TEMPE, Ariz. – Arizona State shocked the college football world in 2024, finishing 11-3 with its best regular season record since 2013, and its best overall record in nearly 30 years.
ASU football was picked to finish last in its inaugural Big 12 season and proved everyone wrong by winning the Big 12 championship. Now the Sun Devils enter 2025 ranked No. 11 in the preseason AP Top 25 rankings.
The last three times ASU began the season ranked inside the top 15, the Sun Devils finished the season unranked with a losing record. In fact, the last time ASU finished the season ranked after entering as a top 15 team was in 1987.
What’s the challenge for ASU in 2025? Don’t let history repeat itself.
Head coach Kenny Dillingham has led one of the greatest two-year turnarounds in the country through his first couple seasons with the Sun Devils. But he’ll be the first to tell you year three will be the toughest yet.
“How hard is it to attack 12 Monday’s? It’s difficult. Great teams cannot attack today with everything they got and then wake up and do it again, wake up and do it again, consistently, for four months. It’s so difficult,” Dillingham said. “That’s what separates teams. Some teams are wired to do it. That is the constant challenge here.
“Is this our best Monday that we’ve ever had in program history? Can we say we were more focused today? If we can do that, and we can have a Tuesday, then who knows where it’s going to end up. It’s all about today.”
What will ASU football look like in 2025?
The Sun Devils most productive player from 2024, senior running back Cam Skattebo, is now in the NFL with the New York Giants. However, ASU had a heavy number of key players return from last season.
On the offense, redshirt sophomore quarterback Sam Leavitt and junior receiver Jordyn Tyson return, along with four offensive lineman who started throughout the 2024 season.
Although Skattebo is off to the NFL, ASU will have three guys sharing the backfield this season. Junior running backs Kyson and Raleek Brown, and Army transfer Kanye Udoh will bring a combination of elite speed and agility, along with power to make up for Skattebo’s absence.
In addition to Tyson, ASU brought in redshirt junior Jalen Moss from Fresno State and redshirt sophomores Jaren Hamilton from Alabama and Noble Johnson from Clemson. The Sun Devils also have redshirt senior Malik McClain after they redshirted him in 2024 to save his final year of eligibility.
Tyson, Moss, Hamilton and McClain are listed as ASU’s starters in their first depth chart released.
On the defensive side, the Sun Devils should have every ability to be one of the top units in the Big 12. ASU has nine of their 11 defensive starters returning in 2025, including their top two tackles, sack leader and interceptions leader from last year.
Safety Shamari Simmons, defensive tackle Jeff Clark and linebacker Caleb McCollough will be the three key defenders ASU won’t have this season. However, with many other starters returning, the Sun Devils defense is poised for a great season.
The offense and defense bring the flash, but ASU’s most improved unit might be special teams. The Sun Devils severely struggled in the kicking game in 2024. However, ASU added transfer kicker Jesus Gomez from Eastern Michigan to solve that issue.
The redshirt senior kicker brings a ton of experience, and converted 20-of-25 field goals in 2024. Gomez made 27-of-29 extra points and kicked an Eastern Michigan-record 57-yard field goal.
“This kid is dialed. Since the moment he got here, he’s been dialed in to be the very best. Nothing really rattles him. He’s the hardest critic on himself, and he’s very, very consistent,” Dillingham said. “I’ve got the upmost confidence in him.”
What are ASU’s Keys to Success This Season?
ASU’s success on offense came through running the football and controlling the clock in 2024. The Sun Devils want to continue to run the ball consistently with success this year, but adding in more explosive plays will take their offense to the next level.
“If there’s one thing you could say about our offense last year, is we weren’t overly explosive,” Dillingham said. “We didn’t have huge plays. We didn’t have one-play touchdowns very often.”
The other key place Dillingham wants his team to improve in is early down passing. The two areas go hand in hand, because if ASU finds success in early down, it creates short yardage situations to allow the shots for explosive plays.
ASU ranked 33rd in the country in yards per play last season. The national champions, Ohio State, ranked 4th in the country, averaging 6.8 yard per play. Explosive plays aren’t everything, but if ASU can mix in more explosiveness with its consistent run game, the Sun Devils offense could reach the next level.
On the defensive side, Dillingham wants to be better with disguises, being around the ball more and having a stronger pass rush.
In Dillingham’s second year, this season is the first where there was a lot of consistency with players and coaches throughout the offseason. That allowed practices to be more focused and intentional on details rather than making sure everyone knew their roles.
ASU’s goal on defense this season is to recognize strengths and weaknesses in coverage to allow players to be around the ball more often. On the front end, Dillingham wants the pass rush to be stronger, rushing as a unit rather than solo pass rushes.
“We should be able to rush the passer more, and we should be around the ball more, which should equate to more takeaways,” Dillingham said. “So, I expect more explosive plays from the takeaway department.”
ASU ranked No. 6 in the country in turner margin in 2024. Continuing to force turnovers on defense and protecting the ball on offense will be key to ASU’s success in 2025.
Players to Watch for ASU in 2025
ASU football is well represented on the many preseason award watch lists for the 2025 season, and Leavitt and Tyson lead the charge.
- First Team All-American: Jordyn Tyson
- Big 12 All- Conference: Sam Leavitt Jordyn Tyson, Ben Coleman, C.J. Fite, Xavion Alford
- Walter Camp Player of the Year: Sam Leavitt, Jordyn Tyson
- Manning Award (Top Quarterback): Sam Leavitt
- Davey O’Brien Award (Top Quarterback): Sam Leavitt
- Bednarik Award (Top Defensive Player): Xavion Alford
- Jim Thorpe Award (Top Defensive Back): Xavion Alford
- Biletnikoff Award (Top Wide Receiver): Jordyn Tyson
- Butkus Award (Top Linebacker): Keyshaun Elliott
- Outland Trophy (Top Interior Lineman): C.J. Fite
- Nagurski Trophy (Top Defensive Player): C.J. Fite
- Butkus Award (Top Linebacker): Keyshaun Elliott
- Lou Groza Award (Top Placekicker): Jesus Gomez
- Hornung Award (Most Versatile Player): Jalen Moss
- College Football ‘Freaks’ List (Most Physically Improved): Clayton Smith
- Wuerffel Trophy (Community service/Academic excellence/Athletic achievement): Coben Bourget
- Dodd Trophy (National Coach of the Year): Kenny Dillingham
The Sun Devils had a historic season last year, and they have all the pieces to build on that in 2025. It all starts on Saturday when No. 11 ASU welcomes NAU to Mountain America Stadium at 7 p.m. MST for a sellout in its season opener.
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