For DaQuwan Dunn, playing football is about more than just playing football.
Dunn, a freshman defensive back at Arizona State, is motivated by his mother, Wendi. She worked days and nights to help support the family, clocking in for her shifts at a foster home. That left a young Dunn in charge of his two younger siblings, Detavious and Damarian.
“I had to be the man of the house because my brother wasn't there, and then my dad wasn't here,” Dunn said.
His father, Quentin, was, as Dunn described it, present, but not “all the time.” Dunn's nickname, "Bull," comes from his father. He's been called "Bull" since he was six years old, but he is actually still trying to find out the origins of the nickname.
“I mean, he was there; it was just like, he wasn't
in the picture all the time," Dunn said. "He would come to my games and everything, support. He just wasn't there when I got older. And then my brother, he was there; he just wasn't a good role model.
“I had to step up my game to be a better role model for my little brothers.”
Dunn did step up his game.
He morphed into a three-star prospect at Berkner High School in Richardson, Texas, just north of Dallas, earning all-district honors as a senior with 53 tackles, four interceptions and four pass breakups. That’s when he caught the attention of ASU defensive coordinator Brian Ward and the rest of the coaching staff.
“We saw him live in a high school workout,” Ward said. “We saw it right away, the talent that he has.”
ASU offered him a scholarship on May 13, 2024. Nearly a year later to the day, Dunn visited Tempe for the first time. A few days later, on May 19, 2025, he committed to the Sun Devils.
Dunn officially signed in December, completing one part of Dunn’s dream for himself, his mother and his family.
“I had to make sure she ain't got to pay for college," Dunn said. "I had to get out the mud."
Bryan Carrington knows full well the impact football can have. Carrington, a Texas native like Dunn, has gone from being a community college student to an unpaid intern at Houston and now to the assistant head coach at ASU.
“Through this game, you can change your life,” Carrington said. “You have an opportunity to play a game on Saturday, change the trajectory of your family and what your last name means forever, and I don't think that's something we as coaches take lightly, and when a player doesn't take that lightly, it is incredible what can happen.”
Since getting to Arizona State as an early enrollee in January, Dunn has quickly made his presence known. Through spring and fall camp, he’s progressed up the depth chart and has played as well as any freshman defensive back in Tempe in recent memory.
Dunn is still picking things up, but there’s no denying that he’s been able to stand out since arriving. He’s already been practicing in the two-deep, indicating he will see considerable playing time in 2026.
“Right now, it's ‘50 First Dates,’ a lot of these looks and the defenses are brand new, so what to do and how to do it is still new to him,” Ward said. “He's learning. He picks up things really fast, and when you have a lot of ability, it makes up for a lot of mistakes too. He's a guy that is continuing to develop, and we're gonna need him this year.”
Kenny Dillingham recently singled out Dunn, the latest freshman to earn the praise of the head coach.
“Daquwan Dunn's had a great camp,” Dillingham said on August 10. “He's working his way up the depth chart. From a talent perspective and learning it, he's better and better every day.
“He has matured a lot since he's been here. He's made a lot of good plays. He's a good player. We thought we got one when we signed him. He's been that so far."
While Dunn is certainly happy to see Dillingham take notice of him, he knows it won’t mean much if he doesn’t perform when it actually starts to count.
“I don't never let that get to my head, because I know I can be better every day,” Dunn said. “I got to stack days over days.”
Carrington was one of the early hires made by Dillingham in 2023 and has been instrumental in the team’s recruiting efforts in Texas, highlighted by the #Texas2Tempe slogan. Dunn is a result of that effort, and hopes to follow in the footsteps of another former Texas prep at ASU in Keith Abney II. They attended high schools 50 miles apart in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
The two are very close — Dunn referred to Abney as his “Day One” — and call each other frequently. Dunn said Abney checks up on him almost daily. Abney, like Dunn, was a three-star prospect out of high school. Over the course of three seasons, Abney developed into an NFL prospect and was selected by the Detroit Lions in the fifth round in the 2026 draft.
It’s very early on. No snaps have been played. Yet, Dunn is filling the coaching staff with optimism.
“The ceiling for him is the sky,” Carrington said. “The sky is the limit for that kid. I feel he is the most talented freshman cornerback we've brought in in Kenny's regime here at Arizona State. He has ball skills. He sees the flash of the ball; he's able to go get the football. He's just a total athlete.”
Logan Stanley is a sports reporter with The Arizona Republic who primarily focuses on high school, college and Olympic sports. To suggest ideas for human-interest stories and other news, reach out to Stanley at logan.stanley@usatodayco.com or 707-293-7650. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter: @LSscribe.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: ASU freshman DB playing for his family: 'Had to get out the mud'
