Sun Devil football enters its initial year in the Big 12 in 2024. Take a look at a roster breakdown by position here as the preseason predictions start to arrive. You can click here for some great behind the scenes action of coach Kenny Dillingham as he prepares for his second year with more than 50newcomers -- including 30+transfers -- in a new league that he says is full of great coaches. The second-year head coach remains the youngest head coach in college football. "What I learned is I've got to trust the people around me to do football more, and I've got to remove myself a little bit from that and not get as involved in game weeks. Just because I love it so much, it's why you start coaching. But now that my role is different, that's one thing I learned, I've got to remove myself a little bit. I have to trust if I ask someone to make Italian food and he makes chicken parmesan, that I'm going to like the chicken parmesan. I didn't want him to make meatballs, and if I wanted him to make meatballs, I should have told him to make meatballs. And I have to trust that. I think that's the biggest thing I learned is I'm not the smartest guy in the room and to trust people." -- Coach Kenny Dillingham QUARTERBACKS (COACHED BY MARCUS ARROYO)
Trenton Bourguet is Mr. Sun Devil, and simply put one of best teammates in Sun Devil history. He has thrown for 3,091 yards and 13 touchdowns that includes 304-of-464 (.655) and of course, remains the last quarterback to beat Washington in a regular season game...senior transferJeff Sims played five games at Nebraska last year and had two starts and was 28-of-47 (.596) passing and rushed for 189 yards. He played three years at Georgia Tech (2020-22) and had 4,464 passing yards. In his freshman year he had 492 rushing yards and six touchdowns...sophom*oreSam Leavitt played in four games at Michigan State in his freshman season last year and was 15-of-23 for 139 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He was ranked the No. 1 overall player in the state of Oregon in the Class of 2023 by On3 and earned the Gatorade Oregon Football Player of the Year. Dad (Jared) played football at BYU and earned two letters for the Cougars (1990-91) and brother, Dallin, played football at Utah State (2016-17) and BYU (2013-14) and is has put togethera solid NFL career...freshmanChristian Hunt,Navi Bruzon andTyler Laskaris round out the quarterbacks. Bruzon was the Arizona Player of the Year at Liberty High School last year...the Sun Devils used four scholarship quarterbacks last year and had five players take the first snap at quarterback, including running back Cam Skattebo. TIGHT ENDS (COACHED BY JASON MOHNS) WIDE RECEIVERS (COACHED BY HINES WARD)
"I'm not against it. It's the worst three-year stretch in Arizona State history," he said. "Our job is to change it. We can either talk about it or we can read it and be pissed off about it and change it. But it's just not going to happen by people saying, 'Oh, that's not true.' Well, it is true. So if you want to change it, change it. That's kind of the message to the team. We want to get better. We want to grow every single day. There's not a win total. There's not a goal like that. It's just be the very best we can be at everything we do." -- Coach Kenny Dillingham on preseason predictions.
RUNNING BACKS (COACHED BY SHAUN AGUANO)
Cam Skattebo transferred from Sacramento State after the 2022 season and was fantastic in his first year atASU in 2023. He led the team with 788 yards rushing and nine touchdowns while catching 30 passes for 362 yards. Do we put him down as punter as well? He had eight punts for 42.5 yards per boot and had a 53-yarder. He also lined up in the Wild-Skatt and took snaps at "quarterback" as he simply did it all, and did it very well. Also best dime of the year might have been his 25-yard touchdown pass at UCLA to give the Sun Devils a 10-0 game they would eventually win 17-7...when healthy, DeCarlos Brooks was a difference maker as the senior from Chandler averaged 5.4 yards per carry and had three touchdowns on 48 carries. He also does free haircuts for kids...sophom*ore Kyson Brown had 106 yards on 23 carries and played in all 12 games, as the Barrett, the Honors College student was valuable on special teams in his true freshman season...quality depth is on the roster, starting withAlton McCaskillas an intriguing transfer. He played at Colorado last year, missed the 2022 season due to injury at Houston, but had a great freshman season at Houston in 2021. He played in 14 games, started the final 12 and had 189 rushes for 961 yards and 16 touchdowns to go along with 21 receptions for 113 yards and two touchdowns as he earned American Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year...USC transfer Raleek Brown-- a four-star prospect -- contributed in all 14 games as a true freshman in 2022. He rushed for 227 yards on 42 carries (5.4 avg) with three touchdowns and caught 16 passes for 175 yards (10.97 avg) with three touchdowns. He also returned kickoffs for USC. He had 24 returns for a total of 517 yards (21.54 avg) with a long of 40 yards to finish the season ranked No. 22 in the nation for combined kick returns...freshmanJason Brownwill get solid looks as well.
