Toughness and Physicality remain as primary expectations for the Sun Devils
College football is back in the Valley of the Sun, as the reigning Big 12 champion Sun Devils began their 2025 fall camp this Wednesday, with the Aug. 30 season opener against Northern Arizona looming exactly a month later. Arizona State head coach Kenny Dillingham has repeatedly called for the program’s 2024 success story to be thrown in the rearview mirror, with all eyes pointed forward, but he knows the foundation established in an 11-3 record can serve his squad well this upcoming season.
ASU enters the fall with a roster that is almost 80% identical to the one it started 2024 with, returning 17 starters on both sides of the ball, along with dozens of proven depth players across every position group. This premise sets up for a 2025 season where Arizona State is unquestionably talented enough to be mentioned as a Big 12 championship contender.
For Dillingham, running it back with the majority of last season’s key players makes all the difference in a robust and unpredictable era of NIL and the transfer portal. It’s a line of thinking that defies the importance of traditional recruiting in the college football sphere.
The Sun Devil head coach made headlines during Big 12 Media Day earlier this month when he said, “Recruiting in college football is dead. Retaining is alive.” The statement sparked national discourse about what NIL and the transfer portal truly mean for high school and college players across the country.
“Retaining the guys you recruit and not losing your top two guys after two years is the real value,” Dillingham said today, elaborating on his previous comments. “There are so many ways to get players on your team. I think that’s the biggest difference now. Before, the only way you built a team was to sign high school kids. Now you may never have to play them; they could’ve been lied to, they could be a freshman, he may not receive that money, and he’ll be in the portal, and then he can come play for you.”
Dillingham’s press conference also allowed him to address expectations heading into this year’s fall camp. Offensively, redshirt sophomore quarterback Sam Leavitt has positioned himself as one of the country’s top signal callers. Last season as a first-year starter, he registered 2,885 passing yards, 24 touchdowns, and just six interceptions. Leavitt not only posted impressive stats but also led the Sun Devils to the conference championship and the College Football Playoff quarterfinals while operating under play-calling restrictions meant to aid the young quarterback, as offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo simplified the scheme to avoid overloading the young quarterback.
But with Leavitt now proving he’s ready for more complex game plans, the leash will be off in 2025, a move Dillingham believes will actually make things easier for Leavitt, allowing him to build his own rhythm rather than improvising under pressure.
“In my opinion, we actually hindered him more than we helped him last season because we said, ‘Hey, go fix it on second and long or go fix it on third and long,’” Dillingham explained, pushing back on the notion that Leavitt had an “easier” role in 2024. “What I think you saw from Sam last year is somebody who had to fix a lot of problems in bad situations.
“This year, I hope we put him in more positions to be successful on early downs, which will allow him to stay in rhythm and allow him to be a better quarterback on those long-yardage situations.”
Staying on the offensive side, ASU bolstered its arsenal of weapons around Leavitt, as these additions were necessary to replace a handful of senior departures following the 2024 season.
This includes four transfer wide receivers and another at tight end, all of whom arrived here in January. Dillingham’s expectations for the newcomers are the same as for the returners, emphasizing toughness and competition to earn a spot between the lines on game day.
“I like to say (tight end) is like the Draymond Green,” Dillingham described, alluding to the four-time NBA champion. “If you get a really good one, they can play power forward and guard a center and bring the ball up when needed. I think a good tight end can put his hand in the dirt and block a defensive end and win a one-on-one in space versus a linebacker. I like the way that position is headed because it’s versatile.
“Toughness, from wideouts to corners to D-line to O-line, I want to see guys whoop the person’s butt in front of them. I want to see people get blocked into a corner like Jordyn (Tyson) did last year, and I want to see guys catch the ball consistently. At the end of the day, football is about catching the ball.”
On the flip side, ASU’s defense is nearly identical to the unit it fielded last season, with outgoing senior nickelback Shamari Simmons being the only starter not returning. Because of that continuity, expectations are elevated for what defensive coordinator Brian Ward’s group can accomplish.
Much of the spring dialogue centered on what layers, or “wrinkles,” as Dillingham describes them, could be added to disguise coverages and confuse offenses pre-snap.
But when asked about those wrinkles, Dillingham reeled the conversation back, saying his focus is on building upon the established foundation without losing sight of the big picture.
“You look back at who we are, we’re a three-weak match-man team at the boundary. Every football team we face knows that. You look at the Texas game, we played our best football when we just played how we do,” Dillingham noted. “Our guys came to the sideline and said, ‘Keep calling it,’ because they had so much confidence.
“I think just because you’re back doesn’t mean you need to change or get cute. I think you double down on what you’re good at, then you add wrinkles.”
Beyond X’s and O’s, fall camp offers a valuable chance for the team to bond before a grueling campaign begins. As part of that process, the Sun Devils, following their August 5th session, will continue their long-standing tradition of traveling 98 miles north to Camp Tontozona, a forest-surrounded campground with a football field at its base.
Established by legendary ASU head coach Frank Kush in 1959, Camp Tontozona serves as a mid-camp retreat from the Tempe heat to break up the monotony of practicing in the same location each day. The camp presents its own set of unique challenges. Cell service and Internet connection are often poor, and players sleep in cabins on bunk beds with up to 20 teammates in a room. But the nights are spent around campfires, eating hot dogs and sharing stories, as team bonding and character development come to the forefront.
Without fail, players leave Camp Tontozona with lasting memories, something Dillingham values as much as wins on Saturdays.
“We’re about to have a team meeting,” Dillingham remarked, “and one of the things we’re going to talk about is what are the goals of the team, and one of the goals is going to be: create memories and relationships that last forever. That should be the goal of every single season, to leave with memories and relationships that last forever.”
Camp Tontozona also offers an opportunity for individual reflection. In 2023, Dillingham began a new tradition, as players write letters to their future selves after the grueling hike of ‘Kush Mountain.’ The notes are stored in a time capsule and read the following year when the Sun Devils return to Camp T.
Those goals, much like the hike, are meant to encourage players to dream bigger than they thought was possible. In Dillingham’s opinion, the hike epitomizes what makes Camp Tontozona an invaluable part of preseason prep.
“This will be the second year they’ve gotten to read their letters, so it’ll be interesting what some of the guys wrote going into last season,” Dillingham said. “My goal is that they didn’t achieve their goals in the letters. I hope they read those letters and there is something in that letter that they didn’t achieve. Because at the end of the day, your goals should be so high they should be laughable.”
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