Offensive portal addition grades: How did Arizona State stack up in the NCAA transfer portal?

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The valley was not different than any other region in college football.

Kenny Dillingham got a pay raise and a staff salary increase at Arizona State, but he still had to shop in the transfer portal to reshuffle his roster for next season. The Sun Devils lost some talented players to the portal and upcoming NFL Draft, yet Dillingham’s excellence pulled in 23 names from the portal. Some guys will be day one starters, others will be marquee contributors, and the rest will serve as quality depth pieces. The hope is for the add ons to contribute in some way to having fans in Tempe (Ariz.) capture a Big 12 Championship and get back to the College Football Playoff. Dillingham is ready to return to work after an 8-5 season in 2025. A breakdown of projected grades from ASU’s offensive portal additions is below.

Quarterback (2): B

Sam Leavitt’s transfer portal departure was huge, but ASU set itself up with a nice quarterback battle in the spring.

Cutter Boley (formerly of Kentucky) and Mikey Keene (formerly of Michigan) both have experience. Boley did not have much of an offense around him — aside from running back Seth McGowan — yet he tossed for 2,160 yards and 15 touchdowns.

He has to cut down on his turnovers — 12 interceptions in 2025 at Kentucky — but Boley will have a better cast of wide receivers to target for the Sun Devils. Keene, a native Chandler, Ariz., returns home to make an impact after spending a year at Michigan, two years at Fresno State, and two seasons at Central Florida. He was nearly a two-time 3,000-yard passer in his time with the Bulldogs (2023-24), while carrying a 23-7 touchdowns-to-interceptions ratio in two years at UCF (2021-22).

It will be interesting to see who carries on the playmaking ability of Leavitt, but both have potential.

Running Back (2): C+

Arizona State had a Heisman finalist at running back (Cam Skatteboo) in 2024 and Raleek Brown was a 1,000+ yard rusher last season.

It is not easy to replace that level of production, but David Avit (formerly of Villanova) and Marquis Gillis (formerly of Delaware State) will try. Avit brings 1,610 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns in his time at Villanova. The 6-foot, 225-pounder amassed five 100+ yard rushing performances in his career. Gillis was a 1,000+ yard (1,150) back in 2025 at Delaware State with seven rushing touchdowns on a career-best 6.3 yards per carry. He also caught 11 passes — including one for a touchdown.

The dynamic will be how will two small school backs adjust to power four college football, but it will be intriguing.

Wide Receiver (3): A+

Wide receiver is the area on offense where the Sun Devils became deadly in the portal.

Coach Dillingham grabbed three day one starters in Reed Harris, Omarion Miller, and Raiden Vines-Bright.

Harris is a physical specimen at 6-foot-5 and 217 pounds. The former Boston College standout averaged 23 yards per catch in two seasons (2024-25) with the Eagles, including 28.6 yards per reception as a freshman in 2024. He caught 39 passes last season for 673 yards and five touchdowns. Harris concluded his time in the Atlantic Coast Conference with 56 catches for 1,159 yards and nine scores. He stretches field with his frame and routes, while having the body control and hands to make plays.

Miller is smaller than Harris at 6-foot-2, but his speed is second to none. He stepped up in the absence of Travis Hunter to become Colorado’s leading receiver in 2025. Miller totaled 45 receptions for 808 yards and eight touchdowns.

He had 21 receptions for 450 yards receiving and two touchdowns combined in his first two seasons.

Vines-Bright is a homegrown talent from Tempe, Ariz. Arizona State got a gift in getting the 6’1″ and 200-pound weapon to leave Washington and return home. Vines-Bright had 24 catches last year for 238 yards and a touchdown.

All three bring something different to an offense that looks to be explosive in the fall. ASU also brought in two tight ends from the portal — Anthony Miller (Tulane) and Kristian Ingman (Portland State) — that could be helpful on offense.

Offensive Linemen (2): A

Arizona State found two gems on the offensive line that are true positional players.

Luke Baklenko, a transfer from Oklahoma, is a true offensive tackle. The 6-foot-6, 313-pounder has long arms, an exceptional base, and starting experience at right tackle. He made 14 starts at the position through 16 games in 2024, logging 646 snaps.

Baklenko assisted the Sooners to a 10-2 record in 2025, making the College Football Playoff.

Tana Alo-Tupuola, a transfer from Georgia Tech, is a true center.

Tupuola guided the Yellow Jackets to success in back-to-back seasons, including a 9-4 finish in 2025. He anchored a front under Brent Key that made Georgia Tech a dominant rushing team with Jamal Haynes and Haynes King.

King had his best two seasons as a passer at Georgia Tech with Tupuola, garnering a touchdown-to-interception ratio of 28-8.

Placekicker (1): A

A field kicker does equate to offense and Dillingham got him a kicker from the portal.

He replaced Jesus Gomez, who made 73.3 percent of his field goals (22/30), with Carson Smith from Austin Peay. Smith bounced back from a tough season in 2024 to make 82.4 percent (14/17) of his kicks last season. He connected on all 53 of his point after touchdown attempts, scoring 95 points. It is always good to have a weapon in the kicking game that can score.

Stephen M. Smith is a writer for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X via @CoachingMSmith.

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