(Photo: Sammy Nute/WCSN)
Arizona State football began the drive from Arizona Stadium back to Tempe on Saturday with good and bad news. First, the positive: the No. 12 Sun Devils (10-2, 7-2 Pac-12) had just thumped rival Arizona 49-7 and later learned they’d play in the Big 12 Championship Game and thus a chance to clinch a College Football Playoff spot. However, the status of star receiver Jordyn Tyson hung in the air throughout all of the celebration.
Tyson, named the Big 12’s Offensive Newcomer of the Year on Thursday, left the game in the third quarter after hitting the ground hard on a tackle and didn’t return. He was eventually observed exiting the Sun Devils’ medical tent with a sling on his right shoulder.
Two days later, head coach Kenny Dillingham announced that Tyson will not play for the Big 12 title against Iowa State this weekend and is out “indefinitely”. Fast-forward another 48 hours and the Chuck Neinas Coach of the Year said the wideout underwent surgery that will keep him sidelined for the remainder of the 2024 campaign. Just like that, ASU’s offense was left without one of its most prized weapons; through 12 games, Tyson’s collected the 10th-most receiving yards (1,001) in the FBS to go with 10 touchdowns.
So, how will quarterback and Big 12 Freshman of the Year Sam Leavitt compensate for the loss of his favorite target? By trusting multiple receivers to come through when their numbers get called more often.
“Everybody has to step up when we lose a guy like that, somebody that’s very productive in our room,” graduate wide receiver Melquan Stovall said. “Just having him out, everybody in the room has to step up and give the best effort they can, no matter where they’re asked to play.”
It won’t be an easy task to replace a player who has accounted for 38% of ASU’s total targets and 64.7% of its completions to wideouts throughout the regular season. But that’s not to say that the Sun Devils don’t have capable alternatives to turn to.
ASU does still have the services of senior running back Cam Skattebo and redshirt junior tight end Chamon Metayer, who own the second and third-most receptions and yards on the team respectively. Each recipients of Big 12 Awards, the two will likely be looked to even more often when Leavitt decides to pass. Sophomore Kyson Brown, another running back who has garnered more reps of late, could also step up in the receiving game.
In terms of wide receivers, though, there are ample names that could be utilized. Redshirt senior Xavier Guillory has reeled in 17 receptions, the second-most among ASU wideouts, and has two touchdowns in the past two games — his first being the game-winning score against then-No. 14 BYU. Stovall is a sixth-year veteran who has accrued 31 receptions for 369 yards in two years as a Sun Devil.
During practices on Tuesday and Wednesday, redshirt senior Troy Omeire and senior Malik McClain worked in with Stovall and Guillory on the first-team offense. While he’s seldom been used this season, Omeire is an imposing downfield threat standing at 6 foot 4 inches and 220 pounds and made 20 catches for 223 yards and three scores in 2023.
McClain, a transfer who has 39 receptions and 467 yards in three years spent between Florida State and Penn State hasn’t played much during his first campaign in Tempe as he used his redshirt. However, per a new NCAA rule introduced this year, postseason games are exempt from counting towards a players allotted four games needed to preserve their redshirt, meaning he will be available for the rest of the way. While he hasn’t played in ASU’s three games since Nov. 9 due to injury, redshirt senior Jake Smith also provides a wealth of experience.
Needless to say, ASU has plenty of options to look towards in Tyson’s absence. That’s not even mentioning redshirt freshman Derek Eusebio’s potential after he turned his first career catch into a 64-yard house call against Arizona.
“When one of our guys goes down, especially (Tyson), who’s had a majority of our production this year, somebody’s got to step up,” Guillory said. “We don’t want no fall-off, but we’re all capable. We wouldn’t be here if we weren’t able to, and we’re excited to be able to go showcase our abilities.”
While ASU is preparing to play without its bonafide top receiver, the challenge that Iowa State’s defense — specifically in the passing game — presents makes things even more difficult. Although the Cyclones’ rushing defense has been a weakness as it ranks 96th nationally in rushing yards allowed (2,084), it’s been a different story against the pass, conceding the third-fewest yards through the air (1,883) in the country.
“You’re talking about a defense that has been together and talked about for a long time,” offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo said. “They’ve heard the verbiage, they’ve got the packages, they know all the checks. These guys do as good of a job as anybody we’ve played; this will be the best defense we’ve played so far.”
Going against such a stout passing defense could mean that ASU, who has the second-most rushing attempts in the Big 12 and 14th-most in the entire country, runs the ball even more than usual with two more-than-capable backs to turn to. However, that doesn’t mean the wide receivers won’t have their work cut out for them regardless.
Under wide receivers coach Hines Ward, blocking downfield has been a point of emphasis — after all, he excelled at doing just that during his 14-year NFL career that saw him win two Super Bowls. That’s rubbed off on the Sun Devils’ receivers.
Look at the Territorial Cup alone. Tyson’s 59-yard first-quarter reception that set the table for ASU’s second score of the day was only made possible due to a great block by Guillory. Later on, Tyson returned the favor by supplying a pancake block that opened the door for a big Brown run. Safe to say Ward’s expertise has yielded positive results.
“When you have a guy who lived it and did it and smiled when he did it and then smiled again and caught 10,000 yards and 100 touchdowns, and when he tells you,‘If you want the ball, you better block,’ you’re going to block,” Dillingham said. “If he told me to block, I’d probably go block somebody. That’s the kind of respect you got to have for what he’s accomplished and how he operates as a football coach. So that mindset that he’s instilled in that group is uniquely special.”
Naturally, Ward’s knowledge is two-fold. Yes, he’s a master with the x’s and o’s, but he also has the ability to share certain aspects of playing in big games that most members of ASU’s receiving corps just haven’t experienced. He’s put his football background to good use this week.
Despite coming into the season surrounded by low expectations, the Sun Devils played themselves in a position to win the Big 12 Championship in their first year in the conference and cement their spot in the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff. That comes with nerves, especially when you’re lacking one of your most productive offensive pieces.
Ward said he shared how he was unable to sleep before Super Bowl XL in 2006, tossing and turning in his hotel room hours before he was named the game’s MVP. It’s normal for there to be a sense of anxiety ahead of such a big game, but when the ball is kicked off, it should feel no different than any of the 12 previous contests the Sun Devils have already played.
He also ensured ASU’s receivers know they don’t need to do anything outstanding on Saturday. Replacing Tyson’s production is no easy task — he was one of college football’s best receivers for a reason. But as long as they do their job when called upon, the Sun Devils will have a chance to claim their first conference title since 2007.
“My motto has kind of been, ‘Just be great at making the routine plays,’” Ward said. “If we just make routine plays, don’t try to do anything extra, don’t try to do too much, we’ll be fine. Run the ball, of course, when you have a running back like (Skattebo), run the ball. Our wideouts have done a great job all season impacting the game when they don’t have the football and they’re not getting thrown to.
“So first and foremost, our priority is to make sure we get involved in the run game. We’ve got to get hat-on-hat, and then when your number’s called, make a play. Make a routine play. You don’t have to do anything extra-special. Just go out there and do what they’ve been doing all season. When they’re number (was) called, they made plays.”
