{"id":199772,"date":"2025-09-04T14:40:15","date_gmt":"2025-09-04T14:40:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/199772\/"},"modified":"2025-09-04T14:40:15","modified_gmt":"2025-09-04T14:40:15","slug":"how-jordyn-tyson-blossomed-at-arizona-state-and-became-one-of-the-countrys-top-playmakers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/199772\/","title":{"rendered":"How Jordyn Tyson blossomed at Arizona State and became one of the country\u2019s top playmakers"},"content":{"rendered":"

TEMPE, Ariz. \u2014 Practice is over. The Arizona State Sun Devils separate into position groups for a final breakdown. A few minutes later, everyone files out of the Verde Dickey Dome and catches a ride back to the football facility, where lunch awaits.<\/p>\n

Two stay behind.<\/p>\n

Hines Ward and Jordyn Tyson are often among the last to leave the practice field. One is in his second season as receivers coach for the Sun Devils, a former NFL star who recently added associate head coach to his job title. The other is a preseason All-American, among the best receivers in college football.<\/p>\n

Ward\u2019s job is to bring out the best in Tyson, a 6-foot-2, 200-pound redshirt junior who has overcome a major knee injury and broken collarbone, the latter sidelining him for last season\u2019s Big 12 championship game and Arizona State\u2019s loss to Texas in the College Football Playoff.<\/p>\n

In the position room, Ward has pointed out to Tyson the former Arizona State receivers memorialized on the walls \u2014 John Jefferson, J.D. Hill, Brandon Aiyuk, Derek Hagan, Jaelen Strong. \u201cMan, you got a great opportunity to go down as one of the all-time greats here,\u201d Ward tells Tyson. \u201cYour picture plastered on the wall. The opportunity is there.\u201d<\/p>\n

On this preseason day, Ward could tell Tyson was tired. The receiver had missed the bulk of spring practice with an ankle issue. He had been limited during preseason work for maintenance reasons. Ward reminded Tyson: \u201cSome days you ain\u2019t going to feel it. That\u2019s where you got to lean on me to help push you through these days, push you through these times.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Hines<\/p>\n

Longtime NFL star Hines Ward, now Arizona State\u2019s wide receivers coach, says \u201cthe opportunity is there\u201d for Jordyn Tyson to be one of the school\u2019s all-time greats. (Mark J. Rebilas \/ Imagn Images)<\/p>\n

Tyson knows how fortunate he is, learning from Ward, a four-time Pro Bowler with the Pittsburgh Steelers and former Super Bowl MVP. \u201cYeah,\u201d he said, \u201cthe proof is in the pudding with him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not long after joining coach Kenny Dillingham\u2019s staff in the spring of 2024, Ward watched Tyson make an incredible catch during practice. He smiled to himself: \u201cYeah, I can work with that.\u201d He learned about Tyson\u2019s past, how he had started his career at Colorado and suffered an ACL injury as a freshman. He invited him to the house he rented with his wife in Scottsdale for dinner, assuring Tyson that he would not use Arizona State as a stepping stone.<\/p>\n

Tyson was familiar with Ward and all he had accomplished, but his dad may have had a greater appreciation. John Tyson had grown up in Georgia, attending North Clayton High, which was a short drive from where Ward had starred at Forest Park High.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you grow up in that area, you\u2019re raised by the same people; you\u2019re taught by the same people,\u201d John Tyson said of their shared roots. He knew Ward believed in work. He knew he would help his son master every detail.<\/p>\n

In the Dickey Dome, Ward tells Tyson he\u2019s proud of how he fought through fatigue. Near the end of practice, Tyson had made a one-handed catch near the sideline that ignited the entire team.<\/p>\n

Ward has made it clear: Entering last season, no one knew much about Tyson because he had missed nearly all of 2023. That\u2019s no longer the case. Last season, Tyson had 75 catches for 1,101 yards and 10 touchdowns, earning first-team All-Big 12 and third-team All-America honors. This season, Ward told Tyson, everybody in the country knows who you are. Coordinators will scheme against you, put their best corners on you. Every defensive player will try to improve their NFL Draft stock at your expense.<\/p>\n

The challenge: \u201cHow are you going to combat that?\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Jordyn<\/p>\n

A third-team All-American last season, Jordyn Tyson started his 2025 campaign with 12 catches for 141 yards and two touchdowns Saturday against Northern Arizona. (Arianna Grainey \/ Imagn Images)<\/p>\n

How Tyson ended up at Arizona State is actually a funny story. The receiver wasn\u2019t the first family member to visit campus. His mother was.<\/p>\n

In April of 2023, not long after Tyson had decided to leave Colorado, Sandra Brown flew to Arizona for a work assignment at a Veterans Affairs medical center in Tucson. While on the trip, she kept getting calls from a number she did not recognize. Once, twice, three times.<\/p>\n

Finally, Brown answered. It was Ra\u2019Shaad Samples, then the receivers coach at Arizona State. He had been communicating with Tyson since the receiver had entered the transfer portal. Brown, who lives in Texas, told Samples she just happened to be in Arizona.<\/p>\n

Samples\u2019 response: \u201cStop by!\u201d<\/p>\n

Samples connected her with Dillingham, and not much later, Brown pulled into an Arizona State parking lot. The only thing Brown knew about Dillingham was that he had come to Arizona State from Oregon, where he had been offensive coordinator. This didn\u2019t sit well with her. In the midst of a strong freshman season, Tyson suffered his season-ending knee injury Nov. 5 against Oregon. For mom, anything stemming from the Ducks left a bad taste.<\/p>\n

