Every spring, college football fans around the country are enamored by teams returning to practice fields to get work in after a few months of rest in the offseason.
Tempe is no different, with information given throughout the spring period providing a different perspective all around the field.
ASU head coach Kenny Dillingham highlights improving his players' confidence as vital to their development during spring practice. He likes to see players talking all practice long, as he thinks there is a direct connection between confidence and communication.
"Some guys communicate really well," Dillingham said. "Some guys got to get better (and) some of that is confidence. Volume is confidence."
Getting back into the swing of in-game situations is one major benefit to players coming back from the offseason period. Simulating high-intensity moments has been a staple of spring practices.
Dillingham does this due to the importance of those moments when the season finally comes around.
"If you're on defense and you can win the downs you're not supposed to win, and you make the downs that you're not supposed to win difficult for the opponent, it changes everything," Dillingham said. "(On the) flip side, offense, you've got to win the downs you're supposed to win. If third and one is challenging, it's gonna be a long year on that side of the ball."
Battle for the signal caller
One of the biggest questions for ASU fans heading into the spring was about the quarterback room. Despite the hopes of many Sun Devil fans, there has not been a lot of conversation from the coaching staff about the projected order in the backfield, but ASU certainly has its bases covered.
If it wants youth, look no further than redshirt freshman Cameron Dyer and freshman Jake Fette. Stepping into Tempe as a four-star on 247Sports, Dyer did not play in his first season at ASU, but has been showing off his arm talent in practice.
Fette, another four-star, may only be in his first semester in college, but has experience around the team after joining practice before the 2025 Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl. While Dillingham has the option to sit Fette and turn 2026 into a redshirt year, an impressive spring could move him up the depth chart.
If ASU is hoping for experience, look no further than redshirt senior Mikey Keene. Being at his fourth school in six seasons, Keene has tallied 8,245 passing yards and a 65-28 TD-INT ratio. While his first four years were split between UCF and Fresno State, Keene didn't see the field in 2025 for Michigan and steps into Tempe as a veteran in the quarterback room.
The early favorite for the starting job is redshirt sophomore Cutter Boley. Boley's 6-foot-5-inch frame offers Dillingham the tallest option at quarterback. Adding on his 2,160 yards and 15 touchdowns at Kentucky in 2025, Boley looks to improve under the tutelage of Dillingham and offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo.
Star wideouts
Another position group that has dominated the conversation is the wide receivers.
The headline names in the room are transfers, Reed Harris and Omarion Miller. Both four-star transfers on 247Sports, Harris ranked fourth and Miller third among receivers; the duo of wideouts made the most noise while the portal was open for good reason.
Harris racked up 1,161 receiving yards and nine touchdowns during his time with Boston College. Meanwhile, Miller ranked as the highest-rated transfer in ASU history after putting up 1,258 yards and 10 touchdowns for Colorado, capped off by a junior year that saw him get 808 yards and eight touchdowns.
Race of the running backs
Running backs, a position group Dillingham praised in the past, is one he's openly said he wants to increase the amount of the field they see.
With their head coach praising competition in all aspects of life and options up and down the depth chart, redshirt freshman Jason Brown Jr. sees the dynamic of the running back room.
"The competition level is always extremely high here," Brown Jr. said. "I feel like this room is just as talented as any other room and there's NFL guys everywhere."
While players in position groups fight for playing time before the regular season starts, coaches are trying to create competition between the two sides of the ball.
Competitive intensity
With players playing with a high level of intensity five months before the season even begins, defensive line coach Diron Reynolds is happy to see the coaching staff's philosophy come to fruition.
"We're trying to approach each other in a way where, especially as coaches, we lift each other up but we want to get some rivalry out here," Reynolds said. "We want everybody at everybody's throat during practice, but at the end of practice, we're gonna all love it up, hug it up. We got to create that chaos on the field."
Edited by Niall Rosenberg, Senna James and Ellis Preston.
Reach the reporter at aswift10@asu.edu and follow @alexswiftsports on X.
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