Jordyn Tyson came out of shell as leader ahead of return from injury

TEMPE — Jordyn Tyson made a few big plays in his return while playing on a pitch count, but his impact started with a spur-of-the-moment choice pregame.

The Arizona State wide receiver is not normally one to address the entire team. But that changed Saturday before facing his former team, Colorado, while returning from a hamstring injury.

“I was just telling them, ‘God says to love your neighbors like yourself. If you expect (your teammate) to give his all, you give your all your damn self,'” Tyson told Fox 10 when recalling the speech.

ASU coach Kenny Dillingham said there weren’t any conversations about how to go about it. The team has a pregame prayer before a player gives a speech, and Dillingham said it was after the prayer that Tyson said he wanted to address the team.

Ahead of the Texas Tech game in which his hamstring injury occurred, he said he doesn’t talk to the team as much as he would like.

Dillingham saw the change of heart as frustration with the outside noise about potentially shutting it down to prepare for the 2026 NFL Draft.

“He hears all that noise, and he’s like, ‘No, I want to play. Why do all these people think I don’t want to play? I’m doing everything I can to play for these guys,'” Dillingham said. “And I think that emotion just kind of got to him.

“He’s like, ‘I want to make sure these guys know this isn’t about me. … Like, this is a team and I want to do whatever I can to be on the field with you guys for as many games I have left.'”

Tyson made two catches for 61 yards in the win on Saturday, including a 42-yard pickup to set up ASU’s first score. He nearly had a passing touchdown too, but he overthrew tight end Chamon Metayer in the end zone.

Tyson was on a snap count of about 30, and he finished with 29. On the plays he wasn’t targeted, his gravity in how a defense accounts for him stood out, opening the Derek Eusebio touchdown in particular.

“There’s some guys that’s been dinged up all year and I expected them to get back on the field, so just ’cause I had some projections, why would I not do the same?” Tyson said.

Jordyn Tyson’s 2026 NFL Draft projections

— ESPN’s Jordan Reid (Nov. 21): No. 11

— Bleacher Report (Nov. 19): No. 8

— ESPN’s consensus board (Nov. 14): No. 6

— The Athletic’s Dane Brugler (Nov. 11): No. 8

— CBS Sports: No. 4

Tyson’s injury history is worth considering, as he dealt with knee issues prior to 2024 and missed the 2024 postseason with a collarbone injury.

He played through the hamstring injury to end the Texas Tech game, including a 33-yard gain on fourth down to keep the game-winning drive alive.

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