The local media had a chance to chat with several Sun Devil football players on Wednesday, Feb. 4...below are some quotes, notes, tweets and thoughts from around the room.
"I’ve been patient, and I got to go out there and show, with the limited opportunity this season, what I can do.” Opportunities for younger players can be few and far between, but when his number was called, RB @Jasonbrown2024 capitalized on his chance https://t.co/vRy9RshTlq
— DevilsDigest.com (@DevilsDigest) February 13, 2026
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Freshman QB Cam Dyer
On the new quarterback room
“I'm really excited to get the chance to compete. Having a new quarterback room, bringing in guys from other places, guys from other programs, a guy from high school, it's a very different vibe. Just to be in the forefront of that room already and have the chance and the opportunity to compete, it means the world to me.”
On choosing to stay in Tempe
“I feel like growing up, loyalty has always been a big piece that my parents instilled into me. My family prides themselves on loyalty. I'm a man of my word. I told Coach D and the coaching staff that no matter what happened this offseason, that I would stick it out and grind it out. I love it here, man, I love it. I love this place, I love Tempe. I fell in love with it ever since I came out here for the first time in my junior year. Just getting the opportunity was a big thing for me and that's what I'm going to get. It's going to be a lot of new faces on the offensive side of the ball, especially when it comes to the skill positions.”
On the new talent coming in
“Just getting out there with those guys for the first couple of times, it's been crazy. Seeing the guys that left and seeing new guys come in. It's a blessing to be able to have great talent come in and a great time to be around me. So I'm excited, man. We're stacked in the receiving room, stacked in the running backs room. We're really stacked in every room, even on the other side of the ball. Just to be able to compete against some of those guys and go out to battle with them in spring ball and fall camp and stuff like that, I'm excited.”
On how he unwinds in his free time
“I still compete in video games and card games, whatever the case may be. I guess the only thing that I don't do that has competing is just watching TV, just kind of like the rest of us. I would say those two things just playing video games and watching TV.”
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Freshman QB Jake Fette
On playing for Kenny Dillingham
“He's just a great dude. He really cares for his players, and that's something I really care about, you know, you're not just another number on the field, but you're a real person to him, and that meant a lot to me.”
On Dillingham’s quarterback coaching skills
“I'm really excited that Dillingham worked with the dudes at Oregon. He's had a good pipeline of developing quarterbacks, which is a big reason why I committed out here.”
On competing for a starting spot
“I'm really excited for it. At the end of the day I am the youngest in the room, but I feel like I have a shot to start. Everyone in the room has to learn a new system except for Cam. He's the only one who's been here before, but everyone's really just learning and developing, so I believe I'll have a pretty good chance to start this season.”
On learning a new system at the college level
“I'm getting the basics down. It's a lot coming from a simple high school system, but it's not too hard. I've been dealing with it.”
On surprises he’s faced at the college level
“Just the speed and the size of the dudes. I'm in El Paso, we don't have dudes this big that often. So, just really seeing people that big move that fast is crazy to me.”
On what he took from his first team practices"
Just knowing that I'm here to compete. The coaches would remind me if I made a bad ball or something in practice, that I'm here to compete and I'm here for a reason.”
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--Mikey Keene shares on learning from Kenny Dillingham
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Sophomore RB Demarius Robinson
On what he hopes to bring to spring ball
“I’m really trying to be a better leader, trying to step into that leader role since there’s a lot of veterans gone. I just want to keep competing and show the world that I’m a really talented player and things of that nature.”
Sophomore DL Julian Hugo
On what he hopes to get out of spring ball
“I want to get more experience with the plays. I’m looking forward to earning my spot on the team, earning my respect. Four senior defensive ends graduated so I’m ready to start. I feel like it’s my opportunity.”
Sophomore Linebacker Martell Hughes
On his successful freshman year
“Just sticking to the process allowed me to make those plays. Of course having Coach Dillingham, Coach Ward, and Coach Cooper's trust to put me out there on the field is what allowed me to make those plays.”
On staying in contact with former teammates Jordan Crook and Keyshaun Elliott training for the NFL Draft
“Crook is training right now in Nashville, and then, Keyshawn just finished up, one of the Senior All-Star games and he had a pretty good outing so they said they liked it a lot. They're just trying to give me a little tits and bits of how I can help this team too.”
On gearing up for upcoming spring ball
“It's been fun, I missed it. It was a quick turnaround, so I mean it's kind of been the same mentality. Make them remember your name. That's what my grandpa always tells me, and just of course help the other guys, uplift them and compete.”
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Redshirt Freshman RB Jason Brown
On his success at the Sun Bowl
“I always have a lot of confidence in myself and I feel like God wouldn't have blessed me with the opportunity to be here and God wouldn't have blessed me with this coaching staff and this group of people that believe in me if I wasn't able to accomplish great things.”
Jason Brown Jr. runs from defenses, not competition 😤
— PHNX Sun Devils (@PHNX_SunDevils) February 6, 2026
The Arizona State RB is a true Sun Devil for life. pic.twitter.com/dctqlPwqXx
On what helped him succeed in the Sun Bowl
“It's really a lot of guidance through God. The coaching staff just really bleeding into me and believing in me regardless of what the season was looking like at that time. Just keeping my head in it, staying motivated, wanting to win games for this football team, wanting to be a part of this community and this family, and giving it everything I had. So when it comes to step up and embrace a role, I want to embrace that role as full as I can and perform to the best of my ability.”
