QB to WR: Michael Tollefson’s position switch is smooth as “Butter”

(Photo: Jack Simon/WCSN)

TEMPE – Second-year player Michael Tollefson’s mother gave him the nickname “Butter” as a child.

The name stuck with him into his football career, where, as a quarterback, he played with butter-like smoothness. But after making the switch to wide receiver ahead of the 2026 season at Arizona State, the question arose: would he keep the nickname?

Without knowing the story, one might naturally conclude that a wide receiver named Butter got the moniker due to copious dropped passes. Despite that, Tollefson says he’s sticking by it.

“It’s always going to be Butter,” he said.

A position switch midway through college might be difficult for most athletes, but Tollefson has learned to adapt throughout his life. Before arriving in Tempe, he spent time at four different high schools across two states.

His first two seasons were spent at San Juan Hills High School in San Juan Capistrano, California. After earning the starting job as a freshman, he passed for over 1,300 yards, rushed for 450 yards and scored 20 total touchdowns. After two seasons in the Hills, accruing a combined record of 7-15, Tollefson left for the school next door.

Tollefson found his next home Less than six miles away: JSerra Catholic High School. A private Catholic school halfway between Los Angeles and San Diego, JSerra plays in the Trinity League – a conference filled with California powerhouses like Mater Dei, Orange Lutheran and St. John Bosco. Tollefson played just seven games for JSerra, being sidelined midseason by a knee injury. In his shortened season, he passed for 812 yards and rushed for nearly 400 yards with eight total touchdowns.

Opting again for a change of scenery, Tollefson transferred to Tustin High School. Though he never suited up for the Tillers, being deemed ineligible to play due to California Interscholastic Federation transfer rules.

In a final attempt to play under the Friday night lights, Tollefson transferred again, this time across state lines. He moved to the state he would end up staying in for college, Arizona. At Mountain Pointe High School in Phoenix, Ariz., Tollefson earned an opportunity to start after transferring in midseason. He passed for 418 yards, rushed for 301 yards and scored four total touchdowns.

The move to Arizona was strategic. Tollefson had committed to the Sun Devils nearly three years prior, during the summer before his sophomore year.

High school football players are first able to talk to college coaches and receive committable offers on June 15 after their sophomore year. As soon as ASU and head coach Kenny Dillingham gave him a call, Tollefson knew Tempe was where he wanted to be.

“Once I could talk to them, that’s basically when I committed,” he said. “I made it official.”

When Tollefson arrived at ASU in the spring of 2025 as an early enrollee, he was buried on the depth chart behind quarterbacks Sam Leavitt, Jeff Sims and Cameron Dyer. He spent his entire first season grinding as the scout team quarterback, hoping for a chance to make the travel squad. That day never came.

Once the season ended, he sat down with Coach Dillingham for an earnest chat about his future. Tollefson made one thing abundantly clear: he wanted to stay at ASU and would do anything to remain a Sun Devil.

The decision they came to? Tollefson had to make the switch to wide receiver.

“It was a mutual agreement,” Tollefson said. “We felt like it was the best for me going forward and my development. We thought that I could succeed and play at receiver.”

After taking spring and fall camp to learn his new position, Tollefson feels as if the only thing that has changed about him is where he lines up on the field. He plays wide receiver with the mind of a quarterback.

“It’s really the same mindset,” he says. “I use a lot of the same stuff that I used when I played quarterback to help me play receiver. I can look at the defense, read zones, feel where to sit at and just how to beat the defense.”

The only difference: “Receiver gets to run around, so it’s a little more fun,” he says.

His head coach echoes the sentiment.

“He understands where he needs to be,” Dillingham said. “What spots in the field the quarterback is looking for him to be at.”

Tollefson’s transition has come with its road bumps, though. For the second year in a row, he will be a part of the scout team, which means he doesn’t get to travel to the majority of ASU’s away games.

Despite that, the team is bringing its entire squad – scout team included – to the two games it’s had circled on its calendars for months: against Kansas in London and against Arizona in Tucson.