Arizona State Football Preview 2026: Kenny Dillingham Keeps the Sun Devils Rolling
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It’s a nice thought when a school wants to hire a favorite son to be the head football coach, and it always scores easy points with the fan base and donors.
But it almost never, ever works like everyone wants it to. And then Kenny Dillingham becomes everything a program could ask for.
Kenny Dillingham Stayed, and Arizona State Will Stay Strong
Arizona State Quick Hits
- Head Coach: Kenny Dillingham (4th year, 22-17)
- Best Case / Worst Case: Win the Big 12 title/Struggle to be in the Big 12 race
- Key Player: Cutter Boley, QB Soph.
- 2025 Record: 8-5
- Biggest Question: Can the Sun Devils replace all the lost star production at the skill spots?
He’s young, he graduated from ASU, and he could’ve easily been the head coach at just about any of the massive openings this offseason. He stayed, and that matters.
But he’s building something, he likes where he is, and that rubs off on every other aspect of the program – he’s genuine.
Combine that with a method and style that keeps the energy up at all times – Arizona State never cheats anyone when it comes to effort – and through all of the turmoil in college football at the moment, there’s one thing to rely on.
The Sun Devils will always ball out.
– 2026 Arizona State Schedule Analysis
Arizona State Key 2025 Stats
- Blocked Kicks: Opponents 4, Arizona State 3
- Yards Per Carry: Arizona State 5.1, Opponents 3.6
- Fumbles: Arizona State 21 (lost 12), Opponents 11 (lost 7)
Offense
Marcus Arroyo was one of the hottest young names in the coaching business. He had the UNLV gig for a few years, moved over to ASU when Dillingham took the job, and it’s been a good run.
With former star quarterback Sam Leavitt banged up for a bulk of the season, and running back Cam Skattebo off to the New York Giants, the offense was still solid, averaging 417 yards and 26 points per game.
It could do better, but it’ll take a ton of new parts to make it happen.
What’s Working
Everything is wonderful when the running game works. It wasn’t nearly the killer of 2024, but the Sun Devil ground attack ran for over 200 yards seven times, and went 6-2 when running for over 150.
The two losses came in the wild bowl game against Duke, and the last-second gut-punch defeat at Mississippi State.
It’ll be a strength-in-numbers thing at running back. Top runner Raleek Brown is gone to Texas, but landing David Avit from Villanova was good.
Superstar recruit Cardae Mack should be special – even if he was mainly a high school quarterback – and several backups from last year are still around.
Wide receiver might be the strength of the transfer portal class. Reed Harris was a massive signing from Boston College to take over on the outside.
Colorado’s Omarion Miller is every bit as strong a transfer, and Raiden Vines-Bright is a tough veteran from Washington. Miller and Harris are devastating deep threats.
What Needs Work
Yeah, Arizona State did a wonderful job at receiver in the portal, but Jordyn Tyson was special – even though he missed time hurt – selected with the eighth overall pick by New Orleans.
Tight end Chamon Metayer was second on the team with 38 catches, and now he’s a Pittsburgh Steeler. And …
The backfield took a huge hit, too. Quarterback Sam Leavitt was one of the best players in the portal, and now he’ll blow up for Lane Kiffin in his LSU attack.
He was the third-leading rusher, and when he was banged up, Jeff Sims stepped in and became the second-leading rusher. Brown was the leading rusher and the third leading receiver.
Third down conversions. The 2024 offense was among the best in the nation on third downs – Skattebo had a lot to do with that – converting 46% of the time.
Last season, the Sun Devils were 120th in the nation, converting just 33% of the time, and only got to 40% three times.
Player to Watch
Cutter Boley, QB Soph.
Or Mikey Keene, who started out at UCF, left for Fresno State, and is an accurate option to challenge for the gig. He’s only around 5-11 and 200 pounds.
Boley is 6-5, 213 pounds, and can move a bit. As long as he keeps the interceptions to a minimum – he threw 12 last year for Kentucky – he has the upside to be terrific.
Defense
The defense cranked it up over the last three seasons since Dillingham took over.
Under defensive coordinator Brian Ward, the Sun Devils finished 92nd in the nation in total D in 2023, 38th in 2024, and a not-awful 57th last year.
Like the offensive side, the defense gets help from the transfer portal to keep it all going – there isn’t a lot of returning starting experience to count on.
What’s Working
The defensive tackles are good. CJ Fite is back at one spot, Zac Swanson is a good one at the other job if he can finally stay healthy, and there’s enough promising depth to create a solid rotation.
The pass rush should once again be among the best in the Big 12. It loses top edge rushers Elijah O’Neil and Justin Wodtly, but that’s where the transfer portal comes in. Jalen Thompson (Michigan State) and Emar’rion Winston (Baylor) will grow into terrors in the backfield.
The run defense will hold up again. Again, the defensive tackles are terrific, and the linebackers can move.
