Dillingham addresses second transfer portal wave, recruiting philosophy

When the former Oregon offensive coordinator took over at the end of November, he inherited a roster that needed major retooling. It was graduating valuable leaders and needed an influx of talent to remain competitive. Dillingham acquired that talent, bringing in nearly 50 newcomers via the transfer portal as well as prospects from the high school and junior college ranks. However, it also meant that in order to reach the competitive standard and culture Dillingham desires, scholarship decisions needed to be made about some of the players the old staff recruited.

“One side is fit in terms of not buying into the culture and not doing the things that we asked them to do in terms of accountability,” Dillingham said in a Friday press conference. “And that’s one side of it. And the other side of fit is – really, it’s not fit – we want to be honest with guys. If most kids in college football want to play college football, and after spring sitting down and telling guys, listen, you’re the ninth wideout, listen, you’re that eighth DB, listen, you’re the third or fourth defensive tackle, and that’s where you stand right now.

“If you want to stay here, great. We love your energy; we love your passion; you’re going to be a part of this. But if you want to play football, you’re down the depth chart. And I firmly believe in being honest with kids. It’s not a fun conversation, but it’s necessary because most people want to keep kids on their roster to maintain the depth.”

As of Friday afternoon, 12 now-former Arizona State players have entered the portal since it re-opened on April 15. Almost none of those players – outside of defensive tackle Robby Harrison – were projected to see significant time in a starting role or as a backup following spring practice evaluations. These personnel moves will also allow for more distribution of competitive reps for the rest of Arizona State’s incoming class slated to arrive over the summer in preparation for fall camp.

Some newcomers who arrived early have already impacted the depth chart. Freshman defensive tackle C.J. Fite looked dominant in the spring game, squashing several inside runs and gaining a sack on the opposing team’s final drive. Montana Warren also took advantage of opportunities at safety and nickel back, putting together strong performances using his length and ball skills in the scrimmages against more experienced players. Warren was able to earn playing time despite the arrival of Xavion Alford and Shamari Simmons from the transfer portal, who each managed to solidify a spot in the regular rotation at safety.

However, Dillingham does not expect every fresh face to be an instant impact player and said having a balanced roster is paramount to sustained success.

“Not every player we bring in is supposed to make an immediate impact due to the situation we were in, where our scholarships were allocated when we got here in terms of not having a lot of guys in the 2022 freshman class,” Dillingham said. “So usually, we have to balance our roster with enough youth. You can’t play 60 Guys, right? So, if you bring in 60 guys that anticipate to start right now, it’s gonna be hard for your culture to really wrap around that. So, you got to be really honest with the guys and recruiting. And then you got to build enough youth in there that it’s not 60 guys that are ready to play yet, or 80 guys that are ready to play yet. You can stagger your roster, so we’re in the process of doing that.

“In terms of was I surprised, happy with the guys brought in? Yes. And it’s a testament to our coaches in terms of evaluating guys from small schools, evaluating guys from big schools that never got an opportunity, right? There are always so many guys I’ve coached in the past that have been written off and said they’re not good, and they go and become top Heisman candidates. So, you got to find the right guys to bring into your growth program. And that’s the character piece. And I think that’s where I’m most pleased with, is we brought in guys with good character, and they have talent, otherwise wouldn’t have recruited him, but they have good character.”

A new NCAA rule enacted this year has allowed teams to have more than 25 players in their recruiting classes, a figure that includes both transfer portal additions as well as incoming freshmen and junior college transfers. ASU’s head coach admitted that with the monumental roster building project that awaited him, he is grateful for that rule taking place in his first year at the helm of the Sun Devil program, stating that “we’d be in trouble” if he were ultimately only allowed to add half of the number of newcomers that will be joining the team and still be closer the overall team 85-scholarship limit.

