Arizona State won the Big 12 in the Sun Devils’ first year playing in the conference. It earned them a College Football Playoff berth.
Ask head coach Kenny Dillingham, and he might say ASU’s top accomplishment was getting the Big 12 preseason media poll canceled. Because he does not care about that poll not existing anymore — nor does he care about last season.
The Sun Devils, picked last in the 2024 preseason poll, made the exercise look silly by accomplishing so much. From before spring ball leading into 2025, Dillingham has been challenging his team to feel like they’ve accomplished nothing. It’s a new year.
“The reality is we’re zero and zero,” the ASU coach said from Frisco, Texas, on Tuesday. “The reality is there’s been a lot of teams in college football who have done what we’ve done, who have won one year and then come back to reality. We really didn’t do anything special. We did something that’s actually normal.
“What would be special would be to continue to build off of that. And that was the real challenge. How do we not become what normal teams in our situation do, which is fall back to where we’ve always been?”
Well, here’s what he and the Sun Devils at Big 12 media day, quarterback Sam Leavitt and receiver Jordyn Tyson, said about chasing something special in 2025.
1. How possible is it for Arizona State to replace Cam Skattebo?
Arizona State lost 1,711 rushing yards, 21 rushing touchdowns and 605 receiving yards from Cam Skattebo’s departure.
But they also lost a player who in two years at ASU passed, punted and gave the team the emotional juice to help define a downtrodden program’s upward trajectory.
Dillingham called Skattebo “irreplaceable” during an interview with Big 12 radio on Tuesday.
“We’re going to have to have somebody else be an emotional surrogate to our football team and just show that emotion and passion that our offense can get behind,” he said. “Then we’re going to have to have somebody make plays when the plays have to be made, somebody who wants their number called and if you don’t call their number, right, I’m going to have to go call them down. All right, if we didn’t call Scatt’s number in a critical moment, me and him were talking on the sideline. And that’s how I want it.”
Leavitt will be required to carry more of the load, throwing more often on first down and likely taking some of the emotional luggage as a team leader.
Functionally, Kyson Brown will return as ASU’s top rusher (351 yards) out of the backfield, Raleek Brown is healed from a hamstring injury that cropped up, allowing him to redshirt, and Army transfer Kanye Udoh is learning a more spread-style system.
“Obviously, we get Sipp (Brown) back,” Dillingham said. “He’s bigger, stronger, faster than he was last year. He looks very good in spring ball. … Raleek Brown’s a guy who showed up last year who had to medically redshirt because of a hamstring. He’s back to full strength. He’s also gained 20 pounds. He’s about 200 pounds now. … And then you got Udoh, who obviously transferred in.
“So, I think they all have a different skillset that they can provide to mitigate what we’re losing in Scat, because not one person can replace Scat.”
2. The defense has high expectations
It’s a significant loss for ASU to lose Shamari Simmons, a game-wrecker of a defensive back. But nearly the rest of the defense returns, and that has the coaching staff preparing to add complexities to their system because of the comfort level that’s already on the roster.
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“To return basically 10 starters on the defense and return 18 out of 22 guys in the two-deep on the defense, you could see the comfort in the system,” Dillingham said. “And it is going to allow us to be a little more versatile this year than it was last year schematically. So I thought that was a huge plus for us.
“I feel really good about how we’re going to be able to evolve and change,” he added. “We struggled when we got teams into passing downs. So we’ve worked all offseason on how to create pressure on the quarterback, how to create match-ups with the fronts and how to move the fronts around. So, that’s what I’m excited about.”
4. Jordyn Tyson’s confidence is a key
Dillingham has continuously cited an Oct. 5 game against Kansas as the big step for Leavitt and his top target in Tyson.
The momentum kept building until Tyson was ruled out of the Big 12 title game and Peach Bowl against Texas due to a collar bone injury.
Leavitt has Big 12 Preseason Offensive Player of the Year expectations hanging over him, and Tyson is likewise viewed as one of the best NFL prospects at his own position. So now it’s on them to prove the hype correct.
“I learned that I’m really stronger than I think,” Tyson told ESPN. “I learned that I can really face everything full head of steam and be perfectly fine. I learned I can come back from anything and, shoot, that’s just a testament to everybody on our team, for real.”
With Skattebo out, Leavitt likely will see more aggressive pass-rushing tactics across the line of scrimmage. So Tyson’s availability and improvement will play a factor in providing him an escape valve.
“I think JT has really taken what (receivers coach Hines Ward) has said in terms of preparation and what it takes to be successful at the next level and he’s really embodied that,” Dillingham said.
“His preparation to be great is something that I’m super proud of and because of that he’s gained over 10 pounds, and he’s a mile and a half faster than he was this time last year because he’s preparing like a pro, and there’s not anybody else better to show you what that looks like than a guy like Hines Ward at that position.”
5. Dillingham is already making opposing coaches put on the special teams tape
If Dillingham had one slip-up last year, it was an instance of publicly criticizing his kicking unit after a loss. For that, he’s already apologized.
Asked about what he can improve, he cited his involvement with that unit.
“Special teams is something we need to improve upon. You know, I want to be more aggressive,” Dillingham said. “I think giving up play calling, getting into that world of special teams, I feel like I can help a lot more like I do on offense and defense. … And one thing that I think is there for the taking is more fakes. I mean, I don’t care if our opponents know it. … The success rate of fakes are so high that more fakes need to be called on the punt team, on field goal. I only think it helps your special teams as a whole.
“You just got to be prepared that when it doesn’t work and you (media members) tell us how bad of a decision that was. You got to be OK to be like, ‘Yeah, that was dumb.’ Right? Even if it wasn’t, you got to be willing to accept it and take the blame.”
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