(Photo: Marina Williams/WCSN)
A season-opening game for any college football player has significant meaning. There’s a sense of hope and boundless possibilities. A clean slate ready to be rewritten, for the last time of that season, every team is truly equal. For each player, it’s yet another chance to prove themselves and live out their dream of high-level college football.
These games mean everything.
For two Arizona State football wide receivers Saturday Night’s season-opening 48-7 blowout win of Wyoming somehow meant even more. Both redshirt senior Jake Smith and redshirt sophomore Jordyn Tyson were featured on the ASU roster at the beginning of 2023. ASU beat Southern Utah 24-21 that day. Neither player even dressed.
Tyson battled several long-term injuries to his knee while Smith was forced to sit out a year as a two-time undergraduate transfer. While Tyson was able to appear late in the 2023 season, he didn’t catch a pass. Now he’s one of the key contributors for the 2024 side, along with Smith.
“This football season is everything that I live for,” Tyson said. “God got me through this. It feels amazing. It’s been so long but I’m back now.”
Tyson was a dynamic playmaker who shined in his 2022 freshman season at Colorado before injuring his knee. Tyson has always been explosive. He ranked fourth in the country in yards per catch that year. He also won Pac-12 Freshman of the Week and Special Teams Player of the Week after posting over 100 receiving and return yards for a total of 246 yards and two touchdowns against Arizona State in 2022.
Tyson led the Sun Devils in catches and receiving yards with four and 49 respectively against Wyoming among wideouts. Smith ranked second in the game for his position group with three catches for 47 yards. Both players returning to the field helped spark the Sun Devil passing attack into action. The team finished with 258 yards through the air which was an improvement from the 210 yards per game mark the team set in 2023.
“(Smith and Tyson’s play) is huge,” Graduate receiver Melquan Stovall said. “That was something we were missing last year. Those are two excellent players.
While Tyson was out due to injury Smith was perfectly healthy but prohibited from playing. NCAA rules stated that any two-time transfer undergraduate was required to sit out a year. Smith had to practice with the team without the payoff of playing. For a player who’s dedicated his life to the game that time off can be mentally challenging.
Not for Smith.
“I was okay,” Smith said. “It was definitely tough, but just my family, friends, teammates, and support staff here, I think overall, I did a good job of keeping my mental state. I think I handled it well.”
While ASU and its reloaded receiving corp, dominated Wyoming through the air, its next task seems a little more challenging. The SEC’s Mississippi State comes to town and brings bigger, stronger and faster defensive backs intent on slowing the Sun Devil passing attack. The pass-catchers in Tempe are well aware of the stakes and history that they could make.
“We’ve been hearing all week that ASU has never beaten an SEC team,” Smith said. “We’re excited about the challenge, and it’s just a blessing and a good opportunity.”
Now with Smith and Tyson completely immersed in the receiving gameplan for the Sun Devils, the offense should work at maximum efficiency come Saturday’s marquee matchup with the Bulldogs.
“Just to get them back that’s huge,” Stovall said. “That puts us a step ahead. Having those guys out there just fills the offensive room. We have so many weapons out there with them.”
