It looks like it will be one of those years the Arizona State Sun Devils are going to be under the radar. Preseason projections are out, and all have coach Kenny Dillingham's team finishing between sixth and ninth.
The biggest factor is likely the lack of established starters. You can count the number of returning starters on one hand, and you never know how transfers are going to work into the mix.
The Sun Devils open the regular season on Sept. 5 against Morgan State at Mountain America Stadium.
Here is a look at 10 players who will be critical to the team's success in 2026:
QB Cutter Boley (Jr., 6-5, 220)
It all starts with the quarterback, and ASU will be breaking in a new one this season, no matter who comes out of the four-way quarterback battle. While Chandler native Mikey Keene has been the model of consistency and is the most experienced of the candidates, it is hard not to see Boley emerging as the starter. He is an imposing figure and possesses a much stronger arm than the smaller Keene. ASU has multiple wide receivers who can stretch the field, so it needs to have a quarterback who gets the ball vertical. The thing that could get Keene, or one of the other candidates, more of a look would be if turnovers became an issue.
WR Omarion Miller (Sr., 6-2, 215)
Wide receiver transfers from Colorado have worked out nicely for the Sun Devils. Jordyn Tyson came over from Boulder in 2023 and developed into a top-10 draft pick in the spring. Now he's opening eyes in New Orleans Saints camp. Miller has NFL potential as well. He was the No. 2 wide receiver in the transfer portal, so his coming to Tempe was quite a get for Dillingham and receivers coach Hines Ward. The Sun Devils look to have a lot of depth at the position, which should help prevent opponents from putting all their attention on Miller. The Sun Devils replaced a marquee receiver with another marquee receiver.
PK Carson Smith (6th year, 5-11, 180)
The Sun Devils know what it is like to have both success and failure here. In 2024, the Sun Devils' place-kicking unit was just 11-for-20 between three kickers, with the longest field goal just 47 yards. It was a dismal enough showing that Dillingham called for open tryouts to try and find a kicker. Last season, Jesus Gomez was brought in, and that paid off as he went 11-for-20 with a best of 54 yards. He had game-winners in back-to-back wins over Baylor and TCU. It looks like the duty will fall to Carson Smith, a transfer from Austin Peay, who doesn't seem to have quite the leg strength of Gomez, but we're only a week into fall camp. ASU also has senior Carston Kieffer. With ASU's history of close games, it needs a reliable kicker.
LB Owen Long (Jr., 6-1, 225)
What do you do when you lose a linebacker of the caliber of Keyshawn Elliott? You go out and land the athlete who led the entire country in tackles. That would be Colorado State's Owen Long, who tallied 151 tackles, with 10 games in which he hit double digits in tackles. He has been the most impressive defender not just early in fall camp, but going back to spring practices.
C Tana Alo-Tupuola (Jr., 6-1, 335)
The Georgia Tech transfer will anchor an offensive line that will be considerably larger than last season. He played in 10 games and made his first four career starts in 2025 when he helped the Yellow Jackets reach the ACC championship game and bolstered an offense that finished 11th in the country in total yards per game (460). Center is one of those positions one truly doesn't appreciate until there is a malfunction there. ASU was experimenting there last season after starter Ben Coleman went down with a season-ending injury and was never the same.
LT's Jarmaine Mitchell (Jr., 6-8, 320), Champ Westbrooks (Jr., 6-5, 300)
ASU has four athletes vying for time at the two tackle spots, and it looks like these two will be in the rotation for the left side, which is important because it's guarding the blind side of a right-handed quarterback like Boley. Westbrooks is in his third year in the program and has been quietly progressing, drawing his first career start in the Sun Bowl. Mitchell is a mammoth figure. He was the No. 1-ranked community college prospect in the country out of Copiah-Lincoln in Mississippi.
CB Ashton Stamps (Jr., 6-0, 190)
Next to Long, Stamps has been the most impressive defender. The Sun Devils will need him since they are out both their starting cornerbacks, with Keith Abney going to the Lions in the NFL draft and Javan Robinson entering the transfer portal. Stamps set himself up for one of those starting spots. In three years at LSU, he appeared in 27 games with 17 career starts, tallying 75 tackles and 18 pass breakups. Having played in the SEC, he has seen quality competition.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: 8 players critical for Arizona State football success in 2026