The 2024 season has been a year filled with hits and misses for Kenny Dillingham’s squad. After a rough 3-9 record in the Pac-12 in 2023, the ASU Sun Devils were predicted to finish last in the Big 12 in 2024. But Dillingham and Co. pulled a UNO reverse. They made an unexpected run all the way to the Big 12 championship game. Even so, the 2024 season ended with a tough wave of player departures.
While most programs saw players leave, Arizona State had the most, with a whopping 12 departures in December alone. But Dillingham stayed focused on his goal—“What we’re looking to do is make our team better.” And it looks like their top 4-star target is going to help make that happen. Talk about a new win for the Sun Devils—they just beat out 33 other programs to land this highly sought-after commitment.
Kenny Dillingham and Co. checked the box for a 4-star cornerback
“I tell every person I ever sign, my job is to sign somebody better than you, point blank, and that’s going to be from now until forever.” That’s the 2025 goal for Dillingham. However, the HC does not have trustworthy players to count on. He lost his key guys—running back Cam Skattebo and wide receiver Jake Smith—to the NFL draft. Amidst all this gloom, here comes some good news. No team checked off more boxes for Jalen Williams than the Sun Devils. The 6-foot, 160-pounder found his new home in Sun Devils. On3’s Chad Simmons was one of the first to share the big news.
On April 5, he tweeted, “NEWS: Marietta (Ga.) Kelly CB Jalen Williams has committed to the Arizona State Sun Devils. #ForksUp.” Obviously, he did explore the reasons why the Sun Devils wooed the Peach State cornerback. After all, it was no easy task, as the 4-star NICKEL defender was chased by 33 programs, including Bill Belichick’s North Carolina Tar Heels. However, the final frontrunners included Arizona State, Georgia Tech, NC State, and Ole Miss, among others. Williams told On3, “I made my decision Wednesday and that is when I committed to Arizona State. I chose Arizona State over NC State, Oklahoma, Pittsburgh, and Ole Miss.” However, Dillingham and Co. came up with a VIP treatment for the player, making him feel special.
NEWS: Marietta (Ga.) Kelly CB Jalen Williams has committed to the Arizona State Sun Devils. #ForksUp
Williams said, “They’re building something really special.”
Story: https://t.co/AJygiz8jGG pic.twitter.com/PMQS5rMvaM
— ChadSimmons (@ChadSimmons_) April 5, 2025
“One of the biggest reasons why I chose them was how I related best to coach Dillingham and the entire staff. They showed the most genuine love, and they really prioritized me. I like how they have a plan for me too.” Now, this is going to be a steal deal for the Sun Devils. Rivals ranked Williams the eighth-best nickel in his class and No. 44 among all recruits out of Georgia. He showed what he could do pretty early on. Just this past fall, as a junior at Kell High School, Williams played in 12 games, put up 39 total tackles, snagged two interceptions, and broke up six passes. In this recruitment, the coaches played a big part, too.
Bryan Carrington is the cornerbacks coach at Arizona State, and Williams has a great connection with him. As the young chap shared, “Coach Dilly, coach Carrington, and majority of the staff is pretty young. They’re relatable. They have a lot of fun, but they work real hard. I feel like I can be myself with them. I can learn and develop as a football player and as a man.” The top-10 NICKEL defender in the 2026 cycle is likely to flip the Sun Devils’ luck. But there is one more hero in Dillingham’s squad….
Who’s the main lead in Kenny Dillingham’s 2025 show?
That’s none other than their quarterback, Sam Leavitt, who is holding the fort. This QB is already dialed in, bringing that winning energy to Dillingham’s team—so much so that he’s turned his fridge into a vision board. Stuck on it is a whiteboard with seven powerful words that he sees every morning to get himself going: “How great do you want to be?” Well, Dillingham is super confident when it comes to trusting his QB’s tools.
Leavitt’s got a real cannon for an arm, putting up 2,885 yards and tossing 24 touchdowns last season. And the fact that he can move? That’s just the cherry on top, helping him rush for 443 yards. He even had some serious main-character vibes going on during the 2024 Peach Bowl, where he turned heads throwing for 222 yards on 24 of 46 passes, with just one pick. And BOOM! He got flooded by comparison with some of the NFL’s best dudes. For instance, Arizona Sports podcast analyst Jesse Morrison believes that Leavitt has already arrived at the runway.
He just needs one more year with it, and WHOOSH! Sam Leavitt will be flying off to the NFL as an early pick. “I think he’s playing one more year at ASU, gonna be a first-round pick. That’s my opinion.” On that note, co-host Jeremy Schnell added, “We could see that, and someone that’s going to help with that is Jordan Tyson.” The script’s tight, the cast is ready—Kenny Dillingham’s 2025 is looking like a season-long premiere.
The post Kenny Dillingham’s ASU Scores Major Recruiting Win With Elite 4-Star Prospect to Upset North Carolina and 33 Other Programs appeared first on EssentiallySports.
