ASU coach Kenny Dillingham says adults made ‘mess’ of college football

Arizona State football coach Kenny Dillingham spoke with the media in a Zoom session on Dec. 8. The subject was supposed to be his team’s participation in the Sun Bowl on Dec. 31 opposite ACC champion Duke (8-5). While that was addressed, there was no getting around the elephant in the room — the status of his sophomore quarterback, Sam Leavitt, who helped the team to a Big 12 championship a year ago, but whose status is in limbo.

Leavitt did not show up to the team’s annual year-end banquet 24 hours earlier, and reports have surfaced that the quarterback is indeed headed to the transfer portal. Dillingham wishes Leavitt the best and is confident in the team ASU will be fielding moving forward.

“I’m going to leave that to Sam’s team, out of respect for him,” Dillingham said. “I love Sam. Sam grew so much here. He really did. I grew so much learning from Sam, and whatever his future holds, I wish him nothing but the best. Absolutely want to see him succeed. I can sleep really well at night knowing that we helped him progress along his journey.

“That is now the craziness of college football. With that, I’m very, very confident that we’re going to have a really good quarterback at Arizona State.”

Dillingham said he supports his players making the decision that is best for them. When asked about Leavitt’s no-show at the team function, Dillingham didn’t want to address the discussion he had with the player.

“Sam and I have a really good relationship. That’s never going to change,” Dillingham said. “When I sign players, when I recruit players, and I coach players, my goal is to help them be successful individually, and hopefully my helping them be successful individually helps them be successful as a team. Sam is, and will always be, my guy. I love that kid. I saw him grow from a dude who wasn’t playing at a prior school to a guy who got to hold a championship up and then be hyped for the Heisman, a guy who was hyped as a first-round pick. I got to be a part of that growth process, and I’m just blessed that I got to be a part of that process. I’m always going to stay in contact. We’re going to have a lifelong relationship.”

Dillingham said he is still gauging the level of participation as to what players may not take the field again. Tight end Chamon Metayer and defensive end Justin Wodtly have both declared for the NFL draft, which often means opting out of bowl games.

Dillingham said he is balancing getting younger players some action and trying to win the game. Jeff Sims, who took the ball when Leavitt went down with a season-ending foot injury that required surgery, will start the game, although there may be some packages for true freshman Cam Dyer.

“We’re going to try and win the game,” Dillingham said. “There may be some younger guys playing, but they’re playing to win the game. We’re going to do everything we can to try and win the game, and if that means those guys getting game-day experiences, awesome. I don’t want you to try and get experience and lose; I’d rather you have the experience, and we’re winning. That’s the goal.”

As far as athletes who may not play, Dillingham will let those players decide for themselves.

“This is a new era of college football,” he said. “I’m going to support whatever our players do, whatever they deem is best. I’m going to support that and get behind it, and we have a lot of seniors, a lot of guys that have been playing. These guys that need to get rest or need minor surgery postseason in order to get ready for the NFL draft and progress, I’m telling those guys you need to do what you need to do to get your body right for your prep and your future.”

Several of Dillingham’s comments leaned into the current dynamic of college football. The transfer portal makes it easy for players to come and go. The NIL component now makes college football a sort of free agency. Look no further than Texas Tech, the team that succeeded ASU as Big 12 champion after spending a reported $27 million on its roster since last season.

ASU did not lose any key players to the portal after the 2024 run, a credit to what Dillingham has created in Tempe in a short time. He knows that won’t always be the case.

“In the end of the day, is everybody going to stay together? No. We’ve created a mercenary world in college football,” he said. “You can’t be mad at people making individual decisions. You got to support that and if you really care about somebody, you support the decisions they feel are best for them but what this team did was lean into one another and when times got tough, injuries happened, when program leaders went down across offense and defense, they leaned in on each other and that’s what got us to this point, the brotherhood and how close the kids are.”

Dillingham clapped back at any criticism thrown at Leavitt — or any other player who chooses to leave a school. He said the criticism should instead be directed at the adults who have made the decisions that have facilitated where the college game has gone in recent years.

“At the end of the day, I want people who believe Arizona State is the best place for them and their growth, and I want to help everybody achieve what they want to achieve,” he said. “If that’s at Arizona State, great. If it’s not at Arizona State. Great. The adults are the people that started this mess and now people try and blame the kids. This isn’t a kids’ problem.

“Every kid that transfers, every kid that leaves, this isn’t a kid problem. There’s not even a problem at all if you don’t care that people leave. This is an adult’s mess, not a kid’s mess, and people try and throw these kids through it, and I get it, they make a lot of money now.”

Dillingham was asked about the College Football Playoff picture, particularly since his team was part of the equation a year ago, even getting a first-round bye, which led to a change in the format this season. Notre Dame’s snub this season has been the big debate in the last 24 hours.

Duke coach Manny Diaz, whose team ASU plays next, lobbied for his team’s inclusion despite five losses. Dillingham had plenty to say on the topic of the CFP as well.

“There is no right answer. I could give you an answer, and it’s gonna be a wrong answer still,” he said. “We’ve created a mess, point blank. The whole industry is a mess. The only thing that’s not a mess is the dollar signs. Those are still pointing up. Everything else is a mess, the dollar side, the business of it, that’s skyrocketing. Everything else is a mess. That’s being transparent and honest. Other than the ratings, the dollars, the money involved, it’s a mess. This is just another piece of the mess.”