ASU Football: Sun Devils land pair of safeties as ASU cracks top 25 for recruiting class of 2025

Sun Devils land two highly regarded defensive backs

With the additions of two defensive backs over the weekend, paired with receiver Adrian Wilson and linebacker Isaiah Iosefa, has Arizona State football inside the top 25 in the recruiting class of 2025, according to 247sports.com. Coach Dillingham said despite the loss of starting defensive back Ed Woods and standout receiver Elijhah Badger, the program is “absolutely trending.”

Trending, indeed. Dillingham and company has the program sitting at No. 18 nationally for the class of 2025, which only grew over the weekend with the four additions, including three-star safety Benjamin Alefaio and four-star safety Rylon Dillard-Allen.

The Sun Devils also sit at No. 3 in the Big 12 conference before the official move.

“People want to be here,” Dillingham harped. “This is not a fallback plan. There are people all over the country who want to be here. This isn’t ‘Let me check out things and see if I’ll fall back here.’ This is a place that I take a lot of pride in, and a fallback plan is not one of those points of pride. For me, this was the plan. And we’re going to sign people here that this is their plan—one hundred percent.”

Hailing from Orange Lutheran high in California, Alefaio is regarded as one of the regions most versatile safeties. The 6-foot-1, 190-pound safety had 13 offers, most notably from Washington, Penn State and Arizona, but committed to the vision being built in Tempe.

Alefaio, a hybrid who played corner through high school despite being recruited as a safety, has been paired against some of the top receivers in California while putting them on an island and severely limiting their impact on the game.

In his 13 games played, he has reeled in 124 total tackles, 11 of which were solo, and five passed defended. With his athleticism and football IQ, he could see game time early in his college career.

Dillard-Allen, a homegrown talent who plays for the Mountain Pointe Pride in Ahwatukee, a Phoenix suburb, has blossomed into the No. 1 DB in the state and is now the highest-ranking recruit for Dillingham in the class of 2025. The 6-foot, 165-pound DB has impressive makeup speed and a keen ability to track the ball in flight.

As a sophomore, Dillard-Allen ran a blazing 10.86 100-meter and 21.96 200-meter. He recorded 43 total tackles, one tackle for loss and two interceptions over 6 games in 2023. He was required to sit five games in the 2023 season after transferring from rival Desert Vista.

The star defenseman received offers from top programs including Washington, Oregon and USC, but ultimately chose home in Tempe on April 22 after visiting three days prior. He is currently Dillingham’s top-rated recruit for the class of 2025.