The Sun Devils will be counting on new faces at the tight end spot, led by junior transfers Cameron Harpole (San Diego State),Markeston Douglas(Florida State) and Chamon Metayer(Colorado)...Harpole -- from Prosper, Texas -- played in 11 games in 2023 for San Diego State and had seven catches for 69 yards and also played in nine games on special teams in 2022...Douglas played in 13 games at Florida State last season and had 11 catches for 136 yards and two touchdowns for ACC champions. He also played in 13 games in 2022 and had 14 catches for 190 yards and two touchdowns. He had
Jake Smith cannot wait to get on the field (you can listen to him here talk about it), as he can FINALLY play after transferring from USC. He appeared in seven games in the 2020 shortened season at Texas with six starts and had 23 catches for 294 yards and three touchdowns. He played in all 13 games as a true freshman at Texas in 2019 and had 25 catches for 274 yards and six touchdownsas he was the 2018 National Gatorade Player of the Year while at Notre Dame Prep in Scottsdale...
?? NEW PODCAST ??
Through injury, adversity—and the NCAA—ASU WR Jake Smith is back home & driven.
He opens up about his journey on @SotDPodcast.
Stream: https://t.co/h6HPbaF6ug
Apple: https://t.co/XAoTEThZnh
Spotify: https://t.co/2OnJ6d3afq
YouTube: https://t.co/U1lIL2p25o pic.twitter.com/wzqTgAhXsn— Brad Denny (@BDenny29) February 19, 2024See AlsoTeam Rankings - 2024 NMPreps 3A New Mexico High School Football Rankings and Season PreviewUNM football: QB Devon Dampier says the game is starting to slow downAggies football: Previewing the 2024 season with a look at New Mexico, WyomingYellow Jackets Picked Fifth in RMAC Football Preseason Coaches’ Poll - Black Hills State University Athletics
OFFENSIVE LINE (COACHED BY SAGA TUITLE) "Last year we had two guys who could squat over 600 pounds. Now we have six. Last year we had, I think it was 44 guys on our team, squat 400 pounds. Now we have upwards of 65, somewhere in the 70s. So our size and strength of our football team was something that we focused on. Now that we've kind of hit our summer goals from that perspective, I'm excited to see it translate to football."-- Coach Kenny Dillingham EDGE (COACHED BY CHARLIE RAGLE)
Leif Fautanu transferred from UNLV andplayed almost every snap and was the only offensive lineman to start every game. He was as clean and efficient as an offensive lineman can be...Emmit Bohle-- all 6-7 of him -- is back after sustaining a season-ending broken leg in the second game against Oklahoma State. That was the first of many injuries as 10 starting offensive line combinations were used. Want more on Emmit? Real good stuff here on this podcast...Max Iheanachor was emerging in the spring but was injured...sophom*oreSean Na'a started games last year at left guard and left tackle as a true freshman and worked at center in the spring. He had a great freshman year...Jalen Klemm transferred from Washington...seniors Ben Coleman and Cade Briggs are ready to have a great final season...juniors include Kyle Scott, Bram Walden, Josh Atkins and Colby Garvin...redshirt freshmen includeSirri Kandiyeli, Joey Sua (transfer from Arkansas), Keona Peat and Makua Pule...true freshman include Terrell Kim, Kaden Haeckel, Luis Cordova, Carson Keim, Connor Cameron, Semisi Tonga, and Champ Westbrooks.
Prince Dorba played three seasons at Texas and had a solid first year in Tempe in 2023. He had six sacks (2.5 vs. Colorado) and 14 solos and also had eight tackles vs. Fresno State...Clayton Smith transferred from Oklahoma and played in nine games last year and had 21 tackles with 5.5 tackles for a loss...Elijah O'Neal is poised for a great second season at ASU and has been a solid junior college addition...
?? NEW @SotDPodcast ??
