ASU football receiving more enthusiastic responses from transfer portal
Dec 10, 2024, 5:34 PM
The winter transfer portal opened in college football on Monday, and Arizona State head coach Kenny Dillingham presented a new pitch to 15-20 players over the phone.
Dillingham, after his first season in charge, sold prospective players the chance of building a winning program after consecutive three-win seasons. Many didn’t believe his case, but those who bought in have contributed to one of college football’s most dramatic turnarounds.
The selling point has changed with ASU having won the Big 12, reaching the College Football Playoff and only three wins away from a national championship.
RELATED STORIES
“It’s not a hope, it’s an action, like it’s happening,” Dillingham told Arizona Sports’ Burns & Gambo on Monday. “Now, when I call a guy … It’s a little bit different, really. ‘Oh yeah, I was hoping you’d call. Oh man, I’ve been watching you guys.’
“I told our staff, it’s really easy right now to get lost in all the things and forget why we’re successful, and that’s bringing the guys with the right mindset in here. You can’t just look at the talent and say, let’s add this guy. We still have to go through the same process we did last year to get the right guys into this program.”
Dillingham mentioned wide receivers in particular have shown an interest in joining the program and playing with redshirt freshman quarterback Sam Leavitt.
ASU football focused on retaining players
Player retention will be another key to ASU maintaining its talent level for next season, and Dillingham said the majority of the team wants to remain in Tempe. Even players who entered the portal on day one have the freedom to stick with the Sun Devils through the CFP.
Keeping players around will require continued community investment, Dillingham said. The Sun Angel Collective has seen a notable spike since the Utah win earlier this season, athletic director Graham Rossini told Arizona Sports’ Burns & Gambo last week.
“I think our guys like the environment here. They like each other. They love what’s happening,” Dillingham said. “Obviously, these guys are going to have to turn down some money in order to do this. It’s just one of those situations where these guys have an opportunity to do something special here, leave a legacy here. They already have but to build on that.
“If the value in the community can pour into these guys, and you know I hate selling and I always am selling the collective … but the reality is, these kids want to be Sun Devils, and they’re going to turn down money to do it, and my goal is to make them have to turn down the least amount of money, because that’s what’s right.”
ASU football hopes to become the next Clemson
The Sun Devils await the winner of Clemson and Texas in the first round of the CFP, a couple of blue bloods.
Arizona State will be the underdog, its head coach expects, and there is value playing with that edge. But the goal is to eventually no longer be overlooked or doubted — ESPN just ranked ASU last on a list of 52 all-time CFP teams.
Dillingham pointed out Clemson as a program he aspires to emulate, a team that consistently made bowl games and reached the AP top 25 but has soared to new heights in the last decade.
“Dabo Swinney took them in this last 15 years from a program that people (thought) they were good, to a program that was consistently competing for championships,” Dillingham said. “Every 10 to 15 years, some team shows up and becomes that generational team, and then they stay there.
“I think that could be Arizona State. I really do. I think Arizona State has the resources, has the ability, has the old school connection to a major city that’s deep rooted.”
The portal will remain open until Dec. 28, ahead of ASU’s Peach Bowl game on New Year’s Day.
