ASU Football: Running back DeaMonte Trayanum enters transfer portal

(Photo: Marlee Smith/WCSN)

Arizona State Football sophomore running back DeaMonte Trayanum has entered the transfer portal, as first reported by 247 Sports.

Trayanum – a coveted four-star prospect coming out of high school – has rushed for 402 yards on 78 attempts with six touchdowns in nine games so far this season.

The sophomore had a successful freshman year in a COVID-19-shortened 2020 season, finishing 12th among Pac-12 Conference backs with 290 rushing yards and 10th at 72.5 rushing yards per game. The tandem of the powerful, 235-pound Trayanum with the elusivity of then-redshirt junior back Rachaad White was a major positive to take away from the disappointing season, not to mention the contributions of then-freshman back Daniyel Ngata.

Despite the clear production and talent, Trayanum’s role diminished in 2021 as Rachaad exploded. The redshirt senior is in the midst of a 1000-yard season with an average of over five yards per carry. While Rachaad has over 180 carries for the year, Trayanum is still below 80. His average rushing yards per game has also decreased by nearly 28.

A lingering foot injury caused Trayanum to miss three games early in the season. Another possible reason why his usage has dipped has been ball security, as the sophomore has three fumbles this year compared to none in 2020. All these factors led to Trayanum sitting at third in rush yards on the team, behind Rachaad White and junior quarterback Jayden Daniels.

With White entering the NFL Draft following this season and Trayanum moving on, this leaves Ngata as the only man left standing from the Sun Devils’ 2020 crop of running backs heading into his third year at ASU.

Ngata showed signs early in the season with three touchdowns in the first three games, but he has not scored since that stretch and has not rushed for over 20 yards since Week 6 against Stanford. However, he will be joined by 2022 four-star commit Tevin White, a 6-foot-1 200-pound back from Stafford, Virginia next season.

However, the two backs – Tevin White and Ngata – represent ASU’s only scholarship players at the position heading into 2022.

Rachaad White announced his intention to skip ASU’s upcoming bowl game in order to prepare for the upcoming 2022 NFL Draft. As a result of that and Trayanum’s impending transfer, the Sun Devils will likely have to rely on either freshman George Hart III, redshirt freshman Deonce Elliott or senior Jackson He in the bowl game as Ngata’s backup.

In his 13 games as a Sun Devil, Trayanum had 692 rushing yards on 127 attempts while scoring 10 touchdowns and having a 5.4 yard per carry average.

WCSN’s Hunter Hippel contributed to this report