Too-early projected starting lineup for ASU football for 2026

Arizona State will open its fall football camp at the end of the month, as two-deep roster units start locking into place around the country.

ASU will have to find the identity of a largely new-look group, following the departure of most of the core that established head coach Kenny Dillingham’s culture in his first few years leading his alma mater’s program.

That begins at quarterback, where Kentucky transfer Cutter Boley is the favorite to win the job in a competition that also includes veteran transfer Mikey Keene, true freshman Jake Fette and the room’s lone returner, Cam Dyer.

After diving into what Boley has to do to separate himself on Tuesday, here’s a look at which other starting roles are likely solidified and which still need to come together before the Sept. 5 opener against Morgan State:

Too-early projected starters for Arizona State

STARTING DEFENSE

Defensive end — Clayton Smith, redshirt senior

Smith played 1,435 snaps on ASU’s defensive line over the previous three years with 13 sacks and 18 tackles for loss to show for it. He landed on Bruce Feldman’s Freaks List ahead of last season and spent much of this spring taking snaps at wide receiver, but it’s TBD whether we’ll see that in game packages.

Defensive line — C.J. Fite, senior

One of three players on the roster entering their fourth college season with each at ASU (Kyson Brown, Montana Warren), Fite is the leader of this year’s squad after spurning NFL consideration.

Defensive line — Zac Swanson, redshirt senior

This spot likely would’ve gone to MyKeil Gardner if not for his second ruptured Achilles in as many years. Swanson is a former Brophy Prep standout who began his college career at Texas, but injuries limited him to 28 total snaps in 2025 after he had 274 during the Big 12 title run in 2024.

Defensive end — Jalen Thompson, senior

Thompson had 13 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks over three seasons at Michigan State, including a productive freshman campaign (4.5 TFL, two sacks and two passes defensed in eight games) with now-ASU DL coach Diron Reynolds coaching him.

Baylor transfer Emar’rion Winston is another name to know on the defensive line, as he’s arguably among the four most talented linemen and has the versatility to play on the interior or edge.

Linebacker — Owen Long, junior

Long led the FBS in tackles at Colorado State last season (151) and his instincts for the ball showed up from Day 1 of spring ball.

Linebacker — Martell Hughes, junior

He started to break out last season as a true sophomore and tallied 39 tackles, two for a loss, two interceptions and two passes defensed.

Cornerback — Rodney Bimage Jr., redshirt sophomore

It’s been tough for Bimage to find snaps the last two years behind Keith Abney II and Javan Robinson, who have moved on to the Detroit Lions and Wisconsin, respectively. He allowed just five catches on 12 targets across 107 coverage snaps in 2025.

Nickel — Adrian “Boogie” Wilson, redshirt junior

In the wake of Xavion Alford’s season-ending injury, Wilson’s production (57 tackles, six passes defensed and one interception) arguably saved what could’ve become a disaster for the ASU secondary last season.

Strong safety — Montana Warren, redshirt junior

Greatly familiar with the Brian Ward defensive scheme entering his fourth season, Warren provides the physicality and length needed to thrive in the box.

Florida International transfer Jessiah McGrew could factor in as someone with length (6-foot-2) who had 67 tackles, four interceptions and four passes defensed as a true freshman.

Free safety — Lyrik Rawls, redshirt senior

Rawls will likely be in his third Big 12 starting safety role, starring at Kansas in 2025 after spending the previous four seasons at Oklahoma State. He had 73 tackles (including four games with at least eight), seven passes defensed and one interception last season.

Cornerback — Ashton Stamps, redshirt junior

Stamps, a 6-foot LSU transfer, was second in the SEC with 12 passes defensed in 2024 when he allowed completions on 58.9% of his 56 targets (439 coverage snaps), but the transfer addition of eventual top-10 NFL Draft pick Mansoor Delane and others cut his playing time in 2025.

STARTING OFFENSE

Quarterback — Cutter Boley, redshirt sophomore

It may be a short leash for whoever wins the job, as the competition in the room has been tight. Fette may develop quickly enough that it would be tough to keep him off the field.

