dillingham said. "We need to recruit Oklahoma now. We definitely have to get more aggressive in that region of the country but we're going to recruit Arizona and we still have to recruit California."

"This just made the world a lot smaller for those kids in Texas when it pertains to Arizona State," Carrington added. "I don't think it's going to slow down any time soon. Now in Big 12, you have to have a footprint in Texas or you're going to get beat by that team in Texas at Jerry's World if that's where the championship game still is. Excited about the future and there's a lot more to come."

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona State football looks to expand footprint in Texas after Big 12 move