An opening holding penalty — one of 12 in a messy 2025 opener — didn’t stop Arizona State wide receiver Jordyn Tyson from producing an ESPN top-10 type of touchdown catch on a late drive in the fourth quarter on Saturday.
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It was among Tyson’s 12 receptions (141 yards) in a 38-19 win over Northern Arizona, where he accounted for all but two by the Sun Devils’ wide receiving core.
The blind, drop-in-the-basket catch from 16 yards out got due attention from the one who threw it, quarterback Sam Leavitt.
“I was pretty shocked he caught that. That was a hell of a catch,” Leavitt said postgame. “Probably one of the best catches I’ve seen in a while. So, props to him for that.”
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With 2:46 left in the game, Leavitt was forced to get the ball away quickly, as two Lumberjacks defenders wrapped around the edges largely untouched.
The instinct to reach for the ball when Tyson did was impressive enough, but his pro-level awareness of the sideline enabled him to tap his left foot down in bounds before his momentum carried him too far.
Jordyn Tyson says the catch was a fulfillment of childhood practice
For the star receivers’ part, he said the catch was something he “mastered” as a kid.
“I feel like I mastered that catch when I was a kid and I just never had the opportunity to really do it on the field until now,” Tyson said. “My trainer (and I), we work on ball skills. That’s all we work on.”
Tyson’s first score — a 19-yard catch-and-run check throw from Leavitt a yard behind the line of scrimmage — was not as much as a display of his ball-handling as it was of his acceleration and speed in the open field.
The last time the 6-foot-2 junior didn’t register at least 100 receiving yards or one touchdown was on Sept. 21 last season versus Texas Tech (two catches for 33 yards).
With a boatload of grabs and looks, why didn’t NAU double up coverage on Tyson?
According to coach Kenny Dillingham, it was due to the diverse, or “exotic,” nature of the Lumberjacks’ defensive scheme.
“When you’re an exotic team like (NAU), you don’t double players, right? Because you’re so exotic,” Dillingham said. “If that’s not their plan to double, then we should probably just keep getting him the ball. … I think (favoring Tyson) is going to happen naturally throughout the season. I don’t think it’s going to be forced.”
Dillingham said he fully understands his position in coaching “special players” but that didn’t necessarily prepare him for Tyson’s fourth-quarter gem.
In fact, he admitted he couldn’t even witness the play as it happened.
“You’re constantly amazed,” Dillingham said. “I honestly couldn’t see it. I saw the throw. I didn’t actually see him come down with it with my angles, so I’m excited to go watch it on tape and see the catch.”
ASU’s Tyson has averaged 146.3 yards per game over his last four games, and also has four touchdowns in that span.
On Saturday, the Sun Devils will be at Mississippi State (1-0), a team that ASU also played for Week 2 in 2024.
Tyson will be looking to avenge his worst performance of the year last season, where he hauled in just two balls for seven yards.
from Arizona Sports https://ift.tt/DbNda2W
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