Running back — Kyson Brown, senior

Brown entered 2025 as ASU’s starting running back before a nagging ankle injury and the emergence of Raleek Brown derailed those plans.

He has a lot of talent to fend off between returning underclassmen like Jason Brown Jr. and Demarius Robinson as well as FCS transfers Marquis Gillis and David Avit.

Wide receiver — Reed Harris, redshirt junior

The Boston College transfer looked every bit of his 6-foot-5, 217-pound frame during spring ball, using his physicality and timing to separate for catches no matter how good the coverage is.

Wide receiver — Omarion Miller, senior

Miller led the Big 12 in yards per catch (18.0) last season at Colorado when he posted 808 yards and eight touchdowns. He’s continuing to follow the path of Jordyn Tyson, who hosted Miller on his visit to Boulder before getting developed by WR coach Hines Ward in Tempe.

Wide receiver — Raiden Vines-Bright, sophomore

Vines-Bright returns to the Valley after leaving Corona Del Sol High School for IMG Academy his final year of high school. He went on to catch 24 passes as a true freshman at Washington.

Three of the five most productive wide receivers from 2025 return: All-Big 12 honorable mention Derek Eusebio (22 catches) as well as Jalen Moss (16) and Jaren Hamilton (seven).

Tight end — Khamari Anderson, senior

Anderson suffered a lower leg injury in one of the final spring sessions, but Dillingham expects him to be cleared near the start of the season, if not in time for it. True sophomore A.J. Ia will be a factor as well, especially in passing situations.

Left tackle — Jarmaine Mitchell, junior

Mitchell was the top junior college prospect regardless of position, one that Georgia sought in part due to his 6-foot-8, 310-pound size. OL coach Saga Tuitele has already helped turn one former juco lineman into an NFL Draft pick with Max Iheanachor, and Mitchell could be the next.

He’ll have to beat out Tillman Leadership Council member Jalen Klemm, who’s entering his third year with the program and is further removed from a stroke he suffered ahead of the 2024 season.

Left guard — Maki Stewart, sophomore

There’s not a more cemented member of the starting offensive line than Stewart, as the 6-foot-5, 360-pounder graded out as the best run blocker on the team as a true freshman while allowing just one sack across 129 pass-blocking snaps.

Center — Tana Alo-Tupuola, redshirt junior

The Georgia Tech transfer rarely, if ever, had snapping issues throughout spring camp.

Right guard — Rob Lapuaho, redshirt freshman

The young blocker has a chance to beat out two players who saw extensive time in 2025 — Wade Helton and Makua Pule — but this one isn’t settled by any means.

Right tackle — Champ Westbrooks, redshirt sophomore

Another position that’s waiting to be locked down, Westbrooks has developed well since he arrived in 2024 as a 275-pound freshman.

Oklahoma transfer Luke Baklenko, who got starter reps at Stanford, is his biggest competition for the job.

STARTING SPECIALISTS

Kicker — Carson Smith, redshirt senior

A longtime pupil of special teams coordinator Jack Nudo at previous stops Austin Peay and East Carolina, Smith’s impact on the ball in spring was comparable to that of Jesus Gomez last season. His accuracy might be ahead of his power at this stage.

Punter — Kanyon Floyd, junior

Floyd played most of 2025 while dealing with a quad injury. He’ll have to fight off Australian and Ohio State transfer Nick McLarty, who got off big kicks in spring from his 6-foot-7, 255-pound frame but things weren’t as smooth once into the team setting.

Kick returner — WR Jaren Hamilton, redshirt junior

Because of the talent in the receiver room that will likely see Hamilton’s offensive snaps dialed back, this may be the best way to consistently utilize the speed that earned him the nickname “Turbo.”

Punt returner — WR Cory Butler Jr., sophomore

Miller may have gone viral during the spring for his one-handed punt returns above the head, but coaches will likely want to keep his snaps to the offense. Enter Butler, who Dillingham once said is the rare case of someone with a higher GPA than their 40-yard dash time.

Hamilton could also get looks here.

Long snapper — Tyler Wigglesworth, redshirt senior

He transferred ahead of last season from NAU and got 49 long-snapping opportunities across ASU’s final six games.

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