Arizona State football loses veteran linebacker

Today Kenny Dillingham and Arizona State football got the official news that one of his veteran linebackers would be transferring. James Djonkam, a former two-star linebacker out of Springfield, Virginia has decided to enter the portal. Djonkam made a social media post announcing plans to enter the transfer portal on Nov. 29 but did not officially enter his name until today, Dec. 14.

I would like to thank Arizona state and all of my Coaches/Teammates . With that being said I would like to announce I will be entering my name in the transfer portal with 1 year of eligibility left . pic.twitter.com/mSK47eE4zb

— Da Ginger Freak (@Jamesdjonkam55) November 29, 2023

Arizona State football officially loses linebacker to transfer portal

During his time playing for Arizona State football Djonkam posted 35 total tackles. While Djonkam may not have participated much on defense, he was one of the best special teams players that ASU had.

During the 2022 season, Djonkam had a PFF grade of 86.2, graded out of 100, which ranked 4th in the PAC 12, among those who played at least 100 snaps.

Djonkam had a key play against Washington State in 2022, a blocked kick that helped keep the game close before the Cougars pulled away later.

So far this recruiting season, Dillingham has been able to score a couple of linebackers in turn to off-balance some of the linebackers that have transferred out of the program.

The linebackers that have committed to ASU to offset include Jordan Crook (Arkansas), Albert Smith (high school), and Martell Hughes (high school).

Arizona State returns several linebackers including Caleb McCullough and Tate Romney. Both of those players played important roles in the ASU defense last season.

Overall the biggest impact on Djonkam’s departure will be special teams play, but ASU will likely be able to fill that production fairly easily. The transfer linebacker has one more season of eligibility.

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