Kenny Dillingham rarely is shy about sharing his thoughts or emotions about college football. So it made sense when, on the first day of the Big 12 media days, the Arizona State coach and FSU offensive coordinator in 2020-21 said: “To me, recruiting is dead. Retention is alive.”
To be fair, Dillingham did not literally mean that he was halting his recruiting efforts, firing his off-field staff and that “recruiting is dead.” But he expanded on his thoughts and placed heavy emphasis on “retention is alive.”
Here’s one: "It's not about recruiting,” Dillingham said “I don't care if we're ranked dead last in recruiting my entire career here. Who knows ... it'd be like if the draft was for one year, then half of your draft picks leave. So it's all about retention now. That's my entire thing."
And another one: “Our program is built on retention not acquisition. I don’t wanna win recruiting rankings, I don’t wanna win social media.”
Dillingham took on a really tough job in what was essentially his hometown. It was his dream scenario for Arizona State to hire him and have patience that he could turn the program around. So he went from 3-9 in year 1 (and in the school’s last year in the Pac-12) to 11-3 with a Big 12 title last fall.
Arizona State’s recruiting class was ranked 45th in 2025 (yes, considerably lower than FSU’s at 19th). And the Sun Devils’ 2026 class is ranked at 41st (FSU’s is 12th). Dillingham isn’t winning the recruiting rankings but he has done very well in the retention game: 16 of the 22 projected starters on offense and defense are returning for 2025.
Here's one more from Dillingham: “It’s all about treating the guys on your team great. And if you treat the guys on your team great, when you get a good player, he’s going to stay there. … Our best players are going to make the most money on our team. And if you have a problem with that, become the best player. Our best young guys deserve to make the next most so they can grow into playing.”
Dillingham’s philosophy is one of player development. If you sign with Arizona State, and become a productive player, you will be rewarded. It also sounds like he’s telling the third-team player not to come into his office demanding a 25 percent raise, especially when the first- and/or second-teamer is returning. That seems to be common sense.
What’s left unsaid here is that Arizona State still hit the portal, adding quality and quantity. The coaches grabbed a receiver from Fresno State, a running back from Army and a tight end from Kentucky, for example.
‘A cluster’
In the first few days of talking season, we were also granted a few gems from various coaches.
Rich Rodriguez, who is beginning his second run at West Virginia, told reporters: “It was a cluster the last three or four years. All coaches were complaining about it. Nobody knew how to really solve it right away. It’s a lot better now with the cap and the rev share. … Until we get some Congressional or help from DC and get more guardrails on the deal, it’s still going to be a cluster. But a heck of a lot better than it was a month ago. College athletics and college football is such a great entity, it’s kind of hard to screw it up. We did everything in the last three or four years to do it.”
Still, the money has been flowing. And perhaps nowhere more than in west Texas, where Texas Tech has been active in recruiting via the transfer portal and at the high school level. The Red Raiders hauled in the No. 1 transfer class, according to On3 Sports. Texas Tech has been a big, big spender.
"It's been a fun offseason,” Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire said. “We were really aggressive whenever it came to the portal and meeting some of our needs for the football team.”
Aggressive? Understatement?
‘The players are employees’
But then there’s the next big storyline that will eventually come about. While we think that could be athletes forming unions and collectively bargaining, there’s also the potential of athletes becoming employees of a school.
“You’ve got to admit the players are employees,” Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy told On3. “Then you can build collective bargaining. We’ve all talked about it. But you have to admit they’re employees.”
Talking season is just getting started. The SEC coaches will take the stage next week, with Norvell, with Alabama’s Kalen DeBoer and Florida’s Billy Napier speaking on Wednesday. And the Seminoles are making the trip to Charlotte, N.C., for ACC Kickoff on July 23.
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