Arizona State's Kenny Dillingham Gets Honest About Recruiting Practices

TEMPE -- The Arizona State Sun Devils football program is gearing up for a major test against the 6-1 Houston Cougars - this comes on the heels of an emotional win over a top 10 team in the country in the Texas Tech Red Raiders last week.

Part of the uniqueness of being a college football coach is that the program leader isn't only tasked with managing every aspect of operations - they are also expected to take part in recruiting practices.

Dillingham displayed creativity as a recruiter earlier this summer by gifting top recruits in the state of Arizona for the class of 2027 with "golden tickets" - which signified the players are of high priority to the program.

Two of the most conspicuous targets play for Basha high school (Chandler) in RB Noah Roberts and OT Jake Hildebrand - the pair are set to play in a massive game against Hamilton (Chandler) on Friday night.

Arizona State on SI asked Dillingham if he was planning to attend the game on Monday - the head coach presented a very strong, logical response.

What Dillingham Said

“I don’t know yet, it just depends. I usually don’t attend games (when ASU has) home games. I’m different than a lot of people, I’m about our football team, and it’s a game week, and it’s Friday, and if people that are from this state choose to come to this school then I’ll care about them. That simple. Just like I care about our football team... I will always focus, A, on the player that chose to be here, than B, the player who I want to be here.”

This is truly one of the areas that makes Dillingham completely different from many other coaches - the 35-year old doesn't mince words, makes it very clear where he stands when it comes to pointed topics, and will always welcome players that have a desire to join what is being built in Tempe, but will never beg to receive a commitment from anyone.

This is the type of coaching that drew stars such as Sam Leavitt and Jordyn Tyson to the Valley - players have bought into what he has sold, to the raw honesty, to the track record of player development.

The Sun Devils are on the precipice of having a breakout in-state recruiting class - the 2027 group just has to recognize the foundation that has been laid out and buy into the program's current status as legitimate College Football Playoff contenders.

Read more on why the Arizona State men's basketball team will exceed expectations in the 2025-26 season here, and on three major takeaways from the win over Texas Tech here.