Clayton Smith’s second chance at ASU could feature an adjusted role

(Photo: Aiden Longbrake/WCSN)

TEMPE – Arizona State football’s 23-7 loss to Arizona, which closed out the 2025 regular season, signaled the final time that 26 Sun Devils would step onto the field at Mountain America Stadium, and redshirt senior edge rusher Clayton Smith was supposed to be one of them.

His fifth year at the collegiate level ended with a minor knee surgery in December, leaving him unable to participate in the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl, and his preparation shifted to the NFL Draft, just a handful of months away.

However, one glance at the fine print revealed a shocking twist: Smith still had one year of NCAA eligibility remaining, dating back to the beginning of his career.

“Me and my team, we were looking into it and (my team) just noticed that I had a year at Oklahoma; I didn’t really do anything,” Smith said. “I got charged for that year. So we decided to look more into it and I was eligible for a medical (redshirt), so we decided to push it and I got granted my medical.”

Smith filed an appeal to the NCAA that was eventually approved on March 7, allowing him to come back for a fourth season as a Sun Devil.

Head coach Kenny Dillingham was made aware of Smith’s pursuit of additional eligibility following the Sun Bowl and allowed him to use the team’s facilities to privately train for the draft in the meantime. Shortly after the appeal was deemed successful, the coach sat down with the edge rusher to discuss his return.

It was there that an unexpected curveball in the form of a single question emerged.

“It just kind of happened,” Smith said. “I was more thankful just to be able to get an opportunity to do this again, but he made it better with that. ‘Would you want to come back, play offense?’ ‘I would love to.’ I don’t know why you asked me the question.”

When Smith returned to the Kajikawa Practice Fields to take part in spring practices, he was listed as an athlete on the roster and wore a maroon jersey to signify that he would be working out with the team’s wide receiver corps.

Dillingham stated in his first press conference of the 2026 spring football season that he wanted to evaluate Smith’s performance in offensive reps over the five-week practice period to see if his two-way potential could offer the Sun Devils an ace up their sleeve once the fall arrives.

“I really think this is an opportunity for us to see, can he actually become a weapon on that side of the ball in spring?” Dillingham said. “Can he be a guy who plays in the fall, does he do both? Can he play a little bit of defensive end? Can he play a little bit of flex Y, X, jumbo athlete type guy?”

The concept of Smith playing both sides of the ball dates back to the beginning of his football career. He recorded 13 receptions for 184 yards and six touchdowns during his senior season at Texas High School, yet his 20 tackles for loss and 10 sacks were what ultimately made him a four-star recruit as an edge.

Redshirt junior defensive back Montana Warren witnessed Smith’s two-way abilities before anyone else in Tempe, considering his alma mater, Marshall High School, matched up with Texas High School regularly as Texarkana Independent School District rivals.

“To me, it’s not that weird because he played in our same district back home in East Texas,” Warren said. “I saw him catching touchdowns and stuff like that, playing receiver and playing defensive end back home in high school. So to me, I’ve been there, seen that.”

Flash forward six years, and Smith certainly stands out when lining up to catch passes with a 6-foot-4, 255-pound frame.

The process of recuperating his feel for the position while also embedding himself among the team’s 12 other wideouts was expedited through the mentorship of two-time Super Bowl champion and ASU wide receivers coach Hines Ward.

“He offers a unique perspective to the game, having it and being who he is,” Smith said. “It was a great experience being in that room, being around the guys. We had receivers dinner, getting to know him. They’re great people.”

The weeks he spent in a maroon jersey produced a handful of eye-popping moments that not only reflected his previous experience and the natural athleticism that allowed him to play three sports in high school, but also led to Bruce Feldman including him in his annual “Freaks List” in 2025.

As a result, ASU’s offensive staff is keeping its options open in terms of incorporating Smith into certain scenarios moving forward.

“There’s not a bigger Clayton fan than someone now who’s recently met him on offense after seeing him on defense for two years,” offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo said. “It’s awesome to have him. I think it’s going to be special. I think he’s going to be able to do something, I really do.

“I think he’s got some want to and some selflessness to give him a role and it could be ugly. I mean, poor DBs. It’s like lining up against Predator out there.”

On April 7, Smith traded in his maroon jersey for a white one as he moved back in with the defensive line position group.

He committed to Oklahoma as an edge rusher in 2020 and appeared in eight total games over two seasons before becoming a part of Dillingham’s first transfer portal class at ASU in 2023. It didn’t take long for him to become one of the Sun Devils’ top pass rush threats with 13 sacks and 18 tackles for loss in 37 games in the maroon and gold.

Once a part of a four-man rotation that included Prince Dorbah, Elijah O’Neal and Justin Wodtly, Smith is now among a defensive line in a state of flux.

He’ll look to figure out where he fits best in a room that brought in senior Jalen Thompson and redshirt senior Emar’rion Winston from the transfer portal on top of newcomers like freshman Julian Hugo and veterans like junior C.J. Fite.

To his advantage, Smith’s reps on offense have helped him get a head start on making up for the time he spent away from the team during the winter and preparing him to jump back into the trenches.

“I think it was smart because we had him over there, running around, getting himself in shape because he hadn’t been with us in the offseason,” defensive line coach Diron Reynolds said. “I think it kind of added to his perspective about what offenses do and what they do in certain situational football things.”

The one unquestioned aspect that Smith brings to the table is his leadership capabilities. He and Fite are the only Sun Devils on the current roster who were a part of the 2025 Pat Tillman Leadership Council, and his individual impact has been noticed almost immediately.

“Clayton’s a talker, and I think sometimes when you have guys with talk and juice, it energizes the rest of the room, and I think he really energized that room,” Dillingham said.

As of now, Smith is the only player on ASU’s roster listed as an athlete; a fitting distinction considering the unique nature of his current role.

Not many players at the collegiate level get the chance to not only spend one more season with their program but also potentially impact both sides of the ball in the process. To Smith, it’s an opportunity that has been years in the making.

“It’s been a dream come true,” Smith said. “I’ve been dreaming about doing this as a little kid. It’s great to obviously get another year. Get another opportunity to run it back with my guys, my coaches. It’s been fun.”