Arizona Statemoved up to No. 15in the latest CFP rankings as they prepare to take on No. 16 Iowa State in the Big 12 title game, with a playoff berth on the line. It's a remarkable turnaround for a team that went 3-9 last year and waspicked to finish dead lastin their new conference before the season started.
That's why the Big 12 announced on Thurrsday that Kenny Dillingham has been named the conference's Coach of the Year. It's a remarkable achievement for the second-year head coach, who is still just 34 years old.
Dillingham, an Arizona native and Sun Devil alum, took over a program that was left reeling in the wake of a recruiting scandal. The energetic young coach quickly built out a staff that was heavy on recruiting talent and went to work. His first year saw 31 new players transfer in, making up the 17th best transfer class in 2023. Following a 3-win season, Dillingham added another 30 transfer players, posting the 30th best transfer class.
A vast majority of Arizona State's starters this year have come from those two transfer classes, including quarterback Sam Leavitt, receiver Jordyn Tyson, and superstar running back Cam Skattebo. All three received heaps of praise from the Big 12 on Thursday as well when the all conference honors were announced. In fact, Arizona Statehad the most first and second team honoreesin the conference.
That's a testament to how good Dillingham and his staff have been in turning this program around. They defied expectations all year long thanks to a combination of great talent evaluations in the transfer portal and some savvy game planning to make all the new talent fit together.
Dillingham is a frontrunner for various national coach of the year honors as well, but this designation from the Big 12 is the first formal recognition of the tremendous job Arizona State has done this year. Now it's time to cap it all off with a conference championship.
Add us as a preferred source onGoogleLoading recommendations... Please wait while we load personalized content recommendations