Amidst the ASU football offseason, junior wide receiver Jordyn Tyson and sophomore quarterback Sam Leavitt spent Saturday morning as camp counselors at the Pro Athletes Direct Youth Clinic at Chandler High School, where they led drills and mentored young athletes from across the Valley.
The highlight of the day, after the camp concluded, was Leavitt's donation of $15,000 to the Pat Tillman Foundation, which honors the legacy of the former ASU player and military veteran. The foundation supports service members and offers scholarships, empowering future leaders from thousands of applicants.
"I just wanted to give back to the community and people who support me and my program,” Leavitt stated. “It means a lot to be able to do that and then get back in a situation where I'm helping the kids out at the same time. It just makes me feel like a better person.”
Leavitt, in particular, has dedicated a significant part of his offseason to giving back to his communities. In addition to Saturday’s inaugural event, he also hosted a youth football camp earlier this month in his hometown of West Linn, Oregon.
The donation to the Pat Tillman Foundation builds on ASU’s ongoing support for the organization. ASU football played a key role in Pat’s Run this past April, and the contribution adds another meaningful chapter to that connection.
“They're just so involved in so many people's lives,” Leavitt reflected. “I just look at the Pat run; we got so many people out there in a situation where you have so many people who support this movement, and this foundation to all be in one place and give back, so just the way that they incorporate everybody, it's pretty special.”
In the past, $15,000 would’ve been a major windfall for a college athlete. In today’s NIL-driven era of college athletics, however, that sum of money is more realistic—especially for a rising player like Leavitt.
What sets Leavitt apart is how he’s choosing to use it: giving back to the community. ASU is fortunate he’s doing so in Tempe. After his breakout season, there were whispers that other programs might try to lure him away with lucrative offers. Leavitt, however, never saw that as a real possibility. For him, money means little if it takes him away from the right fit.
“Why would you not want to be in a situation where you know exactly what's going on?” Leavitt said, challenging the idea. “You're going to get out of it and everything like that, and then you know you're playing at Arizona State on a great team. Who cares if you get paid a couple hundred thousand dollars less when you're going to have a shot to now go play in the NFL and make 10 times more money?”
ASU has quickly become a blueprint for building culture in college football. In just two seasons, head coach Kenny Dillingham has put his stamp on the program. According to ESPN, the Sun Devils return 79% of their production from last season—ranking second nationally behind only Clemson. That kind of retention signals a strong belief in the foundation being built in Tempe and speaks volumes about a team that bought into the vision.
Beyond just on-field performance, Tyson pointed to the group’s closeness as a key reason so many players chose to return, saying, “The reason why a lot of people came back too. We just all love each other; we're one big, close family.”
Leavitt addressed the most notable roster departure, All-American running back Cam Skattebo, who was recently selected in the NFL Draft by the New York Giants. With Skattebo gone, ASU will need to revamp an offense that was largely built around his dynamic play.
“That's going to be an area where we're going to have to figure out what to do with it, but it's just—we're just going to be a different team,” Leavitt explained. “We're not going to run the ball every single time on first and second down, and we're just going to go into more quick game stuff and everything to do with that. Obviously, I'm not going to go into the details because I'm not trying to give any hints to anybody else, but I'm not too worried about it.”
With Skattebo gone, ASU will likely build its new offense around Leavitt’s co-partner at wide receiver. Tyson looks poised to take the next step—not just in his own game but for ASU football as a whole.
Tyson finished fifth in Big 12 receiving yards last season, placing him among what became some of the best wide receiver talent in the country. Every player ahead of him was selected in the first three rounds of the NFL Draft, including top-ten picks Travis Hunter and Tetairoa McMillan, second-rounders Jayden Higgins and Jack Bech, and third-round pick Jaylin Noel.
With that production and potential, Tyson—like Leavitt—has started to surface in early first-round draft conversations. Still, he made it clear his focus is on the present. Asked about those projections, he responded, “I don't really look at all that stuff. I just try to get better every day. Because that's just preseason stuff. What matters is the season.”
That same focus has carried over into his evolving role off the field. Now, within a revamped wide receiver group, he’s stepping into a leadership role as one of the veterans—something we got a glimpse of during spring camp. He admitted the position was new for him, but both he and the coaching staff have pointed to it as the natural next step in his development.
“I don't know how much the guys really value what I have to say, but I'm going to say it too because if I see it, I'm going to say it,” Tyson admitted. “I'm trying to go all the way.” I don't know what you all are trying to do, but I want this to be great, and we are going to need a lot of these guys to step up so we can get there.”
This mindset reflects Tyson's emphasis on Coach Dillingham’s focus on “responding from success.” Just two years ago, ASU was rebuilding from failure; now, the challenge lies in building upon victory. That shift brings its own difficulties—keeping the team motivated, hungry, and far from complacent. At the heart of this push are Leavitt and Tyson, whose own growth and determination are fueling the team’s drive to surpass last season’s achievements.
Their individual progress mirrors the team’s upward trajectory, with both players fully committed to elevating ASU even further. Leavitt praised Tyson’s evolution into a stronger “person, player, and leader,” a sentiment they often share about each other as they push one another to improve.
Tyson returned the compliment by highlighting Leavitt’s rapid adjustment to the pace of college football and his steady “progression through his preparation—through just being out there, just being active in the game.” Together, their leadership and ambition are setting the tone for ASU’s next chapter.
“We're just ready now,” Tyson declared. “We're obviously going to get better, but we're ready. We know what it feels like. We know what we're doing. We know what we have to do. So it's kind of just like already doing what we know. Just stepping it up a notch… (Sam and I) have been waking up at 7 a.m. a lot of days. We’re grinding the same as we were doing last year. We're just taking it up a notch.”
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