In February, the Arizona State world was rocked when former Sun Devil quarterback Jayden Daniels announced that he would be entering the transfer portal. The junior eventually committed to play football for LSU, leaving a gaping hole at the position in Tempe.
On Friday, all five quarterbacks for the Sun Devils spoke to the media, including the two primary contenders for the starting spot as it stands. First, there’s the new Southern gunslinger on the block – redshirt sophomore Paul Tyson. His main competition is ASU’s backup for the last two seasons; walk-on turned scholarship redshirt junior Trenton Bourguet.
Hailing from Trussville, Alabama, after three years in crimson playing for Nick Saban as a backup QB and holder at the University of Alabama, Tyson announced his decision to head west in the middle of January. The great-grandson of legendary Alabama coach Paul “Bear” Bryant, Tyson elaborated on his decision to come to Tempe.
“I wouldn’t change a thing staying for three years at the University of Alabama,” Tyson said on Friday. “I felt like I had a great experience, and they really got me to where I am today. I felt like this was a great opportunity for me and with Coach Herm (Edwards) and what he’s doing here and all the players buying into his process. I think it’s just a great fit.”
Furthering the natural fitment, Tyson is now working under new ASU offensive coordinator Glenn Thomas, who works similarly to Tyson’s offensive coordinator at Alabama last year, Bill O’Brien. Thomas is implementing a pro-style offense, which huddles on every play and allows the quarterback to have significant control depending on what he sees at the line of scrimmage.
“With Coach O’Brien, he’s a similar pro-style offensive coordinator along with Coach Thomas, and there’s a lot of similarities there,” Tyson said. “Ball is ball. Once you get out there, go through your reads and identify the defense. Once you get involved and get out there on the field, it’s all second nature.”
“With the offensive coordinators I was under at Alabama – Coach (Michael) Locksley, Coach (Steve) Sarkisian, and Coach O’Brien, they were extremely helpful in helping me grow with really knowledge of the defense and knowledge of the game itself. There were things I didn’t know before coming into college with (middle linebacker) points and changing protections and things like that. It’s helped me a lot and really the standard that Alabama has to help me come here and know what it takes.”
Tyson came to Tempe with a chip on his shoulder, eager to prove himself to a new group of people in unfamiliar territory. With the desire to be a leader at his position as well as the starter, Tyson and a few others stayed in Tempe during spring break before the onset of spring ball to get comfortable.
“(Getting to know new players) is a step for sure, and as soon as I moved in, I got everyone’s phone numbers and tried to reach out to them,” Tyson said. “I stayed on spring break with several others to work on that connection, and it started there before spring ball. When we throw the pads on, it’s continuing to grow. Every day we are trying to improve that terrain.”
“Leadership is something we can’t take lightly. A lot of it is built on the field, that’s where you get your respect, and you have to build relationships with your players… Obviously, it can be a slow process, but that’s why you start early in the spring. (I’m) a talkative guy, but I’m not the biggest rah rah, screaming, hollering guy, but I want to definitely be a leader by way of mouth, talking to the guys. That’s definitely a huge deal.”
Through a few months in Tempe, it seems like there’s a lot of buzz surrounding Tyson. Several fellow members of the quarterback room spoke highly of him on Friday. Redshirt sophomore Daylin McLemore called him, “a cool dude with the southern accent,” and mentioned he’s learned a lot from the Alabama transfer. Bourguet said he’s “talkative and a really good friend.”
True freshman quarterback Bennett Meredith, who hails from Hoover, Alabama, just on the other side of Birmingham from where Tyson grew up, beamed over the topic of playing the same position with someone who grew up nearby at a school over 1,000 miles away from home. Meredith mentioned the pair poke fun over the matchup history between their hometown high schools (Meredith’s Hoover Bucs beat Tyson’s Hewitt-Trussville Huskies twice in 2021).
Of Tempe, Tyson had nothing but good things to say, including high praise for a longtime favorite restaurant among locals.
“Tempe is fantastic,” Tyson twanged. “They say it gets to 120 degrees here, I don’t know how much I believe that, but I’m really excited and I’ll believe it when I see it... I love it here; the food is phenomenal. I didn’t expect it to be this good, but it’s great. The whole area is awesome, great people.”
“I love The Chuckbox – it’s a hole in the wall, it’s got cash only so it’s a little bit under the radar, not everyone knows about it, but it’s really good.”
While Tyson may have his eye on Tempe’s favorite burger in March, come August his focus will undoubtedly shift to the starting spot at quarterback, as well as one of the biggest prizes the Sun Devils have sought as of late, a Pac-12 Championship. A quarterback battle is always something that can create a flurry of emotions among players, fans and coaches alike, however, Tyson and his counterparts see it as beneficial to their cause.
“It’s fantastic having competition, it keeps everyone going,” Tyson said. “Everyone is pushing each other because at the end of the day we want the best player to play and we want to go win a Pac-12 title, so we are all pushing each other, and it’s been a great experience to be out there with all five guys. It’s great spirits.”
“I’m trying to be the best quarterback I can be and not worry about the other guys in the room too much,” Bourguet, who has been working with the first group in spring practice, said on Friday. “If I do have a mistake one day, I try not to do it again. We are all making sure we are pushing each other to be the best quarterback and we all want to win.”
“At this position, there is only one guy on the field, so we are trying to push each other and make each other better, but at the end of the day, the best guy will play.”
For Bourguet, the departure of Daniels is a golden opportunity for him to step out of the shadows and seize some well-deserved playing time after quietly waiting in the wings as the backup for the previous two seasons. Late in ASU’s loss to Washington State last season, Bourguet went 3-for-4 for 47 yards and a touchdown, marching down the field in the game’s waning moments. Now as the elder statesman and leader of the quarterback room, he’s eager to lead and perform.
“Growing up as the oldest of six kids in my family, I’ve always had that leadership role,” Bourguet said. “Since Jayden entered the portal, I kind of took that role too to make sure everybody is on the same page. I hate to see him go and wish nothing but the best for him, but ASU is a special place. There’s a lot of special coaches and players here and I think if we all stay together, we could really do something special. It’ll be exciting to see what we do this year.”
With the transfer of Daniels, some were quick to be skeptical of Bourget in the starting role due to his 5-foot-11 frame and lack of in-game experience. However, Bourguet’s teammates responded with support over social media, backing their teammate and showing their faith.
“It felt good to know my teammates believe in me,” Bourguet said. “I have guys coming up to me all the time, but I try not to take that for granted. I have their trust and belief in me but at the end of the day, I’m just trying to get better each and every day so we can go out there, do what we want on the field and win some ballgames this year.”
A student of the game in every sense, Bourguet homed in on last year’s scheme under former offensive coordinator Zak Hill and showed his proficiency. With Thomas at the helm, there were certainly some changes to adapt to, but the redshirt junior is confident and eager to grow and learn in the new system.
“The verbiage is different, but he loves to use the tight ends like Coach Hill,” Bourget said of Thomas’ system. “There is definitely some similarity in that… It’s going to take some time, but I think over spring ball it will get much smoother.”
“Today in practice we had the least number of penalties we’ve had this entire spring so, you can definitely tell we are getting used to personnel, substitution, play-calling and stuff like that. I think we are definitely growing in the right direction. I think we will keep getting better and better.”
Join your fellow Sun Devil fans on our premium message board, the Devils’ Huddle, to discuss this article and other ASU football, basketball and recruiting topics. Not a member yet? Sign up today here and get all the latest Sun Devil news!
