Other than wanting a glow-up in their scoreboard, Big 12 head coach Deion Sanders had another aim for playing against the Houston Cougars. “But it’s going to be a good game and I can’t wait to get to Houston. It’s a tremendous recruiting ground for us, Texas, period. So, we love to go down there and play, and I pray that it’s a sellout,” said the Buffs HC. But their luck did not favor them. The Colorado Buffaloes fell 36-20 against the Houston Cougars. Now another Big 12 head coach is in the spotlight for his love of the Lone Star State. 

As per On3’s 2026 Industry Ranking football Team Recruiting Rankings, Dillingham’s Arizona State is quite low in the rankings. They stand at No.47 with only 17 recruits locked in. Now, what better way to rev up their speed to explore the Texas goldmine?

That’s none other than Arizona State Sun Devils’ head coach, Kenny Dillingham. He holds a soft corner for recruits hailing from the state of Texas. On September 15, analyst Justin LaCertosa shared a clip of Dillingham’s latest interview where he spoke of why he loved recruiting from Texas, “I mean, just the toughness and the love of the game. You know, that’s what I like out of, regardless of where a player is from, just the toughness and the love of the game… I think, you know, you can find some of those guys or a lot of those guys in Texas with just how much, you know, football matters in the state of Texas. ”

Dillingham values players who are mentally and physically tough and genuinely passionate about football. Football is deeply ingrained in Texas culture. He added, “So I definitely look for that when looking in the state of Texas, and I look for that when I look in the state of California…Utah…Arizona, Hawaii, wherever that is. We always look for those characteristics. You just find a lot of that in Texas.”

Dillingham and co. has already spread out their net in the Lone Star State. Out of the 17 commits that the Sun Devils have locked in for the 2026 class, eight of them are from Texas, as part of their recruiting drive, “Texas to Tempe.”  The head coach focuses on how the victory helped them to get a stronger presence in one of the country’s hottest recruiting regions. The ones already locked in are defensive lineman Ronald Derrick, cornerback DaQuwan Dunn, quarterback Jake Fette, edge rushing standout Julian Hugo, among others.

Dillingham is far from done when it comes to recruitment from Texas 

First among the main contenders that the ASU coach is aiming for is the Lakeview Centennial standout, Montre Jackson. He hails from Garland and has already picked up comparisons to NFL talent. During his sophomore campaign, Jackson produced 35 tackles (21 solo), nine pass breakups, and one interception. He holds 42 official D1 offers with SMU, LSU, Texas, Texas A&M, Miami, and Alabama among others already eyeing him. 

Mike Elko’s Texas A&M had already sent an offer to him in May. It took till July for the Sun Devils to send out theirs. Despite that, Jackson was pleased to get the offer from Dillingham, with Sun Devils’ cornerbacks coach Bryan Carrington playing a big role. “It means a lot to me… Coach Carrington. That is someone whom I really look forward to building a relationship with,” the cornerback did sound excited. But the odds are stacked against ASU for this high prized prospect.

The next up in line is Cooper Witten from Argyle. Dillingham is yet to lock in their first major recruit for the 2027 class. Cooper is a 2027 prospect who plays for Liberty Christian School. He is a five-star recruit and touted as the state’s no.1 linebacker. Cooper is also the son of the 11-time Pro Bowler Jason Witten. He already holds offers from Texas, Tennessee, Oklahoma, SMU, Clemson, among other programs. The Volunteers were the latest to meet Witten.

Witten was spotted at Neyland Stadium to witness the Georgia vs Tennessee face-off. What’s the latest recruiting intel about him? Steve Wiltfong shared, “Where does Tennessee stand? I think Tennessee is obviously right there at or near the top.” Recruiting royalty won’t come easy. Kenny Dillingham needs a smart approach if he is to get these Texas players to commit to ASU.