TEMPE – Developing quarterbacks is what Kenny Dillingham does best. Just ask Jordan Travis, Bo Nix or Sam Leavitt, the latest signal-caller to flourish under the ASU coach’s guidance.
With Leavitt transferring to LSU, the Sun Devils’ starting quarterback job is wide open. As spring practices approach, no clear favorite has emerged.
Arizona State’s quarterback room features a mix of skill sets, experience and youth. The program added two transfers during the portal period, and every quarterback believes he has a chance to start.
Cutter Boley transferred from Kentucky after starting as a freshman last season, showing flashes of potential against a tough Southeastern Conference schedule.
“We all came here to win,” Boley said. “The competition in this room makes everybody better, and that’s going to show on the field.”
Boley showed signs of promise but also signs of inexperience as a starter at Kentucky. He has a big frame, standing at 6-feet-5, 220 pounds. He struggled with turnovers, throwing 12 interceptions, but had a promising 65.8 completion percentage.
He won two SEC games, a 10-3 win against Auburn, and a 38-7 rout of the Florida Gators, in which he was 18 of 23 passing, and threw for 168 yards and two touchdowns. He’ll be 21 by the time the 2026 season starts.
A familiar name to Sun Devil fans is Mikey Keene, whose Fresno State team handed Arizona State a 29-0 loss early in Dillingham’s tenure. Now, Keene finds himself on the other side, competing for the starting quarterback spot in Tempe.
A Chandler native, Keene brings one of the most experienced resume in the room, having started at UCF and Fresno State before spending last season as a backup at Michigan.
Keene led the Mountain West Conference in completion percentage during his two years as a Bulldog, totaling 5,868 passing yards at Fresno State. He’ll be 23 in June.
Despite his local roots, Keene was never recruited by ASU out of high school, making his return to Arizona a full-circle moment.
“Of course I was disappointed, but it’s neither here nor there,” Keene said. “Now, to be able to come back home, it’s perfect timing.”
Keene is at ASU for the same reason that the rest of the quarterback room is: competition.
“They told me what they told everyone: It was a chance to compete,” Keene said. “That’s all I wanted. That’s why I’m here.”
Keene provides a veteran presence in a room filled with younger quarterbacks.
“It’s a unique quarterback room,” he said. “I’m the oldest guy, so I try to give those guys as much guidance as I can.”
One of those younger players is Jake Fette, a highly regarded, dual-threat prospect ranked as the No. 7 quarterback in the 2026 class by On3 Rivals.
In his senior year at Del Valle High School, he threw for 2,737 yards and 28 touchdowns, and ran for 1,105 yards and 18 touchdowns.
The El Paso, Texas, native arrived early and participated in Sun Bowl practices in his hometown shortly after signing, giving him an early glimpse of the program.
“It’s basically a brand-new quarterback room, but we’re all learning the same system,” Fette said. “I feel really good coming in and competing.”
Fette said that learning from veterans such as Keene, Boley and returning quarterback Cam Dyer has accelerated his development.
“Cam’s been here for a year, Mikey’s played a lot of football, and Cutter played in the SEC,” Fette said. “I’m just trying to soak up everything I can from those guys.”
Dyer enters spring as one of the more intriguing pieces in the quarterback battle. After injuries derailed him last season, he said he finally feels like himself heading into his second year under Dillingham.
“I feel amazing,” Dyer said. “Having a year behind me, my body’s finally getting back to where it was. I’m starting to feel like myself again and feel like the player I was becoming.”
Dyer’s athletic ability presents a different element in the quarterback room. He was a multi-sport athlete in high school. He was not listed as a quarterback, but as an athlete as a recruit. On3 ranked him as the #4 athlete prospect in the country.
He was a pretty good basketball player too, averaging roughly 11 points, six assists and six rebounds per game as a sophomore in high school.
Despite the crowded QB room, Dyer emphasized the unity and shared purpose among the quarterbacks, even as each vies for the starting role.
“I always want to grow and develop,” Dyer said. “Old habits cannot bear new blessings, so I’ve had to change some things and keep building forward.”
The Sun Devils’ quarterbacks will have plenty of help this fall, regardless of who starts. Arizona State added two highly sought-after receivers from the transfer portal, Reed Harris and Omarion Miller, giving the eventual starter proven targets and raising the offense’s overall ceiling.
“ASU was probably one of the first ones to hit me up,” said Harris, who transferred from Boston College. “It’s always kind of been a dream school for me, so once they reached out, it felt right.”
Harris said the depth and talent of the quarterback room has only added to his excitement as spring practices approach.
“We’ve been throwing every weekend,” he said. “It will come down to who knows the offense best, but I’m excited to put the pads on and really get going.”
Miller, who transferred from Colorado, also entered the portal as one of the top receivers available and cited Arizona State’s offensive vision as a key factor in his decision.
“This place felt right,” Miller said. “I looked at it as an opportunity to come in and fill a role and help this offense take another step.”
Miller said working with a quarterback room filled with experience and youth has been a smooth transition.
“The quarterbacks we’ve got are really smart guys,” he said. “They’re great to be around, and I’m excited to work with all of them.”
Dillingham’s Sun Devils appear ready to embrace competition in spring and into fall camp. There might not be a starter announced until a week before the Sept. 5 opener against Morgan State.
Arizona State has also employed multiple starting quarterbacks in a single season under Dillingham previously. Leavitt never played a full season with the Sun Devils.
In 2024, Jeff Sims started one of the team’s two regular-season losses. In 2025, Sims started games after Leavitt was injured. In 2023, four different quarterbacks played at least two games, including Jaden Rashada, Drew Pyne, Jacob Conover and Trenton Bourguet. Everyone but Rashada played in the loss to Fresno State against Keene.
“The unique thing about this room is that we all come from different backgrounds, but we all have one common goal,” Dyer said. “There’s healthy competition, but we all want what’s best for this team.”
With spring ball approaching, the Sun Devils’ unresolved quarterback competition may be exactly what Dillingham wants. The blend of experience, youth and competition has created an environment where no role is guaranteed and every rep matters.
As Arizona State looks ahead to the upcoming season, the quarterback battle figures to be one of the most closely watched storylines in Tempe.
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