What Kalani Sitake said about ASU head coach Kenny Dillingham

Kalani Sitake and Kenny Dillingham are birds of a feather.
The two men grew up as rabid fans of the schools they now pilot as head football coaches, and their BYU and Arizona State squads have defied all expectations in 2024 to jump into the thick of the Big 12 championship race.
While the Cougars and Sun Devils are set to face off Saturday in one of the most important games in either program’s history — the winner would essentially eject the other out of the conference title game picture — Sitake still had plenty of praise for his young coaching counterpart.
“He’s got a great offensive mind, he’s got this great football IQ and understands how to score points and put together a staff,” Sitake said of Dillingham on his self-titled BYUtv program. “He has this approach, being a local kid from the Phoenix area, to keep the local talent there, and he’s created this initiative to get that done.”
Sitake and Dillingham have competed against each other in the past, most recently when Dillingham was Oregon’s offensive coordinator for a 41-20 Ducks victory over BYU in 2022.
Dillingham was also an offensive assistant at Arizona State from 2014-15 when Sitake was the defensive coordinator at both Utah and then Oregon State.
The youngest non-interim head coach in college football at 34 years old, Dillingham took the helm of his hometown Sun Devils prior to the 2023 campaign.
Despite being picked to finish last in the 16-team Big 12 this season, he has guided Arizona State to a 7-2 mark while averaging 30.8 points per game.
“They play with a lot of pride,” Sitake said of Arizona State. “I think it’s a sold-out crowd, so he’s got the energy going in that area and I’m excited to go play him. And he’s a great human being, too. Regardless of the result of the game, I’ll still have a lot of respect and admiration for him because he’s a great person.
“The way he coaches his guys, you can just tell he loves his players,” Sitake continued. “You can’t help but appreciate that and know that we’re going to go up against a quality team with great character on the coaching staff.”
The feeling is mutual, as Dillingham couldn’t stop complimenting Sitake during his weekly media availability this past Monday, calling him “one of the best defensive minds in football.”
“He’s a phenomenal football coach, he’s done an incredible job there,” Dillingham said of Sitake. “He’s done an incredible job this year. … I think those guys really believe in him and really want to play for him, and when he says something they listen and they believe it and they go and try to achieve it.”