Arizona State, Kenny Dillingham finding recruiting momentum ahead of first season in Big 12

Arizona State last compiled a top-25 recruiting class in the 2020 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Team Recruiting Ranking.

In the following four cycles, the Sun Devils have finished with a top-40 high school class just once. ASU’s 2020 class featured eight four-stars, according to the On3 Industry Ranking — a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. The next four cycles combined have seen just eight four-stars sign with the program.

After a 3-9 season in Kenny Dillingham’s first year at the helm, the new Big 12 school in Tempe is finally making some noise on the recruiting trail as it nears the beginning of a new chapter in its program’s history.

This April has now seen seven high school prospects pledge to the Sun Devils following the addition of Orange (Calif.) Lutheran four-star tight end AJ Ia on Tuesday. Ia is also the third four-star to choose maroon and gold in the last two weeks, per the current 2025 On300.

Ia, Pflugerville (Texas) Weiss four-star wide receiver Adrian Wilson and Phoenix Mountain Pointe four-star safety Rylon Dillard-Allen create a blue-chip trio that headlines ASU’s class — which has now vaulted up to No. 26 in the nation and No. 3 in the Big Ten this cycle. Things are beginning to pay off for Dillingham and his staff.

“I definitely like that they have a lot of NFL coaches on their staff now,” Wilson said of ASU to On3 ahead of his commitment. “They have a really young staff, with coach Kenny Dillingham only being in his 30s. That’s something I really like and then, they’re really going to get after it on the field. They have a new scheme for offense that I’ve seen and they’re going to throw the ball.” 

Dillingham doesn’t see Arizona State as a ‘fallback plan’

For Dillingham, this is only the beginning. He returned to his alma mater with the intention of bringing Arizona State back in a national spotlight. Finding some juice on the trail — in addition to the transfer portal, of course — is a sound step in that direction.

Battling elite programs with lengthy recruiting track records is tough for any middling Power Four school. That job becomes even tougher thanks to the world of NIL, the transfer portal and a coaching carousel that’s spinning as fast as ever.

Still, Dillingham isn’t looking to be considered a second or third choice. He’s after prospects who are ready to buy in, and with momentum in-hand, that level of interest is continuing to rise.

“Trending, absolutely trending. I think people want to be here,” Dillingham told reporters last week when asked about recruiting. “I was talking to somebody the other day about…this is not a fallback plan. There are people all over the country wanting to be here. This isn’t ‘let me go check out things and see if I’ll fall back here.’ Oh no. This is a place that I take a lot of pride in, and a fallback plan is not one of those prides. This was not a fallback plan for me — this was the plan.”

There’s still a ways to go until the Early Signing Period opens in December and the world of recruiting is as fluid as ever, but ASU finds itself in a solid position with official visit season underway. Dillingham’s game plan doesn’t look to be changing, either.

“We’re gonna sign people here that this is their plan, 100 percent,” he said. “That’s what we’re going to be filled with, a roster of people that are 100-percent committed to this. To getting this city, behind this program, to get where I think this place can go.”