ASU RB Kyson Brown is set up for breakout year with health, talent at other skill spots

The majority of Arizona State football’s starters this fall will be newcomers to the program, but it’s easy to forget that the likely starter at running back entered last season as the top guy.

Redshirt junior Kyson Brown got the majority of first-team snaps throughout 2025 fall camp as well as the primary touches to start the regular season before suffering an ankle injury in Week 2 at Mississippi State on his second carry.

Raleek Brown took the torch and averaged 117 yards on 18 carries over a four-game span (starting with Mississippi State) while Kyson Brown’s injury proved to be a nagging one that limited him to 42 snaps the rest of the season.

Raleek Brown, who broke out after his own injury-riddled 2024 season at ASU, saw a payoff of 1,141 rushing yards, First Team All-Big 12 honors and a likely nice payday from Texas in the transfer portal.

It was the eighth straight season (excluding the four-game 2020 season) with a Sun Devil running back posting at least 1,000 scrimmage yards.

Entering his fourth season and all at ASU under longtime running backs coach Shaun Aguano, Kyson Brown is now poised for his own breakout with a chance to post the ninth such season.

His flashes have been there, including 145 total yards (13 touches) in the 2025 opener, 100 rushing yards (eight carries) in the 2024 Territorial Cup and a screen pass he took 68 yards on a house call in the 2024 opener. However, he’s yet to string games together consistently, with no back-to-back games of at least 65 rushing yards (three such games across 30 appearances).

Brown admits he “left a lot out on the table,” but the time off the field only added motivation to prove himself among the best running backs in the nation, just as his former high school teammate Kewan Lacy has done at Ole Miss.

“That’s the driving factor for me, just getting back out on the field and just being able to show who I am,” Brown said in June. “I really work hard at my craft. I’ve been doing this for a long time. So, it was really just disappointing not to be out there and help my teammates and just be who I am.

“So, I think ultimately, the love for the game for me is what I get out of playing. Like, this is really what I love to do. So, I think getting out there and being able to do what I love, that’s the ultimate driving factor.”

The offensive personnel came together in a way that benefits Brown, such as left guard Maki Stewart returning after the true freshman led ASU in run-block grades (74.2), per PFF. The gap between Stewart and first-round NFL Draft pick Max Iheanachor (second on team in run-blocking) was comparable to the gap between Iheanachor (66.8) and eighth-place Josh Atkins (59.2).

ASU’s likely starting center, Tana Alo-Tupuola, had a 62.9 grade at Georgia Tech last season that’s ahead of both Sun Devil centers who saw time after Ben Coleman went down early in the year: Makua Pule (61.3) and Wade Helton (51.0).

A couple of receivers with NFL potential in 6-foot-2 Omarion Miller and 6-foot-5 Reed Harris could help change the math equation too, as head coach Kenny Dillingham said at Big 12 Media Days.

“I expect that room to be dynamic. I expect that room to … change coverage (against us),” Dillingham told reporters. “I expect some of those guys to force a team to play them with more than one person. In a game that’s turning into a lot of match coverage, you have to have guys who can truly win on the perimeter and give yourself throws. And if you can do that, you can change the math equation.

“We’re looking for those guys to change the math in the box, so guys like Kyson can run the rock.”

ASU RB room loaded with options behind Kyson Brown

A self-described junkie for competition, Brown faces a lot of it in his own position room.

Jason Brown Jr., a redshirt sophomore who posted 134 rushing yards for ASU in the Sun Bowl, continues to improve and Demarius “Man Man” Robinson is a year older after getting 23 carries as a true freshman. Redshirt freshman Grayson Rigdon had his own flashes during Sun Bowl practices and the ensuing spring camp.

Cardae Mack, described by offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo as a do-it-all back who will play early, got a taste of the team culture during Sun Bowl practices ahead of his own freshman season.

There were also two FCS running backs added through the portal: Marquis Gillis (Delaware State) and David Avit (Villanova).

The 6-foot, 210-pound Gillis appears more ready for immediate carries despite a late start in spring camp due to injury, but both have a physical frame (Avit is 6 feet and 225 pounds) that helped them produce at the lower level.

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