On his confidence from the Sun Bowl carrying into spring ball
“A good or solid performance always boosts your confidence a little bit, but like I said, confidence is really built within. It's built within the work and within the community ofpeople that are around you, and this community's bled into me. So every day I step onto the field with this team, I'm confident.”
On where he feels he has advanced
“Really just a natural feel for the game, and that just comes with experience and being out there a little bit more in my second year in the program. Being more comfortable with the plays, being more comfortable with the guys around me and things like that, will always help me perform a little bit better. At the same time, just keeping my head on straight and trying to do the right things.”
On his personal goals heading into spring ball
“I'm looking to put some more weight back on and get around a more bigger range so I can be a more featured back and take those 20 to 30 carries if need be. Keep getting faster, keep getting stronger, and really just the mental part. I'm trying to become more of a leader, trying to become someone that this team looks to to make plays and someone that this team looks to to be the guy. 190 to195 lbs. is my weight goal. Right now I'm at 185 lbs., I guess I need those extra pounds to run through CJ Fite in practice, right? Yeah, it'll be a little problem. I can't lie. Even at 195, I think it'll be pretty hard to run through that guy.”
ASU safety Adrian "Boogie" Wilson has high expectations for this Sun Devil defense in 2026.
— Dominic Pasella 🪼 (@DomPasella) February 4, 2026
"I think we are going to be scary, honestly." 😳@DevilsDigest pic.twitter.com/a6jPSxld6g
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Redshirt Junior Safety Adrian “Boogie” Wilson
On the limit of this ASU defensive room
“I don't think there's a limit. I think if we come together and listen to Coach Ward and all the pieces are in the right places, I think we are going to be scared.”
On how the defense is adjusting to a new roster
“This defense is very complex, which is also what makes it very, very good. It's the normality of learning a new playbook, coming into a new environment and trying to adjust or whatnot.”
On how this new roster has been bonding
“We're just getting to know each other, just hanging out, making jokes, learning each other's personalities.
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Fifth year defensive back Lyrik Rawls
On what went into transferring to ASU
“I would say the coaching staff. When I came here on a visit, they just seemed so welcoming and so down to earth. I just knew these were the type of people I wanted to be around.”
On what he’s seen from ASU from playing against them
"It’s been a good feeling. It’s just been a whole wrap around for me just to be playing on these opposing teams and now being a part of them and seeing how their lifestyle is, and I'm just thankful for the experience.”
On being a QB in the Big 12
"Just being able to go out there every weekend and be able to play against some top guys and play against some guys that'll be playing on Sundays. You just gotta be ready every week.”
On his connection with head coach Kenny Dillingham
“Oh, it's been great. When we went to team bond yesterday, it was just cool to talk to him. It was good to just sit down and talk. It was just all cool vibes.”
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Junior defensive lineman CJ Fite
On coming back for another year
There was a lot more to it than I thought it was. Going into college football, I think you just play football. There's a lot more to it that people don't know and I figured out a piece of that. So I'm trying to figure out agents, training and if you're gonna clear or not. So it's a lot of mental stress. I know at one point I just took a week off. I just didn't wanna think about football. I was just gonna just go through it and take a step back. I feel like it was a good thing. That's what I needed, and it helped.”
On if seeing his teammates climb the NFL draft board gives him hope for his future
“It's more, I'm just happy for the guys. It's cool to see the guys you spend so much time with. You see the work they put in, all those guys deserve it. They're all great people, great players, so it's cool to see they're getting their flowers and they're getting the recognition that they deserve. I was talking with some of the people here and you truly do feel happy when you see the guys blow up like that. It shows how Arizona State's changed. There's a lot of things going on and people want to be here.”
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Senior linebacker Zyrus Fiaseu
On bonding with the new players: “It’s pretty good. I actually do think we're doing a really good job. We just came back from an event last night, so it was pretty fun. We're all doing a pretty good job of getting to know each other. We're getting tested already on if we know dudes that are new and all that, or if the new dudes know anybody else. I would say for any of them, I'll run through a brick wall for them.”
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Sophomore wide receiver Riaden Vines-Bright
On coming to ASU
“Definitely the home feeling of it. I lived 10 minutes down the road growing up, came to all the games growing up, so it’s a great feeling. The developmental piece of Coach Hines, Dillingham, just the feeling of being around guys that have done it before, it's going to make me a much better player.”
On bonding with the team
"I feel like it went a lot better than I thought. I feel like our connection is that everybody hangs out, everybody's cool. So it's not like there's no envy. I think we're gonna be a solid unit. I think it's gonna be like glue. If someone goes down, someone else is going in, and it's like nothing even happened.”
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Sophomore QB Cutter Boley
On swapping stories about ASU experiences
"Mikey's seen a lot of football and he’s got a ton of experience. I'm super excited to just keep learning more from him. We've already communicated a ton just over the offense and we're trying to learn new things here but Mikey's been awesome, and so have the other two guys. I'm just excited to get the season going and keep learning from you guys."