"We're going to put the best players on the field to try to win," ASU head football coach Kenny Dillingham said. "There's not much gamesmanship for me there. It's the best players play."
This past Saturday night, those best players happened to be Freshman.
RB Cordae Mack and DL Julian Hugo were the main standouts for the Sun Devils in their third win of the season
It's promising to see young talent rise to the top, but in a season headlined by the Reed Harris's and Owen Long's of the world, could an uptick in underclassmen production be the difference in ASU's season?
Coming Out Party
It wasn't a perfect night for the Sun Devils against Hawaii, but it was a positive change after their unraveling against Baylor the week prior.
Two of those bright spots: Cordae Mack and Julian Hugo.
On offense, Mack scored the first two touchdowns of his college career, recording 154 yards on 13 carries, the most rushing yards by a Sun Devil freshman since 2005.
Most notably, Mack took a 67-yard break out to the house for ASU's first real "explosive" of the game. Not a bad way to spend your 19th birthday.
On defense, just like Mack, Julian Hugo recorded a pair of his own career first: sacks.
Hugo entered the game with just one assisted tackle on the year and left with two solo sacks, becoming a needed game wrecker for the Sun Devils against the Rainbow Warriors.
“That was huge," Dillingham said postgame about Mack's performance. "I mean, a lot of football's momentum and just like swagger. Like we’re going to run the ball. The mindset of a team is so important, and that's confidence. And the confidence of a team and the confidence of players is vital. And they're 18-to-22-year-olds. They're going to feel whatever is around them when it comes to their confidence."
But was this newfound confidence a one-game wonder? Or is there something more to be revealed as the season progresses?
Thrown Into The Fire
Under Kenny Dillingham, some of ASU's best contributors have been thrown into action as freshmen or inexperienced players.
Most notably, Dillingham kicked off his second season in Tempe with transfer quarterback Sam Leavitt earning the starting job, despite never having started a game in college up to that point. Leavitt would end up leading the Sun Devil offense to a conference title and a CFP bid in 2024.
But looking past the trophies and playoff appearances, there are still plenty of examples of young players becoming key pieces quickly.
C.J. Fite, one of ASU's top defensive linemen and a part of the Sun Devil leadership council, started five games and appeared in 11 his freshman year, Dillingham's first season at the helm (2023). Despite finishing the year 3-9, it was important experience for Fite, becoming an even bigger piece of the puzzle in a CFP-bound 2024.
Kenny Knows
You don't have to go back to Kenny's ASU start in 2023 to see his production with young talent.
As an offensive coordinator at Auburn, Dillingham mentored freshman quarterback Bo Nix, helping guide the now-Denver Broncos starting quarterback to win Freshman of the Year honors in the SEC.
The same can be said about Dillingham's move to Florida State a year later, helping out young QB Jordan Travis, who would later lead the Seminoles to a 2023 ACC title after Dillingham left for Oregon.
Can Dillingham's willingness to include freshmen be due to his offensive-coordinator past? Or is it more linked to his time coaching high school football? Either way, the fourth-year head coach has not been shy about including players, no matter the class, and for ASU, this freshman class may be the best to get involved early.
"They didn't do a world tour, they knew they wanted to be Sun Devils," Dillingham said about the incoming class in August. "Our talent's just getting better and better. I think a lot of these guys can see the field and help us at a high level."
Arizona State will need contributions across the board, from seniors to freshmen, when they take on No. 10 Texas Tech this Saturday.
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