Del Valle’s Jake Fette (1) takes a touchdown during a game against Franklin on Friday, Sept. 5, 2025, at Del Valle High School in El Paso, Texas. Gaby Velasquez / El Paso Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Kenny Dillingham Praises Elite 2025 Quarterback Signee

Originally posted on Arizona State Sun Devils on SI
By Kevin Hicks | Last updated Dec 9, 2025 2:00 PM ET

TEMPE -- The Arizona State football program has officially received a key reinforcement at the quarterback position over the last week, as senior Jake Fette officially put pen to paper and signed to the program after being committed since September of 2024.

Fette - a senior at Del Valle High School in El Paso, Texas - is ironically located where the Sun Devils will be playing their final game of the season in the Sun Bowl against Duke on December 31.

This coincidence, combined with the cloudy future of incumbent starting QB Sam Leavitt, has opened the lane to make the four-star prospect a center of discussion - head coach Kenny Dillingham had nothing but praise for Fette, joking that the signee can now be talked about openly in Sun Bowl media availability Monday.

Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Fette Receives Unrequited Praise

The third-year head coach had nothing but great things to say about the rising senior - pointing to Fette's commitment to the program, his consistent leadership, and the work ethic he holds, among other factors as to why the crown jewel of the 2025 recruiting class is valued.

"The want to be here is really important to me. You got to want to be somewhere. You got to be where your feet are. And I think he's going to be where his feet at, where his feet are when he gets here. On top of that, his mindset, he's an unbelievable leader his team. You know when he walks into a room, you know he's the leader of the group.

People swarmed to him on his official visit. The players swarmed to him. He was the center point of it, one of the center points of it. Then you look at his athleticism and his talent, and that speaks for itself, you know, but and then his character, who he is as a person, his work ethic, all that stuff, how he was raised. So there's so many things that lead me to believe that I have so much faith in him in the future, just because of who he is as a person."

Fette has widely been labeled as an optimal fit in Dillingham and OC Marcus Arroyo's offensive system, being predictably compared to Leavitt in many of these discussions.

Fette's strong arm, decisive nature, and athleticism are all major positives, as well as potential reasons as to why he may challenge to start as a true freshman in week one of the 2026 season.

Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Read more on why the Arizona State men's basketball team will exceed expectations in the 2025-26 season here, and on why the bright future of the football program isn’t dimmed by the loss to Arizona here.

This article first appeared on Arizona State Sun Devils on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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