Arizona State Assistant Coach Praises Utah QB
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TEMPE -- Kenny Dillingham has cultivated a culture that is heavily predicated on hard work, honor, and honesty - as well as being all-in on the state of Arizona.
One of the steps Dillingham took towards fulfilling that goal was hiring Saguago head coach Jason Mohns as his TE coach - Mohns was fresh off of a stint as one of the most successful high school coaches in the history of Arizona football.
Mohns has done a great job building up a deep position group for both the present and the future - his presence on the Sun Devil staff also creates an interesting connection between the Arizona State program and the upcoming matchup in the Utah Utes.
Mohns' quarterback in his final years as head coach was none other than Devon Dampier, who is now the starting signal caller for a Utah program that is seeking to rebound from a pair of rough seasons in 2023 and 2024.
Dampier enjoyed a pair of relatively successful campaigns with the New Mexico Lobos before transferring to Utah to play power league football - Mohns never had a doubt about the type of player the Arizona native was.
"I never doubted it... I thought he was the most grossly underrated player that ever came out of this state, and I still to the day believe that." These were the words of Mohns when he spoke to media following Wednesday's practice.
The praise surrounding Dampier has been virtually unanimous throughout the program - as Kenny Dillingham and defensive coordinator Brian Ward both confirmed that Mohns' words on the Utah star were overwhelmingly positive - particularly Dillingham in his weekly Monday press conference.
"Yeah, we're gonna stick to kind of what we see on tape. You know, coach Mohns definitely may have some some stuff, you know, but usually the stuff he says is, oh, no, he's a really good competitor. He plays better in big games. And, like, awesome, great. That's exciting. Yeah, he's really tough to tackle. He's savvy, great, perfect. Like, he's more telling us things that we don't want to hear. I want to hear him say, like, yeah, the kid can't do something, but that's not what he says. He says he can do everything, and so, yeah, it's just more he's just more confirming what we see on tape, which is he's a really, really good football player."
Dampier will be protected by a pair of future NFL tackles in Caleb Lomu and Spencer Fano - this challenge is something completely different from what the Arizona State defense has faced this season.
Read more about Arizona State basketball coach Bobby Hurley speaking directly to fans ahead of the start of the 2025 season here, and on previewing key individual Utah players ahead of the Sun Devil football game on Saturday here.
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Kevin Hicks is an Arizona State alumni and now serves as the Arizona State Beat Writer On SI.