Arizona State’s offense has experienced a fair amount of adversity throughout the team’s journey to 5-2. Three first-year quarterbacks have taken snaps, the offensive line has shifted due to injury and a two-headed running game originally viewed as the unit’s biggest strength has now been largely ineffective for the past three weeks.

Yet, redshirt senior wide receiver Tim White has been the constant through it all, a key contributor in wins and one of the few bright spots in both losses.

“One thing my father always preaches to me is just be consistent,” White said. “You can only control what you can control, so let the game come to you. Don’t press anything. Just go out there, relax and play football. At the end of the day, it’s just the same stuff you’ve been doing since you were a little kid.”

White leads the team by a large margin with 44 receptions for 525 yards, the next best performer being true freshman N’Keal Harry with 26 catches for 266 yards and three touchdowns.

One phrase White often repeats is, “the team comes first.” He may not have a touchdown catch this season, but perhaps the most attention-grabbing aspect of his game has been the relentless fight for extra yards, which perfectly displays his selfless attitude.

The 5-foot-11, 185-pound White leads the Pac-12 with 245 yards after the catch, 38 yards ahead of USC’s JuJu Smith-Schuster, who is viewed as one of the nation’s top receivers.

“I think it’s just my vision and attacking leverage,” he said. “It’s not so much about the contact or anything, it’s just attacking people’s leverage and their momentum. Using their aggression against them. And really just vision, seeing where there are holes and getting those first downs, getting those extra yards.

When defenders see a player off balance, they like to lay the wood to make the crowd go “woo,” so a lot of times you’re not wrapped up, so you have a chance to keep your feet moving and bounce off of that.”

He said the extra effort — which has often led to ASU scores — comes from a mindset of knowing he needs to help make it easier on the quarterback and running backs.

“I just know I can’t be brought down on the first contact, that’s the first thing on my mind,” White said. “The next (thing on my mind) is touchdown. I have to score or get the first down.”

The most daunting challenge came when redshirt sophomore Manny Wilkins suffered a left leg injury at USC, immediately forcing redshirt Brady White into action as the Sun Devils needed another comeback to remain undefeated. Wilkins returned two weeks later at Colorado but was limited.

White said he did not notice a big change in the play calling, but noted that the staff placed a bigger emphasis on the running game to compensate for its ailing quarterback.

Wilkins has matured since the starting quarterback battle started in the spring, White said.

“I know him being limited is going to actually help him further down the line being in the pocket and make him become a better quarterback,” White said. “Once he gets his feel and his legs back, he’s going to be able to make those throws because he had to make those throws in the Colorado game.”

In addition to his well-documented athleticism, Wilkins said White’s heart will earn him a spot playing on Sundays soon.

“Even if we’re losing by three touchdowns and it’s a kick return, he’s going to give it his all and try and take that kick return back,” he said. “I’m very fortunate to get to know him better each and every week and have the opportunity to play with him.”

Offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey credited Harry and other receivers like Cam Smith and Jalen Harvey for continually battling, but admitted all three have been a bit on and off at times.

Lindsey called White a “warrior” for his consistent performance regardless of a right leg injury suffered earlier in the year, inconsistent performances from fellow receivers or even a stagnant running game that puts more pressure on the passing game.

“He’s a guy you love to coach,” he said. “You don’t coach many guys like him in your career, you definitely remember him. He continues to play hard and make as many plays as he can. We got to continue to find ways to get him the ball.”

White said Harvey and Smith will be impactful for ASU after he leaves, clarifying that Smith is still not truly himself after missing all of last year with a knee injury.

He praised Harry, too.

“He’s a young guy, he’s out there making plays,” White said. “Once he really matures and has better knowledge of the game, he’s going to take off. Right now, he’s playing off athleticism, but once he gets the knowledge of the game going, he’ll be good.”

White said he trusts Lindsey and appreciates the deep shots the coordinator calls for him as he feels his strength is as a downfield threat.

He is also a part of a stellar special teams group that includes an NCAA record-holding kicker in Zane Gonzalez, as well as punter Matt Haack, who head coach Todd Graham said would probably have won Pac-12 Special Teams Player of the Week a couple of times already if it hadn’t been for his teammate Gonzalez snatching the honors four times this year.

Gonzalez, who is 19 of 20 on field goals this year, is also the FBS leader in touchbacks. White, who leads the team with 386 kickoff return yards, spoke from experience in saying Gonzalez, is irritating a lot of the conference’s returners.

“He’s kicking it in the back of the end zone every time,” White said. “It’s like you have hope that you’re going to get a return, but late in the fourth quarter when he’s still kicking field goals from the kickoff, you’re like, ‘Okay, maybe it’s not going to happen.’ But it is pretty frustrating, I can guarantee you that.”

White said the team is starting to open its playbook a bit more and that the coaches appear to be figuring some things out. He admitted the group is still waiting for its running game to get going, but said the offense’s continued progression should lead to a big jump in the coming weeks.

Last week, junior running back Demario Richard passionately spoke about the outside expectations for ASU football and why he and the team did not buy into them.

White echoed that same thought as the team’s record is better than many pundits expected it to be at this point.

“When you work hard and you prepare hard, you’re allowed to be confident out there on the field, so I feel like everybody was preparing themselves better and putting themselves in positions to make plays,” he said. “I feel like the more we’re around each other, the better the environment.”