— Brad Denny (@BDenny29) July 22, 2024Sacks, snakes, & leadership.
ASU DE Clayton Smith discusses his evolution, Texas-to-Tempe, the 2024 Devil D-line, & much more
Stream https://t.co/VsZSc1qXEu
Apple https://t.co/XAoTEThrxJ
Spotify https://t.co/2OnJ6d2CpS
YouTube https://t.co/sKLdAUNrsW pic.twitter.com/RdB9t0rUJW
INTERIOR DEFENSIVE LINE (COACHED BY DIRON REYNOLDS) --'I feel a lot more explosive': CJ Fite focused on fitness ahead of ASU season (by Chris Karpman, Sun Devil Source/June 13, 2024) --Getting to know: Martell Hughes (by Noah Furtado, 247Sports.com/Dec. 20, 2023)
Sophom*ore C.J. Fite has a chance to do great things after a solid freshman season...juniorJacob Rich Kongaika transferred from Arizona...seniorJeff Clark out of Louisville and Georgia State should be an impact transfer. He appeared in 13 games at Louisville in 2023 and had 14 tackles after playing three years at Georgia State...
LINEBACKERS (COACHED BY A.J. COOPER)
Senior Caleb McCullough is an old-school door-to-door Sun Devil...redshirt juniorZyrus Fiaseu led San Diego State with 66 tackles in 2023 and also had 5.5 sacks and five passes defended. He was named the Aztecs' MVP and defensive player of the year and had fifth-highest pass rushing grade from PFF among Mountain West linebackers (71.0)...Queen Creek'sKrew Jackson is back home after two seasons at Kansas State...junior transfer Keyshaun Elliott...junior Jordan Crook...if looking for solid and conistent, sophom*ore and local product Tate Romney is your guy..redshirt freshmanK'Vion Thunderbird and freshman Martell HughesandPrayer Young-Black.
SAFETIES (COACHED BY BRIAN WARD)
Shamari Simmons transferred from Austin Peayand made a great impact in 2023 with a team-high 73 tackles...senior Macen Williams is a door-to-door Sun Devil...Xavion Alford cannot wait to play...Adama Fall and Myles Rower both will see plenty of action. Rowserplayed at New Mexico State last year and had 70 tackles in 15 games after playing at Campbell in 2022 and earning FCS Freshman All-American. Heis proven player...Kamari Wilsonhas arrived from SEC land...look for Cole Martin to make an immediate impact. He starred at Chandler Basha before playing at Oregon but is back home. "You see intelligence. You see him be so patient on routes because he can see the release path. He sees what is coming, then he goes and plays it. Sometimes ot a fault, but you can't hurt a guy for being smart and recognizing route combinations...he's super twitced up, super athletic. Moves extremely well and really smart. I'm glad we have him. He has some dog in him." says Coach Dillingham about Martin...redshirtfreshmenMontana Warren, Jack Bal and Tommy Romano will challenge for playing time, as will Kyan McDonald.
This week's Starting the Conversation is with @ASUFootball DB Xavion Alford (@100YARDLANDLORD)
— Jordan Spurgeon (@spurge_) July 9, 2024He talked about mentally overcoming 2 years without playing a game, his strong faith, new NIL deals + more.
-----------
CORNERBACKS(COACHED BY BRYAN CARRINGTON)
Junior LSU transferLaterrance Welch played in 22 games in two seasons at Baton Rouge, including all 13 as a true freshman. He was ranked No. 97 coming out of high school by ESPN...redshirt sophom*oresJoe McGinnis II from Frisco, Texas and Washington State transfer Javan Robinson will get many chances, Robinson played in seven games for Washington State in 2023 and had 12 tackles after playing in three games in 2022 and redshirting. He had first career tackle and two stops against Fresno State in the LA Bowl
-----------
SPECIALISTS (COACHED BY CHARLIE RAGLE)
ASU will be replacing its kicker, long snapper and punter from last year...punters include freshmanKanyon Floyd and senior Race Mahlum...sophom*ore Ian Hershey and redshirt freshmanCarston Kieffer both will get a look at punting and kicking...kickerParker Lewis is a senior transfer from Ohio State...long snappers include sophom*ore transfer Tyler Wigglesworth (Northern Arizona) and redshirt freshman Cole Marszalek.
