Should ASU turn to Jason Brown Jr. to jump start its rushing attack?
The Sun Devils rank 13th among Big 12 teams in rushing yards per game so far after they were second in 2025 and fourth in 2024. The advanced stats paint an even harsher picture.
Watch: Dillingham details ASU's struggles in running game, potential tweaks | 3 mins
Arizona State’s ground game through three games has been well below the standard established the past two years under Kenny Dillingham, and it may be worthwhile to see if Jason Brown Jr. can inject some life.
Brown, who was ASU’s top overall commit in its 2024 recruiting class, carried the ball 13 times for 134 yards in the Sun Bowl to end the 2025 season. He’s seen just five carries (60 yards) to begin his junior season, all of which came in the blowout win over Morgan State.
He has just nine snaps in the backfield this season but has carved out a much more consistent role on kickoff coverage and punt returns; 36 of his 45 total snaps have come on special teams.
Dillingham indicated on Tuesday a change was coming to the personnel in the run game because of its shortcomings.
ASU ranks 13th among Big 12 teams in rushing yards per game so far (165.7) after it was second in 2025 (193.6) and fourth in 2024 (199.9).
The advanced stats paint an even harsher picture, as only TCU and Arkansas have a worse EPA per rush (expected points added) among Power Four teams. Only Arkansas has a worse success rate on rushes.
“We got to get more guys involved. That’s a glaring thing from the (past) two weeks is we got to get more guys involved in the plan,” Dillingham said. “Everything’s going to compound to look like the world is falling, when in reality we’ve just got to fix some things and be cleaner and I got to do a better job.
“Personnel-wise, there will be some changes. Nothing like drastic, but they’ll be big enough that people will see them. I’m just not going to dive too much into those publicly until we play a game.”
Four-year Sun Devil Kyson Brown has carried most of the running back workload to this point, rushing 43 times for 227 yards (10th in Big 12) with one touchdown. He also has 20 yards on three catches. Delaware State transfer Marquis Gillis has the next-most carries with 11 for 73 yards.
Jason Brown Jr. had 7.23 yards after contact per rush in the Sun Bowl, and he broke contain for at least 10 yards on five of his 13 rushes (38.5%). Kyson Brown and Gillis are at 3.49 and 2.64 yards after contact per rush, respectively, and have combined for eight rushes of at least 10 yards across 54 carries (14.8%).
Kyson Brown dominating the workload over the first three games ran contrary to the preseason talk from coaches about going running back-by-committee this season.
His 5.2 yards per carry rank 13th among Big 12 running backs with at least 20 rushes, while Gillis has averaged 6.6 yards per carry.
In addition to Jason Brown Jr.’s five rushes (12.0 yards per carry) and Grayson Rigdon’s seven (3.7), the following running backs each have four so far:
- Sophomore Demarius “Man Man” Robinson (6.8)
- Freshman Cardae Mack (6.5)
- Junior Villanova transfer David Avit (3.0)
The Sun Devils are off this week before hosting Baylor and Hawaii. Following the final nonconference game, a trip to No. 11 Texas Tech begins the stretch of seven conference games to end the regular season.
Baylor could serve as an excellent litmus test for any pivots, as the Bears are tied for the best run defense in the Big 12, per PFF.
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Comments
3 Comments
In my opinion, it doesn't matter who is in the backfield until Cutter Boley gets a vertical passing game.
"Rank 13th in the BIG12"...just rename the damn conferences to reflect how many schools are actually members. BIG12 (16 schools), BIG10 (18 schools), PAC12 (8 schools)...I know branding is expensive to recreate, but it's stupid to keep it this way. Same could be said for having Cal and Stanford in a conference called "Atlantic Coast" and to have Oklahoma and two Texas school considered "Southeastern".
That's my nit and I will continue to pick it.
Agreed, Cutter Boley is they key. But if Boley starts being more aggressive running the ball himself out of the RPO option, that threat will help not only get the vertical passing game going, but the entire passing game as well.
Dilly needs to help Boley regain the confidence he played with during the Morgan State game, as well as in the 1st half of the A&M game. That process may have already started. At the end of the Kansas game Boley surprised everyone, including himself, when he showed just how quick and fast he can be running for big 1st downs that sealed the win. That made me start imagining that Boley's legs might be the key to unlocking the offense.
While having 1 running QB can be risky, having 2 might really open up the offense. When Jake Fette gets to the stage where he knows the offense well enough, his legs would give ASU a 1-2 punch at QB running the RPO
I'm not expecting an instant turnaround from the offense, but I am hopeful that instead they'll get a little better each week. The next 2 games, at home vs Baylor, then Hawaii are winnable, but in order to beat Texas Tech, they're going to have to be playing at a much higher level.
IN DILLY I TRUST.