Jalin Conyers made a big splash in his introduction as a Sun Devil, scoring two touchdowns during the team’s annual Maroon & Gold scrimmage last March and giving fans a preview of the evolution of the tight end position at Arizona State.

The 6-4, 250-pound tight end appears to be the perfect fit for the position, which has undergone major construction since offensive coordinator Zak Hill’s arrival. The spring game offered a glimpse of the expanded role Conyers, and the rest of the tight end group will play in the future for Hill’s offense. And having more weapons Jayden Daniels can throw to is never a bad thing.

What is even more intriguing is that in the spring game, Conyers admitted he wasn’t fully comfortable in Hill’s scheme at that point in time.

Yet, he still produced.

“I was probably 70 percent confident in how much I knew everything,” Conyers said. “And that was definitely a learning experience, especially going in and being in a game situation. Going into fall, though, I did have a good aspect of the playbook and how to do everything. I’m definitely more confident than I have been in this whole offense since then.”

The other 30 percent of the confidence meter has been locking down features of Hill’s offense every player has worked to improve on since its installation: play verbiage, terminology, and knowing where and when to be at all times on the field. There appears to be no boundaries to the complexity Hill’s system can achieve, and it has been a major change of pace compared to Conyers’ previous school.

“This is like an NFL-style offense,” Conyers said. “You go from Oklahoma and one-word plays, calling stuff out with hand signals and then going here, it’s a play with seven words, and you got to put the words to the formation and the call. So it was definitely a big transition for me.”

Another emphasis for Conyers was his development outside the passing game. Since he arrived on campus, Conyers has made strides to improve his blocking skills and said he is doing around half and half of both every time he lines up for a series. Conyers believes tight ends play “one of the most athletic positions on the field,” and his role in ASU’s offense has opened his eyes to the amount of responsibility required from the position.

“I always used to think of guys like Jason Witten, but I never thought of them blocking,” Conyers said. “I always remember them catching passes, but you never think of them blocking on a play…

“Coming here and getting to actually be a tight end and learn how to block and learn how to read the D linemen and stuff. It was definitely a big thing for me. I was like, ‘Wow, the tight ends do a lot more than you think they do’ and that's why I like playing the position so much.’”

As Conyers masters the offense, he is encouraged by the fact he can rely on more experienced members in the room like Curtis Hodges and John Stivers. Stivers, in particular, has become Conyers’ primary resource for clarification.

“I swear he knows every play. If you call it out, he could write it up on the board. He’s definitely one of the biggest people I go to if I have a question or if I need to go ask something.”

Even in Justin Wood’s short time as interim tight ends coach, Conyers has gleaned valuable information about hand placement and proper footwork when he is assigned to block with the offensive line on a play. For Conyers, the transition from Adam Breneman (who was placed on paid administrative leave in July) to Wood was not difficult, and he and the rest of the tight end group have “rolled with the punches” as they adjust to change.

“Coach Wood is awesome,” Conyers said. “He’s hilarious; he’s a player’s coach. He takes in meetings; he breaks it down for us very well. And then getting on the field, if we make a mistake, he doesn’t yell at us or anything. He tells us how to do it right and make sure we correct it. And if we make a big play, he’s jumping with us celebrating in the end zone, so it’s super fun to work with him.”

Conyers may have surprised some people with his performance five months ago, not due to his abilities, size, but because of the way ASU utilized their tight ends before he came to Tempe. In the past, the Sun Devils deployed their tight ends sparingly in the passing game and were traditionally reserved for extra run support. That previous notion is about to change.

“I feel like this year we are going to shock a lot of people,” Conyers declared.

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