Arizona State coach has great response after players enter transfer portal

The spring transfer portal window opened on April 16 — and the Sun Devils have already lost 9 players

Arizona State head coach Kenny Dillingham. | Michael Chow/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Kenny Dillingham understands that the transfer portal is now part of the game.

Arizona State's 34-year-old head coach has embraced all aspects of the portal, and has gone out of his way to help players find landing spots with other teams.

After the spring window for the portal opened on April 16, nine Arizona State football players entered the portal — and Dillingham publicly praised them.

After quarterback Navi Bruzon entered the portal on Tuesday, here's what Dillingham posted on social media:

"Someone will get a kid who changed a HS program! And won our scout team MVP!!!! Baller!! He can help a team no question!!!"

Someone will get a kid who changed a HS program! And won our scout team MVP!!!! Baller!! He can help a team no question!!! https://t.co/TCl5f87cqS

— Coach Dillingham (@KennyDillingham) April 15, 2025

Before the winter portal window opened on Dec. 9 — when the Sun Devils were preparing for a College Football Playoff game — Dillingham made it clear he will support his players who choose to enter the portal. He told them they could enter the portal and still practice and play with the team.

"I didn't want those guys to feel like they had to wait to go in — because they wanted an opportunity to have a bigger role for a program — until after the CFP," Dillingham said in early December. "I think that would have hurt their chances [to transfer], so I made it very clear to the guys that you can stay on the team ... even if you go in the portal here that doesn't affect me at all. That's just us being on the same page trying to help you achieve what you want to achieve in your career."

Nine ASU football players enter portal

The window for the spring portal runs until April 25, and nine Arizona State players have already entered the portal:

WR Max Ware, sophomore

QB Navi Bruzon, freshman

DL J.P. Deeter, sophomore

RB Alton McCaskill, junior

OL Kaden Haeckel, freshman

OT Connor Cameron, freshman

K Ian Hershey, sophomore

QB Christian Hunt, freshman

WR Justice Spann, freshman