The 32-year-old Dillingham, in his fifth month on the Arizona State job, wore khaki shorts and a gold hoodie. Driving a golf cart, he showed Brown around campus. After learning Tyson\u2019s older brother was also in the transfer portal \u2014 Jaylon Tyson had just finished his sophomore basketball season at Texas Tech \u2014 Dillingham insisted on visiting the Arizona State basketball facility. There, Brown met basketball coach Bobby Hurley. She posed for a photo, Hurley on her right, Dillingham on her left. (Jaylon Tyson would ultimately transfer to California. A 2024 first-round NBA Draft pick, he\u2019s about to begin his second season with the Cleveland Cavaliers.)<\/p>\n

\"Bob<\/p>\n

Bobby Hurley, Sandra Brown and Kenny Dillingham, during Brown\u2019s first visit to Arizona State in search of a new school for her son, the now-All-American Jordyn Tyson. (Courtesy of Sandra Brown)<\/p>\n

Dillingham shared his program vision. He also discussed the importance of staying patient with Tyson\u2019s recovery from knee surgery.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not going to pressure him back,\u201d Dillingham said he told Brown. \u201cThe advantage of Year 1 is we\u2019re not going to be in a hurry to play your son. Whereas other people may be in Year 3, maybe they\u2019re on the hot seat, and they may need to play him before he\u2019s healthy.\u201d<\/p>\n

A few weeks later, Tyson and his family returned to the desert for an official visit. The first thing they did was meet the Arizona State coaching staff at the Sanctuary Camelback Mountain resort. John Tyson, the receiver\u2019s father, played college football at Florida A&M, but he was not in the weeds of his son\u2019s recruitment. He didn\u2019t Google names or study bios.<\/p>\n

At dinner, the father sat beside a young coach. He was surprised that the coach talked so much, given his age. When the man left the table, John Tyson leaned over to Sandra, his ex-wife.<\/p>\n

\u201cSandra, who is this young guy?\u201d he said. \u201cHe can really talk.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTyson,\u201d replied Brown, who calls her ex-husband by his last name, \u201cthat\u2019s Coach Dillingham.\u201d<\/p>\n

Looking back, John Tyson laughs.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was like, \u2018NO WAY,\u2019\u201d he said. \u201cBecause he looked like he was 19. But I will tell you, that energy \u2026 he\u2019s a good, solid brother, man. And he\u2019s good for college football.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tyson has a way of making things look easy. Tristan Weber, the receiver\u2019s offensive coordinator at Allen High in Texas, noticed this immediately. At first, he wondered whether Tyson was working hard. Then he realized that it\u2019s just Tyson\u2019s biomechanics. He\u2019s a smooth runner. He accelerates. He catches everything.<\/p>\n

In last week\u2019s opener against Northern Arizona, Tyson showed as much. On first down late in the fourth quarter, quarterback Sam Leavitt lofted a pass to the end zone. Tyson had to arch his back and look over his right shoulder to locate the ball. He appeared to have no chance. Yet, he made a sliding catch, keeping his feet in bounds for his second touchdown.<\/p>\n

The Athletic sent video of the play to Hagan, the school\u2019s career receptions leader. His response, via text: \u201cTracking and hand-eye coordination to make an opposite shoulder catch is elite! Let alone to get your feet in bounds. Awesome grab.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

Have a night @tyson_jordyn<\/a> \ud83d\udc4f<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcfa ESPN+ pic.twitter.com\/QMHZdx4HHT<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Sun Devil Football (@ASUFootball) August 31, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Tyson finished with 12 catches for 141 yards. While Ward respected the production, he focused on a false start Tyson had committed and a fumble he had nearly lost. \u201cRookie mistakes,\u201d Ward said, adding Tyson needed to be better Saturday when the No. 12 Sun Devils visit Mississippi State. He knows he will.<\/p>\n

Tyson has come too far, been through too much. After watching her son score two touchdowns in a win last season against Kansas, Brown walked up the stairs at Mountain America Stadium. Suddenly, she stopped. Emotion overwhelmed her. Tyson had worked so hard to return.<\/p>\n

\u201cI put my head in my hands and just kind of leaned over and really it was just like \u2014 wow,\u201d Brown said. \u201cAnd I don\u2019t even know what it was about that game. He\u2019s had great moments. But for whatever reason, I was just in awe of my son.\u201d<\/p>\n

Said John Tyson: \u201cHe just didn\u2019t come back \u2014 he came back better and he came back mentally stronger.\u201d<\/p>\n

And focused.<\/p>\n

Inside the Dickey Dome after a preseason practice, Ward said to watch Tyson when Arizona State pauses for special-teams work. While those not involved meet with their position groups, Tyson runs gassers. Across the field and back. Two days later, he was the only player to do this.<\/p>\n

Four extra gassers a week turn into 16 a month. By Ward\u2019s math, that translates into 30 snaps on game nights, giving Tyson a conditioning advantage. To him, this is what matters most. More than the highlight catches. More than the ability to get open.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you want to be the best, you got to ante up,\u201d Ward said. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot that comes with being the best. You got to do more. I\u2019ll always just kind of be that voice on his shoulder, constantly pushing him and maximizing every talent that I can get out of him.\u201d<\/p>\n

(Top photo of Jordyn Tyson scoring a touchdown Saturday against Northern Arizona: Bruce Yeung \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n