“Based off the old rules, we would have been two, three, maybe a four years away from getting back to 85,” Dillingham noted. “With the current day and age of college football with the transfer portal and the amount of scholarships we had, it would have been really hard for us to make up the 85 in the next two or three years. So that (new NCAA rule) definitely allowed us to get back to 85, and it allowed us to really to try to get some guys who fit the culture we’re trying to build. But it’s (the new NCAA rule) was essential.”

With those aforementioned players headed to the portal, the same vehicle that will naturally allow Arizona State to add players, Dillingham said that he and his staff have a priority list of position groups he wants to bolster before practices resume.

“The number may change,” Dillingham explained. “Right now, we need, an O-linemen, we need a D-lineman interior obviously, and we need a linebacker. Other than that, if somebody comes available that’s an elite player, then obviously we have enough room to take those elite players we’re building in enough room. Hopefully, those guys are younger. I would like to add if we add people other than those three that I just mentioned, I’d like them to be younger guys that maybe we can develop or maybe have three to four years left just because we need to fill in the back of our roster more.

“Based off the 2022 class and the lack of additions, we need to fill that void. So, I would say those three (positions) and then maybe one or two wildcards or some young pup.”

Dillingham has always maintained that his team at Arizona State will have the most fun in the country while simultaneously working the hardest. That mantra was on display in spring, with the 32-year-old coach implementing various competitions and one-versus-one opportunities. Whether it was a shooting basketball on the field or a dance-off in the end zone, Dillingham struck a balance in each practice between injecting entertainment and commanding his players’ attention.

These days, the coaching staff must bring that energy and sense of excitement on the road with them. One assistant, tight ends coach Jason Mohns, has been a visible figure on his trail through Arizona’s top high school programs. The former Saguaro head coach has been making his rounds around the valley and posting on social media after every visit. Dillingham himself has been more outspoken on Twitter than any Arizona State coach in the past, consistently reposting his players’ tweets and plugging their NIL efforts.

“Everything you do on social has two sides to the coin,” Dillingham said. “I love the fact that (Mohns is) out there tweeting it out locally because I think we’re going to hit most of the schools in this state locally. So, we’ll be able to combat that. But when we’re out on the road nationally, we may hop into a California, hop into a Texas, hop into an Alabama, and go see three schools. Well, you don’t necessarily want to advertise you only went to those three schools because there are going to be four other schools right next to them that were like, ‘why don’t you come see me?’ So, I think there’s a strategic balance to that.”

Arizona State also plans to take a calculated approach to recruiting with certain thresholds under Dillingham. When the coaching staff offers a player, it will mean something. It won’t chase players in the high school ranks to reach a quota.

“With the current rules in the landscape of college football changing, we’re going to set a standard for what we think is a player that can help us win this league,” Dillingham remarked. “And if we’re going to recruit those players as hard as possible, and if we strike out on those players, we’re not going to lower the bar and grab somebody out of the high school ranks that we don’t feel like can win us a championship, which means we’ll supplement that with somebody from the portal or then wait until we get the players necessary to win a championship.

“It’s really hard to talk through the numbers of each position because I don’t know. If we can bring in three corners that can help us win this league that we rate as we watch them as good enough, we’re going to bring in three corners. If we try to bring in three tight ends and we go 0-6 on the six tight ends we feel can help us win this league, we’re not gonna go down the board to reach for a kid because that’s how you get a roster that you had to build in the past.

“But with the current rules, you don’t have to build the roster like that anymore. I’d rather wait, hold the spot and then get somebody out of the portal. And then three years from now, four years from now, we would have recruited at each position the top players so when those players re-enter the portal, we would have been the school that kept recruiting them even after they were gone. So, I want to sign high school kids. That’s the goal. That’s the vision to build them, but we’re not going to reach anymore. I don’t think that’s necessary.”

Join your fellow Sun Devil fans on our premium message board, the Devils’ Huddle, run by the longest-tenured Sun Devil sports beat writer, to discuss this article and other ASU football, basketball, and recruiting topics. Not a member yet? Sign up today and get your daily fix of Sun Devil news!