Kenny Dillingham generating strong class in first season heading Arizona State football team
The 2023 season isn't even underway yet and the Arizona State football team is already generating some buzz —around 2024.
The Sun Devils already have 17 verbal commitments with the team yet to start fall camp. That's significant progress over the previous years.
The 2023 class consisted of 20 players, but three of those were community college additions. With more than four months left before the December signing period, the Sun Devils should surpass that tally.
The 2022 class consisted of only 12 players, six of those community college transfers. Of those 12, only four are still in the program.
The 2021 class wasn't a blockbuster either. It was comprised of 13 athletes, just five of whom are still around. It was the worst class in the conference by multiple recruiting services. The yet-to-be-resolved NCAA investigation into recruiting illegalities had much to do with that. The lackluster recruiting classes led the previous regime to rely heavily on the transfer portal.
But the energy and enthusiasm of first-year head coach Kenny Dillingham seem to be paying off.
ASU has four top-100 commits from the football-crazed state of Texas, with wide receivers coach Bryan Carrington and running backs coach Ra'Shaad Samples responsible for leading the efforts there. The top Texas recruit ASU has landed by most metrics is three-star wide receiver Elijah Baesa (Mesquite HS), who was the first pledge of the class, having committed in February.
Also among the pledges are three top-100 recruits from California, two top-50 prospects in Louisiana, two top-20 prospects in Arizona and the No. 1 prospect in Oregon in tight end Jayden Fortier (Tualatin HS). The class currently ranks No. 42 overall and fifth in the Pac-12 by 247Sports and No. 35 by Rivals which has the Sun Devils fourth in the Pac-12.
Dillingham cannot comment on any particular athlete that has not officially signed so he talked in generalities about what he has been looking for in a session with the media head fall camp which opens on July 31.
"We're going to recruit people that want to be here. That's the No. 1 thing about our philosophy. There are no tricks, no gimmicks, no promises. In the world of NIL, there's zero NIL talk at all because I want people that want to be here," he said. "This is a special place. I have a passion for this pace. When people walk into this building they better have a pride about it. They better have a passion about it because I do."
Dillingham said not having a track record as a head coach to put out there for prospective recruits hasn't been an obstacle.
"I don't sell. I don't say if you come here you're going to accomplish this because, in reality, I can tell you what I think I've done in the past and what our offense has done in the past but anybody that comes into this program is going to have to work their butt off and the level of success they have is not based on what I do. It's based on what they do," he said. "So all we're doing is giving them the opportunity to showcase themselves in a great place to live with hopefully good people around them, coaching them and helping them be successful in life. It's their job to put in the work. Learn. Study and they'll be successful. That's what they have to do. I'm not the magic wand that creates this magical player. It's the players' job to put in the work to become successful. So that's the vision we sell. We're going to give you the platform for you to put in the work to become successful."
Dillingham has doubled down on the first comments he made when appointed head coach late last fall, that he wanted to recruit local talent. He and his coaches have made stops at area high schools and gotten out in the community.
Such efforts have led to commitments from five Arizona players, most notably Desert Mountain's Dylan Tapley, the No. 11 ranked prospect in the state by 247Sports who made his commitment in April, the same day the Sun Devils played their spring game. The most recent Arizona commitment came from wide receiver Plas Johnson, out of Chaparral, Dillingham's alma mater.
While Dillingham wants to keep local talent close to home, he acknowledges that some want to go away and experience something new, which he understands.
"I'm focusing on people that want to be here and people sometimes confuse that for Arizona kids. I want Arizona kids if they want to be here but I have no issue if an Arizona kid wants to go experience other things. You have to go experience other things in life," he said.
"I've actually told a kid in this year's class, 'Don't come here. You shouldn't come here. I can tell in your eyes you need to go experience something else. I can see it in you.' If I had pushed I probably would have been able to get him here but it wouldn't have been the best fit for him. I want kids that want to be here. Would I love that to be the top players in the state? Yes. Would I love to win, set a precedent to help these kids be successful and those guys flock here? Yes. But only if they want to be here."
Moore: Arizona State football coach Kenny Dillingham's message: Go hard or go away
Pac-12 Media Day approaching
The annual Pac-12 Media Day marks the kickoff to the season. The event is slated for Friday at Resorts World Las Vegas, a move from Los Angeles which had traditionally hosted the event. The move makes sense with the departure of USC and UCLA at the end of the next school year.
Each head coach will address the media and will be accompanied by two players. Dillingham is scheduled to address the media at 2:10 p.m. and is bringing along tight end Jalin Conyers and nickel back Jordan Clark, both returning veterans.
Arizona will be the first team up at 10:30 a.m. with head coach Jedd Fisch bringing quarterback Jayden de Laura and cornerback Treydan Stukes.
Quarterbacks will be a focus as among the players selected by their coaches to attend include Caleb Williams of USC, Bo Nix of Oregon, Michael Pennix of Washington, Cam Rising of Utah and newcomer Shedeur Sanders of Colorado, son of new Buffs head coach Deion Sanders.
Asked what he thought of the event coming up he responded, "I'm looking forward to it being over," the reference meaning the time spent there taking away from things he still needed to do closer to home. The coach did say he was looking forward to seeing Nix, as well as Oregon coach Dan Lanning, under whom he worked as offensive coordinator a year ago.
Arizona State football: Here's a list of Sun Devil high school recruits
Quick hits
Dillingham praised the offseason work of wide receiver Jake Smith and offensive lineman Aaron Frost, both of whom missed the balance of spring drills with injuries. He added that two other newcomers, offensive lineman Ben Coleman and wide receiver Jordyn Tyson are still working their way back from ailments that have sidelined them. They are the only players not expected to participate when camp opens.
The team will return to Camp Tontozona Aug. 10-12 and Dillingham stressed the importance of time for his team to bond. "I want kids to put their cell phones down. They're going to have to do this thing called hang out. They're going to do it without a cell phone. Do it without a television, without a video game. They're going to do it with a deck of cards, a Jenga set, dice. And they're going to hang out and talk to each other and build relationships."
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona State football recruiting for 2024 class set to surpass 2023
