The question of when are the tight ends going to be involved in the Arizona State offense has been something Sun Devil fans have asked for years.

Each season, it seemed the coaching staff hyped up the tight end room but did not end up using it much as a receiving threat. In 2021, however, it seems as though the tight end position is back and better than ever at ASU.

5th-year senior Curtis Hodges has been a monster this season. He has caught 16 passes for 330 yards and a touchdown. His 20.6 yards per reception is unheard of at the position.

While Hodges is the ASU tight end receiving the most attention, his backup, Jalin Conyers, has been starting to hit his stride.

Conyers, who came to ASU raw at tight end after playing receiver during his lone season at Oklahoma, has appeared in all seven games for the Sun Devils. Before last week’s game against Utah, he had just one catch all season. He ended up tripling that number against the Utes, finishing the game with three catches for 18 yards. No catch was more significant than his early first-quarter touchdown reception, the first of his college career.

“It’s kind of crazy because when I caught the ball, I didn’t realize I was in the end zone,” Conyers said. “I looked down, and I was like, oh my lord, I just scored. It kind of hit me holy cow, I just had my first touchdown ever. So it was a surreal moment for me especially like catching the ball and going throughout the game; I didn’t really even think about it … until I got on the bus after the game and kind of sat there and looked at my phone. I was like, holy cow, I just got my first touchdown.”

While he had a breakout performance against Utah, Conyers knows he still needs to improve at the tight end position.

“I’ll probably say this every time I get asked this question but blocking,” Conyers remarked. “Seeing guys that played tight end all their careers, like all throughout college, all throughout high school. … Guys know how to block correctly and take the right steps to block a big d-end.”

Being behind Hodges on the depth chart has helped Conyers. Similar to Conyers’ trajectory, Hodges started as a wide receiver when he came to Arizona State before being moved to tight end. Conyers said Hodges has been able to help him with the position change.

“Told me how my body and how stuff was going to develop as going from a receiver to getting bigger and stronger, learning more blocking stuff as a tight end,” Conyers stated. “It definitely helped me in a lot of areas because at first, it was a very difficult transition, but he can tell me just everything I can do to make it easier on myself and make it easier for just in general and a lot of things he said actually helped me a lot.”

As for his progress so far this season, Conyers explained that he has matured since the season started. He said he has realized playing in a real game is much different than going against his own teammates in the spring game.

With five games left in the regular season, Conyers’ goals for the rest of this year are to do what he is asked.

“Just do whatever the team needs me to do,” Conyers said. “Whether that’s catching five more touchdowns this season or just catching one ball the rest of the season. I want to do what I can to do whatever they need me to do.”

Seven games into his Sun Devil career, Conyers has no regrets about making the change from Oklahoma to ASU.

“I think everything happens for a reason,” Conyers stated. “I think me coming and being a change, kind of being in a different situation, different area, being with different coaches definitely helped me just not even as a football player but as a person and as a student. Kind of a new kind of breath of fresh air to come here, doing things differently in a different place. I love Arizona; I love Tempe, I love the fans here, I love the students here, love the football, love all my teammates.”

While the Utah game was a breakout performance for Conyers, it was a colossal letdown for the program. Leading 21-7 at the half, the Sun Devils allowed 28 unanswered points in the second half to lose 35-21 and slip into second place in the Pac-12 South Division.

Despite the rough performance against the Utes, Conyers thinks the team still has a chance to be special this season.

“I think limiting penalties will definitely put us in a way better spot to win games towards the end of the third and fourth quarter,” Conyers remarked. “Going in, having a bye week has definitely helped us kind of reset, get all of our bodies fresh and … just see what we did wrong in the Utah game and then going into a big game against Washington State. … Our goal is to win out the rest of the season to at least possibly have a chance to make a Rose Bowl or possibly better.”