(Photo: Marina Williams/WCSN)
TEMPE — Arizona State wide receiver Jordyn Tyson will miss the Dr. Pepper Big 12 Championship Game next Saturday and will be out indefinitely due to an injury sustained against Arizona, head coach Kenny Dillingham announced Monday.
“I don’t want to give a complete three, four-month out timetable,” Dillingham said. “But he’s going to be out indefinitely… I just know he’s out indefinitely.”
Tyson exited midway through the third quarter of the No. 12 Sun Devils’ 49-7 win in Tucson on Saturday after taking a hard tackle. He was later observed exiting the medical tent with a sling on his right shoulder and did not return to action. The injury prematurely concluded a dominant performance that saw the redshirt sophomore catch eight of his ten targets for 143 yards and a touchdown.
In his first healthy regular season since he was at Colorado in 2022, Tyson was one of the Big 12’s most productive receivers with the third-most receiving yards (1,101) and second-most touchdowns (10) in the conference. He has also developed a strong rapport with redshirt freshman quarterback Sam Leavitt, accounting for 38% of ASU’s total targets according to Pro Football Focus.
“He’s a really good player, and then he’s very physical,” Dillingham said. “I saw a few people highlight his blocks on social media, which were awesome… And what definitely makes him more difficult is, obviously, he demands two people to cover him. So if people don’t have to demand two people, they can load the box. So you’ve got to find more creative ways to win those one-on-one matchups.”
Without Tyson, the Sun Devils will look to several other options in the receiving game, most notably senior running back Cam Skattebo and redshirt junior tight end Chamon Metayer, who are second and third respectively on the team for receptions. Skattebo, a 1,000-yard rusher, has 468 receiving yards and two touchdowns while Metayer has accrued 468 receiving yards and five scores.
Skattebo isn’t ASU’s only back with receiving upside as sophomore Kyson Brown’s involvement has increased of late. Through the past four games, Brown has made five grabs for 66 yards. The Sun Devils will also look to its other wideouts like redshirt senior Xavier Guillory and graduate Melquan Stovall. Guillory caught a 31-yard touchdown on Saturday and has contributed 291 yards and an additional two scores. Stovall, on the other hand, owns 162 yards on 12 catches.
Despite not playing since the UCF game on Nov. 9, redshirt senior Jake Smith could be another name to see more reps in Tyson’s absence. On Saturday, redshirt freshman Derek Eusebio took his first career reception — a 64-yard catch — to the house and has also impressed in practice throughout the season, meaning he could also see an uptick in targets.
“Time to move some people around,” Dillingham said. “Time to get more people on the field (to) create probably a little more balance offensively. Always got to be over on the ball, have good play action.”
