(Photo: Marina Williams/WCSN)
TEMPE — With under seven minutes to play in the third quarter of Saturday’s game and Arizona State football in the red zone, coming away with points on that drive felt like a must.
The Sun Devils trailed Kansas 17-14, conceding the go-ahead touchdown about four minutes prior. On second-and-5 from the Jayhawks’ 19-yard line, it appeared ASU was going to obtain that much-needed score. Redshirt freshman quarterback Sam Leavitt saw an open Jordyn Tyson at the 1-yard line and put it in the basket for his wideout.
Except the ball flew through redshirt sophomore receiver hands and into the grasp of redshirt junior safety Devin Dye. Interception.
“Just a bad play,” Tyson said. “I don’t try to think about it too much, try to get to the next play, and that’s what I did.”
Indeed, he did just that. The results of his short memory showed when it mattered most.
Fast-forward to the waning minutes of the fourth quarter, and ASU possessed the football while trailing 31-28, starting its drive on its 25-yard line. A couple of big runs from senior back Cam Skattebo paired with Leavitt using his own legs put the Sun Devils inside the five. On first-and-3, Leavitt dropped back and threw it up for Tyson on a fade.
The redshirt sophomore came down with the ball for the touchdown, and 16 seconds later, ASU (4-1, 1-1 Big 12) had sealed its first Big 12 victory in its conference home opener, hanging on to defeat Kansas (1-5, 0-3 Big 12), 35-31.
“Why would I ever lose faith?” Leavitt said. “I see the way that he comes to practice every single day. We put in that work, and he keeps killing it, so, you know, never lost faith in that.”
There was plenty of reason for Leavitt to show continued trust in Tyson. Entering Saturday, the Texas native was already the Sun Devils’ leading receiver, reeling in 14 catches for 209 yards and a touchdown. He put forth another strong performance against the Jayhawks as he caught six of his seven targets and accrued a team-high 76 receiving yards with two touchdowns.
His first score came about six minutes prior to his second. With ASU facing third-and-5 at the Jayhawks’ 32-yard line, Tyson was sent on another fade and caught a perfectly placed ball from Leavitt on his way into the end zone. Whenever he made a grab, his trademark elusiveness and speed were on full display.
Low points were far from absent from his big night, though.
Even before the interception in the third, Tyson was faced with more adversity. With 1:46 remaining and ASU again in need of a score down 14-7, Leavitt completed a pass to his wide receiver one up the middle at midfield. However, upon contact with senior cornerback Mello Dotson, the ball came loose. When the scrum cleared, Dotson had it in his grasp, and the Sun Devils’ opportunity to go into the half with points was negated.
As he continues to build ASU’s program, second-year head coach Kenny Dillingham has emphasized the importance of responding to adversity. He recognizes that mistakes will happen — none of his 11 players on the field at one time are perfect — but being able to stay level-headed and continue making an impact in the face of adversity is what Dillingham wants to see. Safe to say Tyson exemplified that quality as Saturday’s back-and-forth affair progressed.
“I gave (Tyson) a game ball, because that’s what the program’s about,” Dillingham said. “The program’s about the response. Talk about a bad beginning of a game, I mean, he was about as upset as you could possibly be. The fact that he could regather himself and go execute and finish with a positive attitude is everything that we’re trying to build here.”
After all, Tyson has responded to adversity far greater than any challenge presented to him on the football field throughout his collegiate career. As a freshman at Colorado in 2022, Tyson severely injured his knee in November in a 49-10 loss to Oregon. He then transferred to ASU, but missed all of his first year in Tempe recovering from that ailment.
That’s why his game-winning touchdown had so much payoff. He’d worked over a full year to have the opportunity to return to the field and deliver a big moment — a capability that was known when he committed to ASU in May 2023. On Saturday, he got that chance and didn’t let it go to waste.
“It means everything,” Tyson said. “God got me through this whole process I’ve been through, it was the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life by far, I’ve just never been through adversity… I think God just prepared me for it, having that injury and knowing how to fight back from adversity.”
