Arizona State Strikes in Portal Again, Earns Key QB Commit

Kenny Dillingham and the Sun Devils continue to successfully navigate the transfer portal.

Michigan quarterback Mikey Keene (7) warms up ahead of the Washington game at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

TEMPE -- The Arizona State roster building strategy ahead of the 2026 season significantly shifted when it became clear that star quarterback Sam Leavitt would continue his college career elsewhere after two seasons in Tempe.

Kenny Dillingham has delivered in droves - and then some - over the last six days. The Sun Devils currently possess a top 10 transfer portal class per 247 Sports, which is spearheaded by the addition of Kentucky transfer QB Cutter Boley, as well as two of the top receivers in the portal in Colorado's Omarion Miller and Boston College's Reed Harris.

Arizona State continued the momentum going into Thursday morning - adding another QB to a very talented room, as well as a kicker to potentially replace the outgoing Jesus Gomez.

Nov 23, 2024; Tempe, Arizona, USA; Arizona State Sun Devils head coach Kenny Dillingham against the Brigham Young Cougars in the second half at Mountain America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Arizona State Secures Another QB Via Portal

Local insider John Gambadoro reported on Thursday morning that the Sun Devils had secured a pledge from former UCF, Fresno State, and Michigan quarterback Mikey Keene.

Keene, 22, is a native of Arizona and played high school football at Chandler high school. Keene became the starter at UCF in 2021 after an injury to incumbent starter Dillon Gabriel before serving as a backup to John Rhys Plumlee in 2022. He subsequently transferred to Fresno State, where he threw 42 touchdowns across two seasons as a starter. He competed for the starting job at Michigan in 2025, losing out to talented true freshman Bryce Underwood.

Now, Gambadoro reports that Keene will compete with Boley for the starting job in the months ahead - with freshmen Cameron Dyer and Jake Fette potentially set to factor into the competition as well.

Sun Devils Also Add New Kicker

Arizona State's special teams have been much maligned over the last two seasons - whether due to an unstable kicking situation, inconsistent punting, or poor kicking coverage.

Gomez stabilized the kicking position in 2025 behind 99 total points in the campaign - which was capped off with the third-longest made field goal in the history of the program. Unfortunately Gomez was a senior and is now off to NFL ambitions. This forced Dillingham and freshly minted special teams coordinator Jack Nudo to find a new solution.

Enter Austin Peay's Carson Smith. The experienced kicker knocked down 14-17 field goal attempts in 2025, as well as all 53 extra point attempts during the course of the season. It's unclear if more competition will be brought in.

Read more on why the Arizona State men's basketball team will exceed expectations in the 2025-26 season here, and on why the bright future of the football program isn’t dimmed by the loss to Arizona here.

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