ASU went 8-2 last season when it held teams to 150 rushing yards or under, and one of those losses was the Mississippi State misfire.
What Needs Work
There’s not a ton of bulk inside. The Sun Devils are more about quickness and attacking than raw tonnage up front, but it wouldn’t be a bad thing to have a Coke machine who could sit inside.
Dillingham and his staff have a plan for everything, so the line is built by design, but there aren’t any 300-pounders.
The corners are a little thin. Top coverman Keith Abney II is off to the Detroit Lions, and now it’s all on the transfers. The difference here, unlike other spots, is that the new corners are more on projection than proof.
Ashton Stamps (LSU) and Caleb Chester (Texas) have the tools, but they have to come through right away.
The scoring defense has to rock. Yeah, of course you’re going to win a lot of games if you keep the other side from going off, but under Dillingham, 24 is a magic number.
The 2023 team lost 15-7 to a Washington team that played for the national title – that’s as forgivable as it gets. Over the last three years, the Sun Devils are 16-1 against everyone else they held to under 24 points.
Player to Watch
Owen Long, LB Jr.
For all of the good new players coming in, there might not be anyone more impactful than the 6-2, 230-pound Long.
He had a good first year at Colorado State – making 45 tackles in the rotation – and last year he was in on everything.
Long came up with 151 tackles with two sacks and five tackles for loss, and now he’s the man in the middle of the Arizona State linebacking corps.
Keys to the Season
- The offensive backfield has to be fantastic. The new starters have massive production shoes to fill.
- The kicking game needs to be better. The stats are off because the Sun Devils allowed too many blocked kicks, but the punting game wasn’t great. The spotlight is on new punter Nick McLarty (Ohio State) and placekicker Carson Smith (Austin Peay).
- Do everything right. There were too many penalties last year, too many special teams meltdowns, and not enough times when ASU won the turnover margin.
Player Who Needs To Shine
Kyson Brown, RB Sr.
There will be a rotation, but the last two main Arizona State running backs were Heisman finalist Cam Skattebo, and First Team All-Big 12 performer Raleek Brown. No pressure, Kyson.
Brown has been around long enough to be ready. Over three years, he ran for 563 yards, averaged almost five yards per carry, and caught 30 passes.
Biggest Concern
Flip the turnover margin around
The 2024 Sun Devils dominated the turnover margin, either playing even or winning it in each of the last nine games of the season.
On the year, they were +14, and only lost it in a tight win over Kansas and a tough loss to Texas Tech.
Last season, the Sun Devils were -6 in turnover margin, lost it in five of the last six games – going -12 over the six – and couldn’t stop giving the ball away.
Biggest Game
at Texas Tech, October 17
You want to get back on top of the Big 12 mountain, Arizona State? Knock off the champ.
The Sun Devils handed the Red Raiders their only loss of the season before the College Football Playoff last year, and the year before, lost in the Big 12 opener and had to fight their way up.
Transfer Portal
Arizona State won the transfer portal game, even though it lost quarterback Sam Leavitt and running back Raleek Brown.
The staff got lots and lots of playmakers who can step in and shine right away, and the bulk position losses were mostly rotational players or backups.
Best Signing
Reed Harris, WR (Boston College)
Call this a tie with fellow receiver Omarion Miller right there.
Harris averaged over 20 yards per catch with nine scores in his last two years at Boston College, and Miller averaged over 19 yards per grab on his 66 grabs over the last three seasons at Colorado.
Biggest Loss
Sam Leavitt, QB (LSU)
When it comes to top transfer quarterbacks, Darian Mensah was a slightly better signing, going from Duke to Miami, but Leavitt isn’t far behind.
He started at Michigan State, left for Arizona State, got the program a Big 12 title and a College Football Playoff berth, and now he should be a statistical star at LSU.
Other Names to Know
- Tana Alo-Tupuola, C (Georgia Tech)
- Luke Baklenko, OT (Oklahoma)
- Lyrik Rawls, S (Kansas)
CFN Season Prediction
Kenny Dillingham has dealt with tougher reboots than this, but the conference is slightly better than it was when Arizona State won the 2024 Big 12 title, and this year’s version has way too many moving parts to assume it’ll all come together immediately – and that’s an issue.
However, this is one of the best coaching staffs going at the moment. It’ll need to be just that good, considering all of the landmines on the schedule.
CFN Prediction: 8-4
There’s one tune-up game against Morgan State before going to Texas A&M. That’s followed up by a trip to London to deal with Kansas.
There’s no Houston, TCU, or Utah to face in the Big 12 this year – all three will be fantastic – but at Texas Tech, at BYU, a trip to Orlando to deal with an improved UCF, and at Arizona. That’s a lot of big games away from Mountain America.
But it’s Arizona State under Dillingham. It’ll find its way to another great season.
Related: Big 12 Football Win Totals 2026: Spring Predictions for All 16 Teams
This story was originally published by College Football News on Jun 10, 2026, where it first appeared in the College Football section. Add College Football News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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