Just days before the recruiting the class of 2027 kicked into a higher gear, Arizona State head coach Kenny Dillingham announced an innovative method to attract talent in-state talent. If you’ve watched the 1971 Golden Globe-winning movie Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, you’re familiar with the significance of a “Golden Ticket.” A symbol of elite access of status to a place or venue.

The timeless film granted those who received access to the best chocolate factory ever made. In the case of ASU football, it means special recognition as some of the top 2027 players in Arizona and a chance to represent the Sun Devils.

Dillingham announced that his program would begin giving out its version of these coveted Golden Tickets on June 15, the first day coaches could initiate contact with the 2027 prospects, and the rollout began with six players:

The Golden Tickets served as a resounding statement to these six standout locals, acknowledging their importance to the program and indicating. Dillingham is making a statement in this year’s recruiting cycle, aiming to bolster the Sun Devils' talent retention in Phoenix and keep local players in Tempe.

“Our entire staff is just filled with Arizona people,” Dillingham said Tuesday on The Just Chilly Show. “The goal was to recruit the state and make people wanna stay here and create consistency in our coaching staff. We couldn’t get over this hump with the Arizona kids. I wanna sign the best players over and over again, and it bothers me that I have failed here.”

Across the country, recruitment is a never-ending process of creativity. High school prospects are often greeted with red-carpet gestures, flashy photos, and hyped-up videos. While Arizona State naturally employs those methods, the sanctity of offering a player the chance to join the program carries a different weight for the Sun Devils.

“We don’t advertise going on scholarship like other places do,” Dillingham said. “The purpose of that is I’m not trying to create a publicity stunt over something that changes somebody’s life. I’m just trying to change their life. They’ve earned this, and there were multiple in-state guys who earned that this cycle.”

For Dillingham, the method to the madness of locking down more of the Valley’s top recruits lies in exclusivity. Rather than handing out offers to every top player in the region, he’s focused on making the gesture feel extraordinary.

“Doing the same thing again that every staff member has done for 20 years is not the answer,” Dillingham added. “So, the answer is maybe this method of making 25 people special is not right, maybe we make six people special and make it unique. I want people not to like what we’re doing. I wanna create chaos over, ‘Why not more? Why not him?’

“Because all that does is make it more valuable for the people we gave it to. The whole goal was to make it special to come to Arizona State. I take a lot of pride in Arizona State. I’m not going to tell you that you can be a Sun Devil before you check the boxes of what we actually want for you to be a Sun Devil. All that is, is using your own emotions against you. It’s manipulating 15- and 16-year-olds.”

The players who received the Golden Tickets valued the immediacy of ASU. Several, including four-star Basha High School standouts Noah Roberts and Jake Hildebrand, noted the importance of it being their first official offer.

For 2027 Peoria Centennial offensive lineman Benjamin Lowther, receiving a Golden Ticket from the school he supported as a child meant everything. “I grew up going to ASU games. My parents both went to ASU, and it’s a really awesome thing, getting it,” he said, embracing the exact mindset Dillingham and his staff were aiming for.

“I think we did [get the intended reaction],” Dillingham said. “We’re not even close to done recruiting the state when it comes to the ’27 class. Recruiting is so advanced now. You’re a year and a half away from these guys … It’s always harder to recruit your state than recruit out of state, because the outhouse is right next to the living room. You have to find a way to be as transparent as possible.”

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