NFL check-in on former ASU stars: Jordyn Tyson injured, Keith Abney II impresses in debut
Jordyn Tyson may miss his first season opener in the NFL due to an injury, while Keith Abney II opened eyes in his preseason debut.
Former Arizona State stars Jordyn Tyson (left) and Keith Abney (right) with their NFL teams. (Tyson photo via Tyler Kaufman/Getty Images; Abney photo via Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
(Tyson photo via Tyler Kaufman/Getty Images; Abney photo via Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
Former Arizona State star wide receiver Jordyn Tyson injured his hamstring in a joint practice the New Orleans Saints held with the Jacksonville Jaguars on Thursday, and it appeared to be the same hamstring that hampered him to end his final ASU season.
Jordyn Tyson went down on this play with a lower leg injury and didn’t return to practice, he did jog off the field after getting up. pic.twitter.com/JfAXqMN08k
— ⚜️ (@bootnup44) August 13, 2026
Saints head coach Kellen Moore said they don’t consider it to be related to his previous injury while at ASU.
“We’re going to collect some more information just as far as what that timeline looks (like),” Moore told reporters Friday. “It’s not anything related to a previous hamstring (injury), it’s just something new.
“My understanding of this one, any player that was put in his situation where your foot kind of slips and you get shoved from behind, this has nothing to do with Jordyn’s history. Any player in that situation probably has the same diagnosis coming out of this.”
Moore said Tyson was having a great camp and will continue to be effective once they’re on the other side of this.
“It could” linger into New Orleans’ opener against Detroit on Sept. 13, Moore added.
Former ASU star Keith Abney II impresses Lions coach in preseason debut
Keith Abney II racked up a team-high five tackles with a fumble recovery as the fifth-round pick out of ASU made his Detroit Lions preseason debut Friday.
The cornerback caught the attention of Lions head coach Dan Campbell, who had glowing things to say about the rookie.
“I thought Abney played a good game,” Campbell told reporters Saturday. “He feels like a football player. He’s felt that way out here, and that showed up the other night. He’s got a knack, he’s pretty instinctive, plays aggressive, not too big for him and I thought he did some things certainly on defense, but on special teams too.”
Abney’s ASU head coach, Kenny Dillingham, liked what Campbell had to say:
👀👀👀 just who he is!!! He is that guy @keithabneyjr pic.twitter.com/PafEkOs4Kl
— Coach Dillingham (@KennyDillingham) August 16, 2026
The Lions coach said the corner could improve as a “jammer,” the player on punt returns who try to slow down the gunners, but that “overall, he certainly showed up, man. That was good by him.”
Abney’s recovery came on a helter-skelter play where a bad snap was recovered by Bengals running back Kendall Milton, who coughed the ball up while stumbling. Abney then scooped it up for a three-yard return.
.@keithabneyjr scoops it up! pic.twitter.com/vTqAhl2RMK
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) August 13, 2026
Rain was a heavy factor in the game, and the two teams each had four fumbles. Maybe those days practicing at ASU with water bottles splashing the balls last season paid off for Abney.
In addition to the stat production, Abney showed his sticky coverage skills that landed him on the All-Big 12 First Team as a junior.
The ASU product is showing up in a big way with his NFL team, which released starting cornerback Terrion Arnold earlier this summer due to felony charges, after his draft tumble.
Abney had some first-round buzz and was widely expected to be picked on Day 2 entering the 2026 NFL Draft, but he fell to No. 157 overall, likely due to his measurables — just under 5-foot-10 and 190 pounds at ASU’s pro day.
Only two of the 17 corners who went ahead of him are also below 5-foot-11. Only four are below 6 feet.
But he showed on the field last season that what Yoda said is true: size matters not.
Abney had the most regular-season coverage snaps among all NCAA corners without allowing a touchdown (458). His NFL passer rating against was 46.1, third among the 37 corners with at least 400 coverage snaps.
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Comments
4 Comments
The one I am very interested in is how Sam Leavitt will do with LSU. The last two years at ASU have been interesting.... Will he be a healthy & reliable QB for LSU? And will he recover from his first quarter anxiety woes.
While I acknowledge I'm biased, I've always had a bad feeling about Sam Leavitt going to LSU. While Lane Kiffin is a brilliant offensive mind, I never thought Sam would be a good fit going there as essentially a hired gun, nor do I think he's a good fit for LSU in general. I would feel differently, if Sam started his career at LSU, because the fan base would look at him differently. I don't see either the LSU faithful or especially Kiffin giving Sam a long leash (he's well known for having a very short one and not much patience). Kiffin brought in very talented QB transfers from USC and Elon who are waiting in the wings. Sam would have been so much better off staying in Arizona where he was a much better fit with Dilly (who loves him).
Seems to be that JT is going to have hamstring issues his entire career.