Arizona State football is entering a new era under coach Kenny Dillingham, a coach who is a native of Arizona and back at his alma mater for his first head-coaching job.
The Sun Devils will open their 2023 season Thursday against Southern Utah at Mountain America Stadium, which is formerly known as Sun Devil Stadium.
Arizona State will not be eligible for postseason competition this season due to a self-imposed bowl ban. The Sun Devils are in the midst of an NCAA investigation into recruiting practices under former coach Herm Edwards.
Arizona State football has 78 new players on its roster for the 2023 season, which is the second-most of any FBS program, and has the No. 15 transfer class by 247Sports. The Sun Devils were picked to finish No. 10 in the Pac-12's preseason poll and are under the radar with no players named to the conference's preseason teams.
Here are the things you need to know about Arizona State ahead of its season opener.
New coach
The Sun Devils hired Dillingham, who is the youngest coach in a Power Five conference at 33 years old, in Nov. 2022. Arizona State was led by Edwards for the last four seasons (he coached four full years from 2018 to 2021 and then three games before he was dismissed in 2022), which was an experiment that was detrimental for the program.
Edwards and the Sun Devils compiled a star recruiting staff and appeared to be on track for some of the rosters in the program's history. Arizona State in 2021 was expected to be a Pac-12 title favorite but instead finished 8-5, an underwhelming finish that preceded Edwards' dismissal from the program after three games in 2022.
The Sun Devils finished 3-9 this past season, which was their worst record since 1946 and their first nine-loss season in program history. Arizona State also had its worst-attended football season since 1968 with an average announced attendance of 43,081, according to Sun Devil Source's Chris Karpman.
Even though Arizona State football has a new coach and direction from the program, the lingering fallout from the Edwards era has dampened excitement around Dillingham and his call to “Activate the Valley.” The recruiting violations, which stem from impermissible meetings during the COVID-19 dead period in 2020, forced the Sun Devils to implement a one-year postseason ban, which could have been done in 2022.
Here is what Arizona State athletic director Ray Anderson said in a statement.
“Arizona State University has informed the NCAA and the Pac-12 conference that it will self-impose a one-year postseason ban on its football program for the upcoming season. In light of the ongoing investigation and our membership obligation to maintain the confidentiality of the matter, we will not be commenting further at this time.”
The Sun Devils said in another statement they self-imposed a postseason ban to “help pave the way for program stability and greater clarity going forward.”
Dillingham, who has to suffer through restrictions that were not his fault or his players', has urged his team to move on and focus on their season.
“To me, the adversity is behind us,” Dillingham said. “It's like I told our team — I said we're going to give everybody one day, get your feelings out, including me, get it out, get it off the chest, get it out there. Let's move on. Because that's what it's about.
“To Sun Devil nation, it's, ‘Move on.' Let's move on, right? Let's show support for the team because that's what this is about. This is about the athletes. It's not about me, it's not about anybody else in the organization… This is about the 120 kids, 116 kids, that are on the football team. Right? Support them. Come out, support them, cheer, be loud. Show that it matters, show that you care, show that we're working in the right direction to get this place where everybody wants to go to.”
Dillingham is a native of Scottsdale, Arizona. He coached at Scottsdale Chaparral from 2007 to 2013 and was then an offensive graduate assistant under former Arizona State coach Todd Graham in 2014 and 2015.
Dillingham then followed former Sun Devil offensive coordinator Mike Norvell to Memphis, where he was a graduate assistant, quarterbacks coach and tight ends coach before he was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2018. Dillingham then served as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Auburn (2019), Florida State (2020-2021) and Oregon (2022).
Last season with the Ducks, Dillingham's offense with quarterback Bo Nix finished fourth in the FBS in yards per game (507.8) and eighth in points per game (39.7). Oregon finished 10-3 in 2022 with a 7-2 Pac-12 record.
Dillingham's coaching staff features multiple coaches who have ties to Arizona. Assistant head coach and special teams coordinator Charlie Ragle was head coach at Chaparral from 2007, when Dillingham was a student and started his coaching career, to 2011 and was most recently head coach at Idaho State. Defensive coordinator Brian Ward is a native of Glendale, Arizona, and served as defensive coordinator at Washington State in 2022.
Running backs coach Shaun Aguano and tight ends coach Jason Mohns are two of the best Arizona high school football coaches ever. Aguano was previously at Chandler (Ariz.) and led the Wolves to an 88-19 record and four state championships in eight seasons as coach. Mohns spent the past 11 seasons as head coach at Scottsdale Saguaro and compiled a 123-19 record, including six consecutive state championships from 2013 to 2018 and seven state titles overall. The Sabercats are now coached by Arizona State's offensive coordinator under Edwards, Zak Hill.
