As the third quarter came to a close, receiver Jordyn Tyson was unquestionably having a forgetful performance. Through 45 minutes of play, he had seven targets with four catches and just 42 receiving yards, but surrendered a fumble late in the second quarter as the Sun Devils were driving and then tipped a ball in the air that was intercepted in the third quarter. ASU’s defense allowed no points off those turnovers, but those plays characterized the difficulties the ASU offense was experiencing in the first three quarters.
Nonetheless, Tyson’s confidence and mindset never waivered, and his contributions in the fourth quarter were enormous. The sophomore caught two passes for 34 yards and two touchdowns, and his second score came with 16 seconds left in the fourth quarter as he rose up over the defender in the corner of the endzone and caught the game-winning touchdown to record ASU’s first-ever Big 12 win, 35-31 over Kansas.
Through the first four games of the season, Tyson has already begun to cement himself as one of the prime targets for redshirt freshman quarterback Sam Leavitt, snagging 14 passes for 209 yards and a touchdown, leading the team in both catches and reception yards. Their chemistry, defined by their “next play” mentality, permitted the two to connect in crucial moments during the final frame of Saturday’s contest.
“I gave him a game ball,” Arizona State head coach Kenny Dillingham said. “That’s what the program is about; it’s about the response. Talk about a bad beginning of a game. He was about as upset as you can possibly be. The fact that he could regather himself and execute and finish with a positive attitude is everything that we’re trying to build here.”
Leavitt has manifested his maturity every time he takes the field. The most significant plays are the ones that don’t even show up on the stat sheet, such as tucking the ball and scrambling for a medium gain (Leavitt rushed for 77 yards on ten carries) instead of trying to fit in a ball to a receiver where there’s a reasonable chance for an interception. Dillingham’s confidence in Leavitt never faltered, and the young duo of Leavitt and Tyson continued to build their on-the-field relationship week in and week out.
“Sam has unbelievable poise,” Dillingham stated. “The dude’s mindset is a professional mindset. He prepares every week like a pro, he shows up every, and he’s getting better. He just did what he had to do, and when the game was on the line, he showed up. That was his fifth start in college football. That’s pretty exciting for ASU and for the valley.”
The play that flipped Tyson’s game around was the ball he tipped into an interception midway through the third quarter as the Sun Devils were driving down the field. From that point forward, Tyson caught all of the three passes tossed his way, two of which he scored on. Dillingham saw that performance as a testament to the wide receiver’s resilience and how he never once questioned Tyson’s capability to make game-changing plays.
“He didn’t mean to drop it,” Dillingham said in reference to Tyson’s fumble. “That obviously wasn’t the plan, but what are you going to do about it? There’s a reason you’re in the game because we trust you. The trust never waivered, and I think that’s the biggest thing. That’s why I gave him a game ball, because of his mindset of how we want our guys to respond.”
Tyson persevered and effectively shook off his lackluster first three quarters, taking full advantage of his opportunities and rewarding the coaches’ trust in him when he was called upon. Wide receivers coach Hines Ward has been a significant part of that, being one of the first guys to congratulate Tyson after both of his touchdown catches. Tyson remarked that is who Ward is and has shown that support for every receiver all season long.
“It was a bad play,” Tyson recalled. “I try not to think about it too much and just move on to the next play. I feel like that's what I did, and we responded in the end. Hines has taught me so much in his short time here. He’s been there, done that, so he’s not gonna tell me anything that’s wrong. You’re gonna tell me everything that’s right to do, and it’s gonna work.”
Tyson’s journey to this point was far from mundane. In late October of 2022, Tyson tallied five catches for 115 yards for Colorado in a losing effort against ASU and kept the game within reach following an 88-yard punt return touchdown in the fourth quarter. The very next week, during a home contest against Oregon, Tyson sustained a knee injury to the ACL and MCL, as well as a small tear to the PCL.
The injury kept not only kept out Tyson out for the remainder of that year but also nearly the entire 2023 season when he decided to transfer to the Sun Devils. Having to spend most of last year’s campaign from the sidelines while rehabbing his knee, seeing action in only three games in the 2023 season but recording no stats, provided difficult mental challenges for Tyson, but he knew he could fight through the hardship with his trust in God.
“It means everything to me,” Tyson expressed. “God got me through this whole process I’ve been through. It was by far the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life. I just really have never been through adversity. God knew he had to shape me to fight back through adversity like today. So I think God just prepared me for it, just having that injury and knowing how to fight back from adversity.”
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