Sun Devils' Defender Sounds Off on Special Program

The whispers of Arizona State becoming a blue blood in college football are getting louder.

When ASU head coach Kenny Dillingham made the statement that he believes the Sun Devils can become a blue blood like Oregon or Clemson, it was met with confusion.

It was almost like people were saying, “Relax, you won the Big 12 one year, it could be a one-off.”

But the vibe surrounding the Sun Devils is a whole lot different.

On Wednesday, sixth-year defensive lineman Justin Wodtly was seen gushing over this program and how far it’s come. He even got an Arizona State pitchfork tattooed onto his leg.

He said with a never-ending smile, “It was really an easy decision to make. Being around here, this is pretty much the most fun I’ve had with college football in my long six years. As you can see, I like tattoos as well. Just having the opportunity to add that shows how much this program, this group of guys, and this city really means to me.”

That says a lot about Wodtly, who spent his first four years in college playing for Cincinnati before transferring to Arizona State in his fifth year.

After one season in Tempe, getting a pitchfork tatted on you is a big deal. It shows what kind of program Dillingham is building—getting loyalty from guys who’ve only been with him for a year.

But Wodtly wasn’t finished. He believes in Dillingham so much that he’s backing those bold statements his coach made months ago.

“Coach Dillingham is a young head coach with a lot of great energy and he’s on the rise,” he said with fall camp starting next week. “And with all the different changes in college football, I feel like (ASU) is definitely trending in the right direction to become one of those powerhouse names in college football.”

Currently, the Sun Devils are the favorite to win the Big 12 again, and if they pull off another conference championship, there’s certainly room for a discussion about whether ASU is approaching blue blood territory.

The big key will be how the new wave of talent performs.

Once Sam Leavitt and Jordyn Tyson leave for the NFL, how can Dillingham and his staff best leverage the future players of this program into perennial superstars?

Wodtly seems to think it won’t be a problem, and that the future in Tempe is now.