Freshman TE AJ Ia Adjusting to College Football and Relying on Close Connections

(Photo: Sammy Nute/WCSN)

TEMPE – In life, it can be hard to stand out in a crowd. When you’re a Division I football player, with everyone around you wearing the same jersey and pushing to be the best version of themselves, it can be even more challenging. Some players will inevitably blend into the crowd, but others find a way to shine through.

One such player is Arizona State freshman tight end AJ Ia, whose frame makes him stand out in a literal sense and easy to spot, even among his fellow DI teammates. At 6-foot-6, 240 pounds, Ia is tall and slim, but also strong and quick enough to create separation.

“If I was recruiting (and) I looked at AJ, he’s already getting an offer from me. I think he passed the eye test,” redshirt senior tight end Chamon Metayer said.

During ASU’s practices at the Kajikawa Practice Fields, Ia doesn’t just stand around as an imposing figure. The Orange Lutheran High School graduate puts his build to use. It’s been a common sight this spring to see Ia create space for himself and fight defenders on the way down once he gets the football in his hands.

Coming off a Big 12 Championship and a trip to the College Football Playoffs, head coach Kenny Dillingham is looking for newcomers to assert themselves as players he can count on as the Sun Devils look to defend their title. Ia, who has quickly become a fully ingrained member of the ASU family and culture over the course of the spring, has the work ethic, skill level and ability to improve quickly that makes him a prime candidate to be one of those players.

“When you’re a guy with that size, that athleticism and your care level is that high, you usually play early,” Dillingham said. “… If AJ proves and continues with his trajectory, then he may be a guy that we have to get on the field. I don’t play people, they make us play them. He may be a guy that makes me play him.”

Ia has been impressing the ASU coaching staff ever since his freshman year of high school, when Sun Devils tight end coach Jason Mohns first learned about him from Orange Lutheran’s head coach, Rod Sherman. Mohns and Sherman had built a relationship over the years from coaching against each other during Mohns’s time as the head coach of Saguaro High School and later together as part of the U.S. Army All-American Bowl coaching staff.

Once Mohns became Arizona State’s tight end coach, Sherman sold him on Ia’s future prospects – not that it took much arm-twisting – and the road to Ia committing to ASU began to be paved.

Mohns and Arizona State offered Ia a scholarship after his freshman season, becoming the first school to do so and giving the Sun Devils a leg up on the competition. The relationship that was quickly built between Arizona State and Ia’s family helped give him a direction and helped the Sun Devils beat out offers from premier football schools in premier conferences like the SEC and ACC.

“(Being offered) meant a whole lot (to me), when (Mohns) offered me I was at a point in time where I was still contemplating if I wanted to play football or not,” Ia said. “I feel like he gave me the opportunity and gave me a spark that I never had.”

Ia grabbed a hold of that spark, buying into playing football and going above and beyond in his preparation for his freshman season. Coaches can’t force players to put in extra work and extra effort outside of the team’s practice times, but Ia does these things of his own accord.

“He’s come in and he’s put that time in,” Mohns said. “He’s a guy that we’ve seen all offseason, after everybody’s gone back in the tight end room, watching film on his own, out on the turf field, walking through plays, sitting in on quarterback meetings to learn more. He’s shown that he’s a guy that’s willing to work.”

Ia doesn’t let his coaches positive comments make him complacent. Instead, he keeps pushing and making plays. From hauling in touchdown passes to making leaping catches in traffic, he has continued to be a great bet to put on a show during team drills.

Despite the praise and being one of the offensive standouts of the spring, Ia’s not content with his current form. He has the humility to know that despite great moments, there’s a long road ahead of him to get to where he wants to be as a player, and he also has the hunger to continue to travel down that road.

“It most definitely boosts my confidence, but at the end of the day, I’m still a freshman,” Ia said. “I still got stuff to prove. I’m never satisfied with what’s going on, there’s always work to improve on.”

One area in particular that Ia is focusing on improving is blocking, which is part of the fabric of the culture in Tempe. If you don’t block, the coaching staff isn’t going to put you in a position where you can affect the game. Ia has embraced his new challenge head-on, knowing that it’s what’s best for the team and his development as a player.

“Like coach Mohns says, ‘no block, no rock,’ so you got to block strict,” Ia said. “That’s a good thing for me as a tight end because in high school, I didn’t really block that much. I feel like coming over here and transitioning as a blocker, just balancing my game out, that’s the biggest thing (for me).”

Ia is able to rely on more than just the experience and teachings of the coaching staff as he adjusts to the college game. Ia’s built connections with members of the locker room who have helped him in his early days as a Sun Devil, but one connection runs deeper than the rest.

Ia is the younger cousin of redshirt senior linebacker Zyrus Fiaseu, who transferred to ASU prior to the 2024 season and played in all 14 games, becoming a leader in the process. The familial connection has helped Ia integrate with the team.

“When you’re a good football player it’s easy to make friends sometimes,” Fiaseu said. “… He hung out with me a couple of times, and then he started making his own clique and we have the same clique now.”

From getting food as a group to doing things like watching “A Minecraft Movie” together, Fiaseu and his friends have been there for Ia as he adjusts to college life, and it’s built a crucial tighter bond between the two cousins. Ia’s family moved away from Fiaseu’s in Las Vegas, relocating to southern California. Before Ia visited ASU, the two hadn’t seen each other since the younger cousin was in elementary school. Now, the two are making up for lost time.

“He’s always going to be a little bro for me,” Fiaseu said. “It’s good because we didn’t grow up close, we were just family. Now that he’s here, it’s better, and I’m looking forward to growing even closer.”

Ia and Fiaseu’s bond – and the bond with his friends – extends to a mentor-mentee relationship on the field, giving Ia the opportunity to soak up even more knowledge and experience. The friendly competition between Ia, Fiaseu and other players of Polynesian descent is one of the factors for Ia’s constant improvement.

“Zyrus looks out for me and all those older (Polynesian) kids, they really look out for me too,” Ia said. “They always want me to make the smart decisions and make the right (plays) on the field, but then they also push it. When we’re going against each other, we push each other every day.”

Ia has successfully made fans of his on the coaching staff and in the locker room by creating bonds, working hard and constantly showing improvement. From Dillingham’s hint at playing time to Metayer calling him a future “face of ASU”, Ia has started to build expectations around himself.

His humility and ability to focus on himself should help him drown out the noise, but the expectations will still be there, and it’ll be up to him to put in the work and respond. One thing that’s for certain, no matter how Ia’s time at ASU goes, is that he’s already built the right relationships and will always have people supporting him.

“At the end of the day, it’s on him, but I believe in him,” Fiaseu said. “I believe he’ll make a great impact on the team, it’s just how far is he willing to go?”

From everything that Ia has shown so far, there might not be a limit.