ASU’s Kenny Dillingham showed promise in Year 1, but he still has much to prove
TEMPE, Ariz. — Someone recently asked how coach Kenny Dillingham should be graded after his first Arizona State season. That’s difficult to answer.
The Sun Devils finished 3-9 for the second consecutive season, making this the program’s worst two-year stretch in nearly eight decades. Previous coach Herm Edwards and an NCAA investigation into program recruiting had a lot to do with this . It led to a roster overhaul, a 2023 postseason ban and fan outrage.
Dillingham and his staff were left to clean up the mess, a near-impossible task. After Arizona State’s first game — a narrow win over Southern Utah — it was difficult to find another win on the schedule. That the Sun Devils beat Washington State and UCLA — and took Washington to the wire in Seattle — was a minor miracle, especially with their injuries on the offensive line. That says a lot about Dillingham and his energy, but not everything.
Many answers won’t surface for another season or two. That’s how football works, especially in this case. The fist year is always about culture. Arizona State fans will hate this example, but it took Arizona coach Jedd Fisch three seasons to build a strong roster and achieve bowl eligibility . Arizona State’s program didn’t completely bottom out as Arizona’s did (the Wildcats lost a Pac-12 record 20 games in a row), but the Sun Devils should face a similar timeline. For now, here are three things we learned about Dillingham:
— He’s creative. With freshman quarterback Jaden Rashada benched for disciplinary reasons and Trenton Bourguet falling ill before last Saturday’s kickoff, Dillingham again found himself in a difficult spot. On Arizona State’s first series, he used tight end Jalin Conyers and running back Cameron Skattebo at quarterback, opening with seven consecutive running plays that ended with a touchdown. While this type of creativity is best used in small doses, Dillingham this season had no other choice. It will serve him better in the future.
— He’s accountable. In a profession of misdirection, Dillingham is a truth-teller. He doesn’t sugarcoat. He doesn’t make excuses. The Sun Devils have suffered through brutal losses this season, and Dillingham’s message never strayed far from the need to get better. After Saturday’s 59-23 loss to rival Arizona, he asked a simple question: “You think I like coming up here and talking about how we just lost our Territorial Cup? It’s miserable.”
— He understands the Valley of the Sun. More importantly, he understands the Arizona State fan base. Dillingham knows the program has die-hards, those who bleed maroon and gold, but he also knows that fan support here has been a significant hurdle. A lot of this has been pinned on Edwards and f ormer AD Ray Anderson , but the issue goes deeper. (The game day atmosphere, for example, was lacking long before Edwards stepped out of the ESPN studio.) Dillingham this season pointed out several times how much help the program needs in regard to name, image and likeness compensation. It all goes back to his unofficial slogan: “Activate the Valley.”
This explains Dillingham’s response Saturday when asked what his plans were for the next two weeks. He said his staff would go out recruiting. He planned to fundraise. “That’s the name of the game nowadays,” he said.
Sports fans here often take a wait-and-see approach. They don’t commit during rebuilds. They don’t have much time for potential. Mostly, they just wait for success. Just look at the Arizona Diamondbacks, Dillingham said. During the regular season, they ranked 20th among major league teams in home attendance. But once the baseball team caught fire, advancing to the World Series, the atmosphere at Chase Field became electric. Phoenix became a baseball town . Dillingham said he believes the same can happen for Arizona State football. This hasn’t happened in decades.
“I’m from here, so I can say anything I want about the Valley, right? Because I’m one of them. I’m talking about myself,” Dillingham said before cutting to the hard truth. “We’re frontrunners. We love watching winners. Well, the hard part in college athletics (is) what comes first — the support comes first.”
The worst part about this season was that Dillingham never got to do what he might do best — develop quarterbacks. Over his coaching career, he has had a hand in turning Oregon’s Bo Nix (at Auburn) and Florida State ’s Jordan Travis into two of the nation’s top quarterbacks. Nix may win the Heisman Trophy . Before suffering a season-ending leg injury , Travis positioned Florida State for a spot in the College Football Playoff. Meanwhile, during Dillingham’s first season in the desert, Arizona State struggled to field a healthy quarterback.
A talented freshman, Rashada started the season’s first two games, then missed the next nine with a knee injury. He was scheduled to start last Saturday against Arizona but was benched for most of the first quarter after arriving late to a meeting.
Overall, Rashada played in three games. Notre Dame transfer Drew Pyne , who might have started the opener had he not injured a hamstring during a preseason scrimmage, played in two. That left program veteran Bourguet to do the heavy lifting, but he battled health issues as well, everything from a leg injury to a stomach bug, the latter keeping him sidelined for last week’s rivalry game. This forced Dillingham to think outside the box, using misdirection and odd formations to try to level the playing field. It had its moments.
Next season we will find more. If the Valley responds to Dillingham’s “Activate the Valley” challenge. If Arizona State can upgrade its roster. If Rashada becomes the next great quarterback to blossom under Dillingham.
“We’re heading in the right direction, the support is headed in the right direction, we just have to slowly get better,” Dillingham said of Arizona State’s NIL collection efforts. “When we get the support right ... once this place gets rocking, it will never fall again.”
(Top photo: Bruce Yeung / )
