Since being hired by Arizona State in 2022, football coach Kenny Dillingham has usually been transparent when it comes to personnel changes and injuries.
So it was a break from the norm when Dillingham was tight-lipped about who will be the starting quarterback for the upcoming game against Kansas State on Oct. 24.
Sophomore quarterback Cutter Boley, the team’s priority target in the transfer portal and one of the top NIL earners for ASU, was benched in the second half of the 53-25 loss to Texas Tech for senior Mikey Keene as the Sun Devils fell to 3-3 on the season.
Twice during his press conference on Oct. 19, Dillingham was asked about changes at quarterback. Dillingham refused to name a starter.
“I’m not really going to get into that in great
detail,” Dillingham said. “Like, I said up until the game, I got a lot of confidence in both of these guys. You know, conference opponent, I’m not going to get into much detail about that, or any detail.”
When asked again later in the press conference, Dillingham doubled down.
“I’m not going to get much into the quarterbacks and all that today. I’m fairly open in here, but I’m just not going to get into all of that right now. I thought there was some good, some bad. I thought there were a lot of things that I could do better with getting our guys into position to be successful on early downs. I think there’s a lot of room for us to get better.”
Boley has not played to the level coaches envisioned in the offseason, a vision that made him the team’s first signing in the transfer portal. Through six games, Boley has passed for 1,353 yards, 13 touchdowns and five interceptions. Keene, a local product from Chandler High, has only seen extensive action in one game this season but was impressive, completing 25-of-34 passes for 256 yards and two touchdowns in the second half against Texas Tech.
The team waited until just a week before the season opener to name Boley the starter for the 2026 season on Aug. 29.
Near the end of his media availability, Dillingham was asked why he was declining to name a starter.
Dillingham, who said he knows who the starter will be and that he will tell the team as well, mentioned that it had to do with it being a conference game. More of a gamesmanship decision than indecisiveness.
But it’s clear this team is still searching for answers.
There is no “magical “ solution to that, Dillingham says.
Dillingham and his staff met for four hours this past weekend to assess all the moves made during the offseason.
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: @RLSscribe.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona State hasn't named starting QB for this week's game. Why?
