Arizona State Report Card: Kenny Dillingham

It's no secret that Kenny Dillingham has emerged as one of the biggest stars in the football world since taking over as head coach of Arizona State ahead of the 2023 season.

Roster Management: A

Dillingham's roster building strategy has worked from day one despite a rough first season - replace outgoing transfers with incoming counterparts, and do the same with outgoing seniors/incoming freshman.

That has resulted in a balanced roster that features impact players at all class levels - and has opened the door for a significant amount of returnees on 2025 in what should be a strong example of what continuity can do for a football team.

Dillingham has done an exceptional job at managing a roster that exceeds 100 players.

Coaching Hires: A

Perhaps one of the most crucial parts of the job Dillingham has done has been the hires that he has made to round out the coaching staff.

Beau Baldwin as offensive coordinator in 2023 is the only tangible miss thus far - Dillingham corrected course with the hiring of Marcus Arroyo last spring. That hire has obviously paid dividends thus far.

The retention of Shaun Aguano as running backs coach, onboarding of Bryan Carrington as cornerbacks coach, and surprise selection of Hines Ward as wide receivers coach are just a small handful of the choices that have been made that have paid dividends for the outlook of Sun Devil football.

In-Game Coaching: A-

Dillingham has self-admittedly made some errors in-game over two seasons in the job - namely his decision to not score a touchdown to go up two scores on Brigham Young in a game in November of last year.

His great decisions have fortunately far outpaced the questionable ones at the end of the day, and his in-game adjustments have become renowned in the last two seasons.

All credit to Dillingham for his unique approach and general steadfast wisdom.

Culture Building: A+

This is possibly the single most important piece of the 35 year old's tenure in Tempe.

Numerous players have made points to praise the inviting and challenging culture that Dillingham has built - current DL Zac Swanson even went as far to say that the Arizona State coaching staff helped him rediscover a passion for the game.

The fanbase is engaged, the roster is bought in, and the nation is now focused on the Arizona State Sun Devils - much of it is due to Dillingham.

Overall: A

Self explanatory. Dillingham is once-in-a-lifetime coach and the Arizona State program is fortunate to have him - hopefully for the long haul.

Read more about Dillingham's eventful off-season endeavors here and here.

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