New member of Arizona State football staff looks to make an impact

TEMPE, Ariz. — Arizona State football welcomed many newcomers this offseason as the team gets set for head coach Kenny Dillingham’s second year. With new coaches and plenty of new faces through recruiting and the transfer portal, there’s a lot of change. But, with that comes a new opportunity.

Dillingham has voiced his confidence and trust in new defensive line coach Diron Reynolds, whose resume speaks for itself. But transfer defensive linemen Justin Wodtly and J.P. Deeter described their trust in Reynolds and the culture in the locker room that drew them to ASU.

Arizona State football building culture with defensive line

Deeter transferred to ASU from Purdue after not playing his freshman season. He was a consensus 3-star defensive lineman coming out of high school where he played two years at Topeka High School in Kansas and two years at Manvel High School in Texas. Deeter totaled 133 tackles, seven sacks, and four touchdowns as a sophomore and later racked up 120 tackles in his two years in Texas, including five sacks each season.

In 2021, Deeter was recruited by Reynolds while he was the defensive line coach at Stanford, which played a large role in his decision to transfer out west.

“Just knowing you have somebody who you can just instantly trust at a school that is on the come up, has potential to have a huge turnaround, it really just drew me here,” Deeter said. “For me, trust was the biggest thing.”

For Wodtly, it was a different aspect of what Reynolds brings to the table that attracted him.

Wodtly transferred to ASU from Cincinnati after four seasons, but just two eligible seasons. He played in just six games his first two seasons, before playing in 24 games over the next two seasons. Wodtly racked up four sacks, seven tackles for loss, and 46 tackles over his final two seasons with the Bearcats.

When Wodtly came for his official visit, it was just a couple of days after Reynolds arrived at ASU. Wodtly knew nothing about Arizona, but he instantly connected with the coaching staff and knew the skillset Reynold possessed.

“He’s (Reynolds) a very talented guy, worked with a lot of talented people,” Wodtly said. “To me, you know, the weather’s nice, the coaching staff is good. I feel like everything fit my skill set. It was really a no-brainer for me.”

Reynolds coaching experience

Reynolds has more than 25 years of coaching experience at every level. He coached under the legendary Tony Dungy when they won Super Bowl XLI, and he’s coached multiple Hall of Famers and All-Pros at the professional level.

“Being acclimated and getting settled down at the same time, you know, it created more of a relationship with him,” Wodtly said. “Those connections that he has at the next level, it was really big to me, knowing that I got two years of eligibility left and trying to get to that next level as fast as possible. I want to surround myself with the best people to put me in that situation.”

Dillingham echoed the volumes of Reynolds’s resume, in addition to his family’s comfortability in Tempe being the main reasons ASU brought him in.

“The fact is professionals go to this dude in the offseason to get better in the National Football League. Why would you not come here and train with him for free?” Dillingham said. “And he’s an unbelievable football coach. He’s a great person and his son goes to school out here, so he wants to be here. So, it was like, check, check, check, like home run.”

The impact on recruiting

Dillingham added how this is a major factor for future recruiting as well. Reynolds is a coach at the NFL pass rush summit, coaching some of the best players in the league each year.

“I can sell him. I can go to the list of names he’s coached,” Dillingham said. “Go through what he does every offseason and be like yeah, come get coached here.”

The trust and belief in Reynolds is evident through Dillingham and his players, who are looking to learn and get better from a talented leader. For Reynolds, it all starts with his simple love for the game.

Reynolds is hungry to make an impact in Tempe

“I have a passion for the game, I love being on the grass. I love coaching which for me is like being out at recess,” Reynolds said. “We got a lot of great guys in the room that are eager and hungry to learn, and I’m going to give you everything I got to be successful.”

Dillingham’s first season at the helm was a long, rough season, but expected in many ways. There’s a new sense of belief with all the new guys coming in, that ASU is building something and eventually Dillingham will speak success into existence. It all starts with the culture that he’s creating in the locker room.

“The biggest thing is just knowing I can just walk up and talk to coach Dillingham. Like he is our head coach, but he doesn’t field that barrier that he’s our head coach. Like he doesn’t make it seem like he’s the hierarchy to us,” Deeter said. “So, it’s really nice to be like, I can go ask him, talk to him about anything and just be like, ‘hey, what’s up’ down the hallway. Same with all the rest of the staff.”

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