The Sun Devils have gone undefeated at home for the first time since 2004 and are tied for first place in the Big 12 after beating No. 14 BYU 28-23. A win of this magnitude would not be possible without the newcomers, as they made plays in all three aspects of the game. Here’s our report on their performances
(Note: all transfer players, true freshmen, redshirt freshmen regardless of if they played last year, and other players, regardless of class, who redshirted last year are the ones mentioned in this article series)
Offense
Redshirt freshman quarterback Sam Leavitt shined with another solid performance, putting up 247 passing yards and a touchdown. He did have an interception, just his fifth of the season, in the second quarter, as the ball tipped off of a helmet from one of the BYU linemen. The offense struggled in the second half, putting up just seven points.
Leavitt delivered the then-game-winning play, a 61-yard bomb to redshirt senior receiver Xavier Guillory, to put the Sun Devils up 28-9. Leavitt also used his legs as he always does, finishing with just eight rushing yards after losing over 20 yards on the final drive as he ran behind the line to kill time on the clock.
“I’ve just stayed ready,” Guillory said. “Playing in this offense with (Cam) Skattebo and (Jordyn) Tyson, who I think are top players in the country at their position, has helped me stay ready, and that’s been the motto that all the receivers have followed. It felt awesome that Sam trusted me in that play, and it turned out to be a big play when it came down to it.”
The connection between Leavitt and redshirt sophomore receiver Jordyn Tyson grew as it has every week. Tyson has been leading the country in receiving yards since Week 7 with 589 yards. He picked up 125 yards in the win, his longest of the day being a 54-yard catch, and Tyson picked up 30 of those yards after the catch.
Tyson had matured tremendously this season. On his 54-yard catch, he wrapped both arms around the ball to ensure he wouldn’t fumble. He’s fumbled twice this year in scenarios similar to that, showing the progression in his game.
“I’ve had two big fumbles that kept guys in the game,” Tyson recalled. “Keeping the ball wrapped up is one of our key topics in our team meetings. The details, fundamentals, route depth, and the little stuff is big. The big stuff is easy, but the little stuff is what really matters when it comes down to it.”
Junior tight end Chamon Metayer finished with two catches for 24 yards but could have had another catch for four yards and a touchdown if he hadn’t dropped a wide-open pass from Leavitt in the end zone.
Defense
The defensive line held strong in the run game, with a solid outing that wasn’t flashy. While they struggled to create pressure on the quarterback at times, they still held BYU to 94 rushing yards, with no one rushing for more than 50 yards.
The linebacker core was a nuisance for BYU’s offense. Multiple. Multiple players had hard hits on quarterback Jake Retzlaff right as he threw the ball, forcing incompletions. Junior linebacker Keyshaun Elliot highlighted the quarterback pressures with a sack, finishing with six total tackles.
The secondary allowed BYU to get back into this game but also ended it. Retzlaff diced through them in the second half, finishing the game with 297 passing yards and a touchdown. BYU scored 20 points in the second half, as the secondary seemed to have no answer for the Cougars’ offense.
With BYU down 28-23 and driving down the field near midfield, redshirt sophomore Javan Robinson redeemed his play in the second half with an interception that all but sealed the game, returning it all the way to the Cougars’ seven with just over a minute left where ASU was able to run out the clock down to a second.
Special Teams
The Sun Devils punted just once from near midfield, where freshman punter Kanyon Floyd nailed BYU inside its own 20 at the 12-yard line. Floyd has been consistent with his punts, as he’s averaging around 40 yards a punt in each game outside of this week.
ASU didn’t attempt a single field goal in this game, going 2-for-5 on fourth down. Two of those situations were a 4th-and-1 inside the 15 of BYU and a 4th-and-goal from BYU’s 4-yard line. Still, graduate kicker Parker Lewis nailed all four extra-point attempts.
His best kick came on the kickoff, when he squib-kicked a ball right into a BYU player, and true freshman defensive back Plas Johnson jumped on the ball at midfield. This sparked a new energy in the Sun Devils as they drove down the field and scored a touchdown just minutes later.
Newcomer Participation List
QB Sam Leavitt
RB Alton McCaskill
WR Jordyn Tyson
TE Chamon Metayer
TE Markeston Douglas
TE Coleson Arends
OL Josh Atkins
OL Joey Su’a
OL Terrell Kim
DL Jeff Clark
DL Jacob Kongaika
DL J.P. Deeter
DL Zac Swanson
DL Justin Wodtly
LB Jordan Crook
LB Keyshaun Elliot
LB Zyrus Fiaseu
LB Martell Hughes
DB Xavion Alford
DB Myles Rowser
DB Javan Robinson
DB Plas Johnson
DB Laterrence Welch
DB Montana Warren
DB Kamari Wilson
DB Kyan McDonald
K Parker Lewis
P Kanyon Floyd
True freshmen who exceeded four game appearances and are unable to redshirt:
P Kanyon Floyd
LB Martell Hughes
DB Kyan McDonald
True freshmen who recorded four or fewer game appearances and can still redshirt:
OL Terrell Kim (four games)
DB Rodney Bimage Jr. (two games)
RB Jason Brown (one game)
DL Albert Smith III (three games)
DB Tony Luis-Nkuba (one game)
DB Plas Johnson (one game)
True freshmen who haven’t appeared in a game this season:
OL Champ Westbrooks
OL Semisi Tonga
WR Zechariah Sample
TE Jayden Fortier
TE James Giggey
DL Salesi Manu
DL Ramar Williams
DB Chris Johnson II
Join your fellow Sun Devil fans on our premium message board, the Devils’ Huddle, run by the longest-tenured Sun Devil sports beat writer, to discuss this article and other ASU football, basketball, and recruiting topics. Not a member yet? Sign up today and get your daily fix of Sun Devil news!
