What Arizona State’s Wide out additions add to the Big 12 Champions

(Photo: Grace Johnson/ WCSN)

TEMPE – Arizona State football’s first week of spring practice offers a handful of new Sun Devils their first opportunity to get reps in underneath the blazing Tempe sun at the Kajikawa Practice Fields. This year, 26 new players – 14 true freshmen and 12 transfers – donned the ASU practice jerseys for the first time, joining the reigning Big 12 Champions.

It’s possible for any one of those new players to carve out a big role for the Sun Devils, but three wide receiver transfers stand out in particular as potential impact players. Redshirt junior Jalen Moss from Fresno State, redshirt sophomore Noble Johnson from Clemson and redshirt freshman Jaren Hamilton from Alabama all bring experience and potential to an ASU wide receiver room that retains just one big producer from the 2024 season: rising redshirt junior wide receiver Jordyn Tyson.

Tyson is rising redshirt sophomore quarterback Sam Leavitt’s favorite target, recording 1,101 receiving yards on 75 receptions and hauling in 10 touchdowns. Redshirt senior tight end Chamon Metayer is the only other top-five pass catcher from last year who remains on the roster, meaning there are plenty of opportunities for the three newcomers.

All three of the transfer wide receivers have the ability to fill the void left behind by graduating players. If they didn’t, wide receivers coach Hines Ward wouldn’t have brought them to the Valley. It’s just a matter of adapting to their new environment at ASU, hitting the ground running this spring and continuing to improve throughout the season.

No matter how playing time is divided come Aug. 30, when the Sun Devils open against Northern Arizona, there is confidence that there is the necessary talent in the wide receiver room to keep the team as competitive as possible.

“It’s just a matter of surrounding Jordyn with some key players that, when we call upon, they’re ready to go,” Ward said. “I look for Jaren and Jalen and guys who have experienced big time programs, and Noble as well. They’re coming here and fit right in, now it’s just a matter of getting acclimated to our plays.”

Between the weather, the allure of head coach Kenny Dillingham and the fact that Arizona State is coming off its best season since 1997 there are a handful of reasons why the Sun Devils are an enticing landing spot. For Johnson, playing for Ward was an intriguing proposition he couldn’t pass up.

Ward was one of the top wide receivers in the league during the peak of his NFL career with the Pittsburgh Steelers. His play inspired young football players across the country and Johnson was no different. The opportunity to be coached by a legend of the game was something he couldn’t pass up.

“I’ve always looked up to him as a receiver,” Johnson said. “I’ve always studied his film. I love his mentality when it comes to playing the game, not just running routes, catching the ball, that’s what a receiver’s job (is). (I) really look up to how he blocks and attacks, the thing he does without the ball in his hands, and that’s what made him a great receiver.”

Johnson spent his first two collegiate seasons at Clemson, playing for head coach Dabo Swinney and a Tigers team that won the ACC last season. Johnson only recorded three receptions on the season but he has the skill set to break out at Arizona State and the work ethic to improve.

“I’m getting a lot more creative with (my route running), my breaks.” Johnson said. “I can get out of my breaks like I’m a little guy. I’m like 6-foot-2, 210 (pounds), but I can move, and then my hands, I can catch it.”

In a sense, the transfers are competing against each other for roles on the roster and Johnson’s speed and explosiveness can help him assert himself as a powerful tool in ASU’s revamped wide receiver room. However, they’re also all teammates working towards the same goal.

“It’s all going to take care of itself,” Johnson said. “It’s very competitive, obviously you want to make plays, but at the end of the day, we all want to see each other succeed.”

Johnson’s new teammate, Moss, has a similar mindset on the situation. The new additions to the wide receiver room aren’t letting anything get in the way of them supporting each other and cheering for the betterment of the group.

“(We’re) just trying to be a group, not trying to let selfishness take a hold of what anybody has in this room,” Moss said. “We all know everybody’s goal is to play but it’s a team (that) goes out there at the end of the day, we’re all trying to win.”

Moss enters his new environment with a team-first mindset after a solid season at Fresno State. Moss was a reliable second option for junior quarterback Mikey Keene, hauling in 48 passes for 563 yards and four touchdowns. His redshirt freshman season was even better, recording 55 receptions for 788 yards and six touchdowns.

If Moss can put up a season similar to his 2024 season against Big 12 competition, he’ll be an incredible asset to the team. If he can put up numbers like he did in 2023, he’ll assert himself as one of the team’s offensive cornerstones. The experience Moss gained while putting up those stats also helps him adjust to live as a Sun Devil.

“My experience, my level of detail coming in and also just how smart I am on the field (are things I bring from Fresno State),” Moss said. “It’s still new, still trying to get the wrinkles out on some things, but once it all clicks for me, I feel like I’ll be transitioning just as well as anybody else has coming in here.”

The final member of the transfer group, Hamilton, might not have the same level of on-the-field experience at the Division I level that Moss does, but he learned mental fortitude during his time at Alabama. The wideout has the confidence needed to be great at this level.

“It’s going to be hard days, it’s going to be good days,” Hamilton said. “It’s going to be days where you feel like you have nothing in the tank. But Alabama really taught me that if you want to climb a mountain, you can climb a mountain.

“I can’t have 1000 yards today, I can’t have it tomorrow, but if I stay consistent, just every day putting in work, then all my dreams and all the things that I want to come to fruition will come.”

Arizona State and Dillingham offer Hamilton a place where he can work to make those dreams come true. Dillingham’s ability to connect on a personal level with eventual commits is a separating factor in them eventually choosing to become Sun Devils.

“I just wanted to come to a place where I feel valued, come to a place where I just felt like I could thrive,” Hamilton said. “Talking with coach Dillingham, his plan, as far as with the team and individually, it just set ASU apart from other schools.”

Despite not recording a reception during his time with the Crimson Tide, Hamilton has all the physical tools needed to thrive in Tempe. The receiver is 6-foot-1, 200 pounds, lightning fast and athletic. Ward isn’t worried about recruiting a player who hasn’t proven himself fully at the college level, believing that Hamilton, Johnson and Moss all have the ability to prosper.

“Going back and doing my evaluations and watching some of their high school tapes, you saw some of the skillset of why they went to Clemson, why they went to Alabama and why they went to Fresno State,” Ward said.

The belief goes both ways. Ward wants to have skillful players he can help mold to be the best versions of themselves and players want to learn from someone who’s not only as knowledgeable as Ward is, but successful as well. Alongside Johnson, both Moss and Hamilton expressed excitement about the opportunity to learn from their new coach.

“They want to be coached by a guy who’s done it, who’s played it and coached it,” Ward said. “I’m looking forward to giving them my all, giving them everything that I got and hopefully, in return, they can go out and make some plays for us and help us continue to win ball games.”

In the coming weeks, the roles of each transfer will begin to become clearer. No matter who takes what reps and how playing time is divided, the transfer group as a whole has the goal to improve the Sun Devils roster. The new teammates will push each other to become their best selves and the team as a whole will benefit.

“At the end of the day, we just got to be there for each other,” Moss said. “We know what we’re doing, we’re out here to get better each and every day.”