Kenny Dillingham is Waking The Sleeping Giant That Is Arizona State Football

For years we’ve been told that Arizona State football is a “sleeping giant.” That Tempe could be the next great college football town. 

Yet, year after year, it never happens.

The on-field product never lives up to expectations and the fan base never seems to rise to the challenge of building a true home-field advantage and atmosphere worthy of a great college program. 

Many coaches have come to town selling the promise of wins, trophies and national attention. They were the NCAA’s version of Harold Hill and his River City marching band or, if you prefer, Lyle Lanley and his Springfield Monorail: All talk and zero true hope of delivering on their promises. 

Enter Kenny Dillingham.

He’s young, brash, honest to a fault, and not afraid to speak his mind as a first-time college head coach. He’s not your typical leader of the Arizona State football program. Hell, he’s not your typical coach in general. 

As the youngest leader of a program in Power 5 football, he shares his players’ mentality. A trait that led many to wonder if it might be more of a hindrance than a help upon his arrival. 

That never seemed to bother Dillingham. At his introductory press conference he made it clear, win or lose, that he was going to be himself. 

“That’s just who I am. That’s what you’re going to get from me. I am who I am,” he told reporters. “I’m the same person every single day I show up to work. I’m fired up to be here. Fired up to be a Sun Devil.”

He has been true to his word. Despite finishing 3-9 in his first year at the helm, his belief in himself, his system, his players and ASU’s program never waivered. Nor did his swagger. 

He acted like a man that knew something the rest of us didn’t. And he just might have. 

Despite being picked to finish dead last in the Big 12 in the preseason media poll, Dillingham had his team ready for their new conference and the attention that would accompany it. He didn’t let the noise distract his team. In fact, the Devils were ready to make some noise of their own. 

Through the first six games of the season, Dillingham’s Sun Devils are 5-1, having won almost as many games as they have the past two years combined. The most impressive win came this past Saturday against No.16 Utah at Mountain America Stadium. 

For the first time in a long time, the football on the field and the fans in the stands showed up and showed out. The echoes of the fans from the buttes surrounding the stadium acted as the siren song enticing people to believe in the promise of football glory in Tempe. But is it true or just another tease? 

The hype surrounding Dillingham might just be real. While others’ belief came from the zeros on their paychecks or over-inflated egos based on past success, Kenny’s comes from deep inside. It’s based on the fact that, typed in my best Rod Tidwell voice, he’s a Sun Devil man! 

Having grown up in the Valley, he found a passion for football playing at Scottsdale Chaparral before his career came to an end due to injury. He coached at his high school while graduating from ASU and eventually was an assistant on the offensive side of the ball for the Arizona State Football program as his first college job. He brought the same mentality to the locker room then as he does now.

“He came every single day with a lot of enthusiasm and a lot of energy,” former ASU coach Todd Graham said of Dillingham. “But he also just kind of sat in the back of the room and just watched and listened and learned.”

While his journey made him a Tiger twice, a Seminole, and a Duck, he has always been a Sun Devil at heart. That was on full display Saturday evening as the fans stormed the field after the 27-19 victory. 

During his postgame ESPN interview, his emotions took hold as he shouted: “It’s amazing. I was one of these guys! I was doing this!” And then he began jumping with the students on the field and being part of the mass of fans. 

The moment perfectly encompassed who Dillingham is and what he can mean to the program and the Valley. He’s just like the fans. He believes because he always has. 

“I’m going to work and our staff is going to be people who will build relationships in this Valley because they love this Valley,” Dillingham said the first time he stepped to the mic as coach. “They love the Phoenix metropolitan area. They love this state. And they’re gonna do everything they can to make this place one of the best schools in college football.”

Maybe that’s just what it will take to wake the giant from its slumber. Not some hot shot from “the U”, a train making its first stop in college football or some never-was from Boise State. Just a hometown kid with a passion and a belief that he can activate the Valley in a way only he can.

“We need everything that this Valley has all in, because I am all in,” Dillingham said

If he keeps it up, the Valley may finally get all it’s ever wanted out of college football. A true chance to be a powerhouse. A true chance to be “all in” on a national title thanks to a local kid made good.