The Arizona State Sun Devils are just 11 days away from opening the 2026 season up.
The Sun Devils are continuing preparations for the September 5 contest against Morgan State. A practice on Tuesday is the next step towards fully realizing the highly anticipated season.
There are several areas the team still must figure out ahead of year four of the Kenny Dillingham era, but two key developments came to light following practice.
Arizona State QB Decision is Still in Air
Arizona State is one of the highest-profile starting quarterback battles that is still active.
Media members were entering this week anticipating that Kentucky transfer Cutter Boley would earn the title on his 21st birthday.
The announcement on Tuesday? That there wasn’t any announcement.
Dillingham is instead waiting to make a call, stating that it will be made within the next week. This is in lieu of Boley earning virtually all first-team reps last week following a spirited Camp Tontozona scrimmage on August 15.
Sixth-year Mikey Keene is still in the race and is competing with valiance, but the gap is quite possibly too much to overcome at this stage. The Arizona native provides a solid floor to the Arizona State offense and is the most experienced player in the room by a wide margin.
Boley, however, is becoming more comfortable with Dillingham’s offense by the day. He is building deep connections with star receiver transfers in Omarion Miller and Reed Harris. The 6’5″ quarterback is also displaying play extension ability that is key to successfully operating this scheme.
The call ultimately feels inevitable, but Dillingham is holding his cards close for a few more days.
Key ASU Contributor Receives Unfortunate News
GettyZyrus Fiaseu’s absence will impact ASU’s defense this season.
Sixth-year linebacker Zyrus Fiaseu is officially out for the season with a knee injury (Sun Devil Source).
This is following a moment in Saturday’s scrimmage where the third-year Sun Devil required help to make it off the field. This is an absolutely crushing revelation, as this will be the second consecutive season that an injury cuts his season short.
Fiaseu was entering one final year of his collegiate career. This extension was in response to the season-ending foot injury suffered against Baylor in September of last year.
It is unclear if another year will be granted to Fiaseu, but he is still slating to be a major part of the team regardless. The California native is a member of the Pat Tillman Leadership Council. This inherently sets up the linebacker to serve as a leader to the roster at-large.
The 23-year old is also going to serve as a mentor to the next generation of Sun Devil linebackers. Owen Long and third-year Martell Hughes are already projecting to be the two starting players in DC Brian Ward’s 4-2-5 scheme. The third spot is now open with Fiaseu’s absence. This is where Tristan Bacon, Prayer Young-Blackgoat, and NAU transfer Ramere Davis slide in.
It remains to be seen how Fiaseu’s loss will impact Arizona State, but Ward’s defense is thinning by the day.
ASU needs to figure out how to fill these holes ahead of a September 12 game against Texas A&M.
Arizona State Head Coach Kenny Dillingham Makes Key Program Announcements Tuesday