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By Tucker Sennett
Cronkite News
TEMPE – Before the 2023 season kicked off, Arizona State football faced a flurry of challenges: a bowl ban, recruiting violations and a shaky administrative situation loomed.
A year after navigating through those tense times, Kenny Dillingham entered the 2024 season as the second youngest head coach of an FBS program. His love of the game, exuberant demeanor and commitment to his roots have helped him progress one of the sport’s most difficult rebuilds at a rapid pace. The 30-23 win over Mississippi State validated his efforts, marking the second straight game with over 10,000 students in attendance.
“You could feel the energy in the stadium,” he said after the win. “This is a fun place to be when it’s rocking.”
Mountain America Stadium was far from rocking the last two seasons. The Sun Devils amassed a 4-10 record in Tempe over the 2022 and 2023 seasons, lowlighted by some stunning losses like the infamous Eastern Michigan loss in September of 2022.
The coach’s mission to “Activate the Valley,” a slogan that has become synonymous with his tenure, has reached its next phase, likely more quickly than many expected. Fresh off leading the program to its first win over an SEC opponent in its history, the coach’s mind had already moved beyond Saturday night.
“I didn’t even know that stat until (senior associate athletic director and media relations representative Doug Tammaro) told me a week ago,” he said. “We play in five days, so I told them, ‘Celebrate, you should. Have fun, celebrate with each other. Be smart. Make good decisions, but when you wake up tomorrow, it’s over.’”
His trust in his players, paired with a commitment to empowering his players no matter their age or position, has shown up on the field.
“The standard is going to be set by not me. It’s going to be set by the best players,” he said. “Whatever our best players allow, whatever our best players do consistently is the standard.”
ASU’s Pat Tillman Leadership Council includes many of these players, with 12 representatives wearing a patch on their jersey each game to denote their status. The members of this council all bring different strengths to the field, locker room and overall program culture.
The connection between redshirt senior center Leif Fautanu and senior running back Cam Skattebo has been an obvious example of the trickle-down effect of Dillingham’s leadership style.
“I think he definitely stepped up in the offseason. He’s had more of a voice than last year,” Fautanu said about Skattebo. “He’s very much a great leader, but sometimes you have to tone him down a little when he gets over-passionate.”
Skattebo’s fire combined with a calm, lead-by-example style from Fautanu has aided the Sun Devils in their 2-0 start. Fautanu has set the standard for his fellow linemen, and Skattebo has benefitted. The running back was one of the first to admit that his near record-breaking performance against Mississippi State wouldn’t have happened without Fautanu and the other linemen.
“(Fautanu) got a personal foul for giving extra effort after the play,” Skattebo said as Fautanu laughed. “He’s giving extra effort so they don’t get me on the ground. That’s him playing for me. I’m playing for him.”
Redshirt freshman quarterback Sam Leavitt has also benefited from the experienced Fautanu leading the line.
“Super veteran guy that has a lot of snaps under his belt. It’s just a blessing for me to have that,” Leavitt said after beating Wyoming in the season opener.
Dillingham may have cracked a code with Fautanu and many of the other transfers he has welcomed since arriving in November 2022; many of them were team captains at their previous schools.
Linebackers Keyshaun Elliott, a junior, and Zyrus Fiaseu, a redshirt junior, were captains at FBS programs prior to arriving in Tempe, and both intercepted Wyoming quarterback Evan Svoboda in the season opener.
“Obviously these guys have something about them that’s different,” Dillingham said. “They were team captains on football teams that are traditionally really, really good, or a team that overachieved at one of the highest levels a team can overachieve last year. You want them on your football team.”
In just 14 games, Dillingham has transformed the Sun Devils from a non-competitive team into one that believes in its potential. With the challenges of the Big 12 ahead, the true test of his era begins now. But if this season’s early results are any indication, Dillingham’s vision for Arizona State football is on the path to becoming a reality.
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