One would call navigating between the early signing period and preparing for a conference championship game the proverbial champagne problem. Yet, this is where ASU found itself on Wednesday. Arizona State head coach Kenny Dillingham discussed the Top 40 recruiting class, which, according to Rivals.com, ranks No. 4 among Big 12 teams, stating that he wanted players who, aside from talent, had the right character to succeed with the Sun Devil program.
“I wanted people who want to be here that are competitive and wired right,” Dillingham mentioned. “They love the game of football, they’re a good person, and I wanted to have length and a couple of guys with speed traits. Obviously, you want to be fast, but I want a big football team. I think we recruited to that size at the wideout position and upfront on both sides.”
One of the marquee signees today was four-star athlete Cameron Dyer from La Cueva High School in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He’s considered the top 2025 player in that state and ranks No. 8 among all athletes in the 2025 class. While he was initially recruited as a wide receiver to Tempe, he will line up at quarterback in the spring practice, the role he played for his high school.
“Cam is a stud,” Dillingham expressed. “He dominated in high school, and I was very impressed by his improvement when I saw him throw live. We’re going to give him a chance in the spring to compete at the quarterback position. I’m excited to see him, but he’s a really good athlete as well as a good person. High academics and character, and he’s what we look for.”
One of the six California recruits Dillingham brought in on the early signing day is wide receiver Cory Butler Jr. out of Centennial High School in Corona, California. Ranked as a three-star recruit and the 73rd-best player in the state by Rivals, Butler adds a level of speed that Dillingham and his staff are eager to see in the spring.
“I think he’s the only guy I’ve ever recruited that has a higher GPA than 40-yard dash time,” Dillingham remarked. “He has a 4.5 GPA and 4.4 40 times, so it’s pretty impressive. I don’t know if I’ve ever recruited that before, but hopefully, we get more of those guys.”
The Sun Devils travel to Arlington, Texas, to play Iowa State in the Big 12 Championship, yet another opportunity to extend the “Texas to Tempe” pipeline. Dillingham already has six signees from the 2025 class from Texas, and the championship game is the perfect chance for the Sun Devils to cement their legacy in the Lone Star State.
“Playing in the game in Texas is huge,” Dillingham voiced. “I think being on the national stage is able to show that not only is the lifestyle and development great here, but you can also compete for championships. You look at the last few games of sold crowds rushing the field for the care level and Coach Ward turning Jordyn Tyson into a 1,000-yard receiver for the developmental side; it’s an unbelievable situation for college athletes.”
The Sun Devils will be without top receiver redshirt sophomore Jordyn Tyson, who underwent surgery on his collarbone Wednesday after leaving the Arizona game with an injury. Tyson made up 1,101 of redshirt quarterback Sam Leavitt’s 2,444 passing yards, now leaving his receiver teammates needing to fill the void in the aerial attack.
“We played a game without a lot of different guys,” Dillingham said. “I’m excited to see the guys step up, and we’ll obviously have to look a little different. I guess there are some advantages to looking different because you have to get a variety of people to the ball. Nobody can just replace JT, but I think for those guys and our guys as a whole, it’s a great challenge.”
Offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo is confident in the receiving room and will be tasked with his toughest week of game planning this week. Having nearly half of the team’s receiving yards leave the field for the biggest game of the year is a challenge in itself, but Arroyo sees the players still left and knows they’ll step up.
“A leading receiver going down is going to affect anybody,” Arroyo commented. “We got some guys that are going to have to pick up the flag and carry it. That’s exciting for those guys to do that job at this stage in our season. I think we look at it as an opportunity more than anything else. We’re bummed to not have Jordyn, but we have to be able to perform without him.”
The Sun Devils have survived games without their stars earlier in the season. Senior running back Cam Skattebo missed Week 11 against UCF, but the Sun Devils came away with a 35-31 win. Earlier in the season, Leavitt missed a game against Cincinnati, but ASU couldn’t escape that one with a win, falling 14-24. Arroyo made it clear that while it may be less than ideal, there’s still a game to be played on Saturday.
“We just have to be a little creative in how we get guys the ball,” Arroyo added. “We’ve had different formations with guys in different spots to manipulate the formations and leverage the defense. We’re going to have to do that again to provide a little bit of spark and to try and shrink the gap of things we’ve lost. That’s going to be a challenge versus a really good team.”
In his first year as offensive coordinator, Arroyo has helped transform the Sun Devils offense into a well-oiled machine, and the 2025 recruiting class looks to continue that success. From what he’s seen, Arroyo is on the same page as Dillingham when it comes to recruiting not only good football players but good kids in general.
“In the 11 months I’ve been here everything was a starting point in regards to physical traits,” Arroyo recalled. “I think the thing that showed up most in this class is a group of good kids that are humble, hardworking, and from good families. A lot of these guys are ultra-competitive and a lot of them are blue-collar kids who want to be in Tempe to do something special.”
Defensive coordinator and safeties coach Brian Ward helped recruit two top-100 safeties in their respective states, Benjamin Alefaio (California) and Joseph Smith (Texas). The Sun Devils had to beat out a plethora of top schools, such as Penn State, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, etc., for their services. Ward credits ASU’s ability to win these recruiting battles to what the Sun Devils can offer to the recruits both on and off the field.
“This class, we had to beat a lot of other good coaches in our conference,” Ward explained. “There are very few guys we didn’t have to be in terms of showing what we can do for them developmentally, academically, and athletically. It’s a byproduct of going after some pretty special players, so I’m really excited about this class and for those guys to get to work.”
At this point last year, the defense was limping to the finish line, riddled with injuries. With the heightened depth at every position this year, the Sun Devils haven’t skipped a beat when players miss time due to injury. With that ability to have fresh players on the field at all times, the Sun Devils can keep the defensive intensity up for all four quarters.
“We got guys that are feeling the wear of a 12-game season,” Ward mentioned. “They don’t have anything that’s kept them out, but a testament to the depth of our defense. We’re able to get guys on the field and give them more reps so those guys that are a little banged up get less reps so we can make sure they’re 100% when they’re getting snaps on the field.”
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!