New-look roster
The Sun Devils have 52 scholarship newcomers on their 2023 roster. Arizona State returns just 29 scholarship players from its 2022 roster and had to replace key players, including former starting quarterback Emory Jones, offensive linemen LaDarius Henderson and Ben Scott, defensive lineman Omarr Norman-Lott, linebacker Connor Soelle, safety Kejuan Markham and cornerback Keon Markham.
For the second time in the last four seasons and the second time overall in school history, the Sun Devils will start a true freshman at quarterback, Jaden Rashada. Rashada was rated the No. 7 quarterback prospect and four-star recruit nationally by the 247Sports Composite. His father, Harlen Rashada, played for Arizona State from 1992 to 1994 as a defensive back.
The Sun Devils have new starters at quarterback, running back, receiver, left guard, center, right guard and right tackle offensively. Their defense includes new starters at every position.
Here is a look at Arizona State's depth chart for Southern Utah.
Rashada
Rashada was viewed as Arizona State's third-string quarterback for much of fall camp. He competed with returning starter Trenton Bourguet and Notre Dame transfer Drew Pyne, who started the final 10 games of the Fighting Irish's 2022 season.
Things changed when Pyne suffered a hamstring injury when the Sun Devils traveled to Camp Tontozona in Payson, Arizona. Rashada split with Bourget first-team reps in the following five practices, according to Sun Devil Source, before he earned the job.
“The most obvious area in which Rashada has an advantage over Bourguet — as well as Pyne — is arm talent…” Karpman wrote. “As a fifth-year college player, Bourguet is clearly ahead of Rashada in a number of areas, including schematic fluency, defensive coverages, pre-snap adjustments at the line of scrimmage, and understanding when and how to throw the ball away to avoid negative plays.
“Rashada is unlikely to do several things as well as Bourguet, but he has a better arm and can make a wider variety of throws. That is the main difference and must be viewed as the primary reason for ASU's decision to start him.”
Rashada is listed at 6-foot-4 and 185 pounds and has been compared by some to former quarterback Jaden Daniels. Daniels was a highly-touted prospect and had an impressive freshman season at Arizona State before he underwhelmed in 2020 and 2021.
Daniels had a tendency to leave the pocket and run before plays developed. Rashada, who also wears No. 5, is expected to be a player who will sit more in the pocket and be more patient with route development.
247Sports national recruiting expert Chris Singletary compared Rashada to Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff and projected him to be a future first-round NFL Draft pick.
“Stands tall in the pocket with the mobility to avoid the rush and buy time to make plays under pressure,” Singletary wrote. “Poised and does a nice job making plays off platform. Mechanically displays a smooth, effortless throwing motion.”
Since Arizona State cannot qualify for postseason play, it may decide to play Rashada as its starter for the full season in order to develop for the future.
“Drastic growth,” Dillingham said of Rashada's development. “If you watch him in individual drills, he's starting to understand why to take certain drops, when to take certain drops. And there's a suddenness about it. And that rhythm and that timing is what makes quarterbacks good.
“Today (Monday) was probably his best practice since he's been at ASU, in my opinion. So that's a testament to him, that's a testament to coach (Arizona State offensive coordinator Beau) Baldwin for preparing him.”
Season-opener notes
Arizona State is looking to extend its streak of 23 straight wins in home openers, which is the third-longest active streak in the country behind Florida (33) and Oklahoma State (27).
This would be the Sun Devils' 21st straight Opening Day win when the game is played at Sun Devil Stadium, which is known now as Mountain America Stadium.
Southern Utah preview
Southern Utah finished 5-6 in 2022 in its first season under coach DeLane Fitzgerald. It was the team's best win total since 2017 and was a big improvement from 2021, when it finished 1-10.
Arizona State played Southern Utah in its 2021 season opener and won the game 41-14.
Southern Utah forced 21 turnovers this past season and returns linebackers Kohner Cullimore and Aubrey Nellems, who ranked first and second on the team in tackles this past season.
Prediction and betting
Arizona State football lost its ability to play for the postseason, but its coach is insisting it has plenty to play for this season.
The Sun Devils are looking to turn the page from the Edwards era and toward a leader who has said he landed his dream job. The Sun Devils have an exciting quarterback who they could build around in the future.
Arizona State's staff has several connections to the state, so fans should have a connection to this year's team unlike years past.
The Sun Devils have a 95.5 percent projected win percentage for Thursday's game by ESPN. Odds are yet to be released by major publications but Arizona State is clearly the favorite Thursday.
Arizona State will have a test against an aggressive Southern Utah defense but the Sun Devils should play with great energy under their new coach.
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