Kenny Dillingham Emphatically Praises Deion Sanders

TEMPE -- Kenny Dillingham's Arizona State Sun Devils are heading into the final two games of the 2025 regular season with an opportunity to reach the Big 12 title game after moving to 5-2 in league play.

The next roadblock in place is the Colorado Buffaloes - who currently post a 3-7 record and have little to play for other than seeing what freshman QB Julian Lewis has as the future of the program.

The struggles that head coach Deion Sanders has encountered in 2025 shouldn't blur what he has accomplished over the last three seasons - this is according to Dillingham in Monday's press conference ahead of the game.

"Yeah. I mean, it's pretty cool, if you're looking at it from his perspective, like he, you know, he's won 300% more games this year than the year before he took over. Pretty good. You know what I mean. So life's about relativity, so relative to what when he took over that program, that program is 300% better, not including what you just mentioned, just wins on the field.

So I mean, sometimes you got to put things in perspective. And I think he's done a great job there. I mean, people are talking about Colorado recruits want to go to Colorado. They've won, like I said, a high percentage more games with him than before him. So I mean, and He's battled a bunch, and just shows the type of person he is. You know, he's a fighter and a winner, and that's shown up at Colorado since he's been there."

Dillingham-Sanders History Exists

Sanders has praised Dillingham on numerous occasions, crediting the 35-year old for how he handled the recruiting of his son, Shedeur, when he was offensive coordinator at Florida State.

The respect has been mutual and public - the two also squared off in 2023 in what was a 27-24 Colorado victory in Tempe.

Upcoming Game Has High Stakes for Sanders

This is a major test for Lewis - the player that just might end up being the single most crucial player of the Sanders era in Boulder.

The former five-star recruit was tabbed as the starter at the QB position for the remainder of the season and excelled against West Virginia.

Now, Lewis faces an Arizona State defense that has once again been incredible in creating game-changing plays over the course of the season. It will be fascinating to see how this test goes for Sanders and the freshman phenom.

Read more on why the Arizona State men's basketball team will exceed expectations in the 2025-26 season here, and on how the culture that has been cultivated by coach Dillingham showed up against West Virginia here.