Cutter Boley is in line to start at quarterback for Arizona State in its season opener against Morgan State on Sept. 5 at Mountain America Stadium. Kenny Dillingham said the Sun Devils will have nearly all new starters, putting the Kentucky transfer at the center of a roster reset that can change evaluation from one week to the next.
Kenny Dillingham’s fourth season
Dillingham is days away from the first game of his fourth season, and he is making the same point repeatedly: he is focused on his own team. “I don't focus on other people,” he said. “I focus on us. I truly want to look at where we are and what we can do better. I try to obsess over us because nowadays you can obsess over who they've got, what transfers are here, whose starting there. I just try to obsess over and over more than I ever had.”
That approach fits the roster situation. With nearly all new starters, Arizona State is not carrying over the kind of established depth chart that usually lets opponents project matchups with confidence. Boley’s role is the clearest example: the offense is being built around a transfer quarterback before the first snap of the season.
From the haboob game to now
Dillingham’s first game against Southern Utah ended 24-21, but the night was defined by the nearly three-hour delay caused by a haboob. Jaden Rashada debuted at quarterback as a true freshman on his birthday and threw for 236 yards, while Troy Omeire caught a 3-yard touchdown pass in the closing seconds of the first half to give Arizona State a 20-7 lead. The stadium did not empty until nearly 2 a.m.
Arizona State finished that season 3-9, then Dillingham won a conference title the next year and received a contract extension. The contrast is stark: the program has moved from surviving chaos in its opener to entering this season with a different kind of uncertainty, one created by turnover instead of weather.
Morgan State at Mountain America Stadium
Morgan State arrives at 1-0 after a 17-7 win over North Carolina A&T, so Arizona State is not getting a soft first look. The opener will force Boley and the new starters to handle game speed immediately, without the benefit of a long runway.
How much Boley changes the offense on Sept. 5 is the issue that will decide the tone of the night. If Arizona State settles quickly at quarterback, Dillingham’s team can start the season with a clean read on itself; if not, the opener becomes the first test of how much turnover this Sun Devils roster can absorb at once.
