By Jacob Seliga
ASU Beat Writer
The 2023 season was mostly one to forget for the Arizona State football program.
The Sun Devils, for the second consecutive year, finished 3-9, concluding the worst two-year stretch for the team in 78 years. Six different players, including a running back and a tight end, started a game at quarterback. And at one point, the team had lost too many players to various injuries to be able to attempt an extra point or a field goal.
Add to it a looming NCAA investigation into violations under former head coach Herm Edwards, and you get a recipe for the disaster that was year one for head coach Kenny Dillingham.
But for all the chaos that was 2023, the Sun Devils enter 2024 with a renewed sense of optimism. The three-year investigation by the NCAA has finished, the transfer portal reaped multiple impact players and starters -- particularly on the offensive side of the ball -- and a smooth transition into the Big-12 Conference has set the program up with conference stability for the first time this decade.
The most notable on-field change will come from the quarterback position.
Freshman Jaden Rashada started the first two games of the year against Southern Utah and Oklahoma State before an injury kept him out until the Arizona game at the end of the regular season. Marana alum Trenton Bourguet, just as he did in 2022, took over in a relief role and led the Sun Devils to two key wins over UCLA and Washington State as well as a near upset against top-five ranked Washington.
Taking over the reins as “QB1” is Michigan State transfer Sam Leavitt. Last season, as a true freshman, Leavitt appeared in four games for the Spartans completing 65% of his passes and chipping in two touchdowns. The stats don’t jump off the table, but throughout the spring and fall camp, his ability to run the offense and thread passes through tight windows was on display and played a significant role as to why Dillingham gave him the job.
In the backfield, the most stable piece of the Sun Devils roster from 2023 returns in running back/emergency quarterback/punter/wide receiver Cam Skattebo, who has become a cult-like legend in Tempe after only one year.
Skattebo should receive the Lion's share of carries in 2024, but in terms of talent, the running back room appears to be the deepest on the roster. Only two other running backs return from the 2023 roster in “power backs” DeCarlos Brooks and Kyson Brown, who mainly substituted in short yardage situations. They’ll be joined by transfer backs Alton McCaskill and Raleek Brown, as well as four-star signee Jason Brown Jr. out of Washington.
In order for that unit to be successful, the Sun Devils enter the season with an entirely revamped offensive line. Dillingham and his staff made clear in December their goal was to build up the trenches to avoid the disaster up front that occurred at different times last season. Through the transfer portal, they appeared to have found multiple impact pieces that could be anchors up front for seasons to come.
Continuity will be key early in the year as three of the five projected starters for week one appear to be players returning to the program after missing all of or the majority of the 2023 season.
Josh Atkins comes over from Hawaii and appears to be in line for a starting tackle spot. Leif Fautanu was the lone starting lineman to start in every game last season and anchored the unit from his center spot. Ben Coleman, Max Iheanachor and Cade Briggs all missed time at different points last season after transferring in but all are healthy and will be good to go week one.
In total, Arizona State returns close to 70% of its offensive production from 2023, which is near the highest total nationally. Under new offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo, the Sun Devils seemed poised to have an offense that should hover around the middle of the pack in a loaded Big-12 conference.
The unsung hero of last year’s team was defensive coordinator Brian Ward.
His defense was the biggest bright spot on the team. In multiple games, the unit put the Sun Devils in position to win. Whether that was containing a high-powered Colorado offense or holding the best statistical offense in college football to 7 points total, time and time again the defense showed up in big moments.
The secondary was crucial to the defensive success last season. And although Jordan Clark transferred to Notre Dame and Ro Torrence left for the NFL draft, the unit should be the best on the team.
In the immediate days following Oregon’s victory in the Fiesta Bowl freshman safety Cole Martin announced he was transferring back to the area in which he played high school football and committed to the Sun Devils. He appears to be the starting nickel defensive back following the departure of redshirt senior Macen Williams from the program.
Battling for the free safety spot is New Mexico State transfer Myles Rowser and Florida transfer Kamari Wilson, who both bring different skill sets to the position.
Wilson is a hard hitting safety who is better suited to roam and take the pass away. Rowser is a safety that primarily plays in the box that can come down and take the run game away. At corner it appears as Keith Abney and Washington State transfer Javan Robinson are the likely duo to start week one.
In 2023, the defensive line improved in their ability to get to the quarterback. But their primary pass rusher in BJ Green transferred to Colorado during the offseason and an injury sustained during camp to Prince Dorbah complicates things to start 2024.
Returnees Clayton Smith and C.J. Fite will be the primary pass rushers to start the season. Smith had a breakout end to 2023 as he finished with 4.5 sacks during the final five games of the season, including 1.5 against Washington State.
Fite, entering his sophomore year, appears to be the future of the defense in the interior as his ability to fill gaps and stop the run will be key in the early part of the season. He’ll be joined by Arizona transfer Jacob Kongaika in the interior.
Arizona State opens up its non-conference schedule at home on Saturday against the Wyoming Cowboys out of the Mountain West Conference. This is a tough test to start the year as the Cowboys are coming off a nine-win season that was capped off by a one-point victory in the Arizona Bowl, now sponsored by Snoop Dogg. It was the Cowboys' third appearance in the bowl in the last five years.
In Week 2, the Sun Devils welcome Mississippi State from the SEC to Tempe before they travel to San Marcos, Texas for a Week 3 Thursday night matchup against Texas State, who is projected to be one of the top group-of-five teams in the country this season.
From that point, Arizona State will begin its first season of Big-12 play with the toughest schedule in the conference. In October, the Sun Devils welcome in back-to-back weeks a pair of college football playoff contenders in No. 22 Kansas and No. 11 Utah.
November doesn't get much easier for the Sun Devils, as they travel to No. 17 Oklahoma State, No. 18 Kansas Staten and to Tucson for the annual Territorial Cup rivalry matchup against No. 21 Arizona.
Seliga’s Prediction: 6-6 (3-6)
After two abysmal seasons and a complete gutting of the roster, for Arizona State to potentially make a bowl game in year two under Kenny Dillingham would be a massive step towards completing his goal of “activating the valley."
The offense’s demise last year came from an unbelievably high number of freakish injuries that handicapped strong defensive performances against Washington, Colorado and Cal that would’ve pushed the Sun Devils to a .500 record.
With what appears to be a much improved passing game even after the departure of Jalin Conyers and Elijah Badger to the transfer portal, opens the door for a strong rushing attack by Skattebo and fellow running backs. That should be the difference in tight games to push Arizona State over the edge.
Realistically, the Sun Devils should start off 3-0 with a couple hard-fought victories before dropping three straight to open up conference play.
Another victory should come in week eight when Arizona State travels to Cincinnati prior to its bye week. Coming off the bye, a trip to Stillwater to face Oklahoma State will loom and most likely will send the Sun Devils to 4-4 before welcoming an inconsistent UCF squad to town in Week 11, which has their own question marks on the defensive end.
The improved offense and the back end of the Sun Devils defense should be the difference in an Arizona State victory before a road trip to Kansas State. Following that matchup, they’ll come home for a senior day matchup against a rebuilding BYU team which is the perfect opponent for the Sun Devils to clinch bowl eligibility for the first time since 2021.
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