Jordyn Tyson, Sam Leavitt headline group of returnees for ASU football in 2025

The Jan. 6 deadline for ASU football players to enter the transfer portal has come and gone. The deadline was extended from the nationwide Dec. 28 date because ASU played its last game on Jan. 1, giving players an additional five days of an open window.

University compliance offices have 48 hours to process entries, so some may still come through the cracks, but ASU is on track to bring most of the 2024 two-deep into 2025.

ASU can’t bring everyone back, of course. Several impact players have exhausted their eligibility, including wide receivers Xavier Guillory and Melquan Stovall as well as linebacker Caleb McCullough.

A few others are expected to move onto the NFL, including defensive back Shamari Simmons, who has already declared for the draft. Cam Skattebo and center Leif Fautanu, who have also run out of eligibility, will likely follow.

Many players on the depth chart with remaining eligibility began making clear and public their plans to continue their Sun Devil careers as far back as November.

These are just players returning from the 2024 team and the lists do not include incoming freshmen or transfers. 

Who is expected to return to ASU on offense?

– QB: Sam Leavitt, Jeff Sims
– RB: Kyson Brown, Raleek Brown, Jason Brown Jr., Alton McCaskill
– WR: Jordyn Tyson, Malik McClain, Derek Eusebio, Zechariah Sample
– TE: Chamon Metayer, Cameron Harpole, Jayden Fortier, James Giggey
– OL: Ben Coleman, Joshua Atkins, Kyle Scott, Max Iheanachor, Jalen Klemm, Joey Su’a, Sean Na’a, Terrell Kim, Champ Westbrooks, Bram Walden

Run it back!🔱 Thank you Sun devil nation this is for y’all! @SunAngelNIL pic.twitter.com/lWXpu9EvY3

— jordyn tyson (@tyson_jordyn) January 7, 2025

What a loss Skattebo will be for this offense. But to have Leavitt back behind the center with his favorite target Tyson, who announced his return on Monday and should be healthy by spring camp, the offense should be able to move right along without a hiccup.

“It’s just gonna hurt me not to be with him next year,” a teary-eyed Leavitt said after the Peach Bowl loss with Skattebo to his side. “I got another year, but I’m just gonna go into this next season and not take anything for granted, offseason workouts, late nights at the facility and everything like that.”

To replace Skattebo, the Sun Devils will turn to incoming transfer Kanye Udoh from Army, who rushed for 1,101 yards as a sophomore at 6 feet and 215 pounds. While he presents more of a bruising style, ASU will likely also rotate through Raleek Brown and Kyson Brown, who provide the speedier and all-around looks, respectively.

The wide receiver depth may look shaky, but a few incoming freshmen and a few incoming transfers will help fill out the room.

The offensive line is on track to feature heavy continuity, aside from the key position of center. The Sun Devils could turn to Na’a, who practiced behind Fautanu throughout the season and was a member of the Tillman Leadership Council (eight of 12 expected to return).

Na’a lacks experience at the position in games, with 338 snaps coming at left guard over the last two years, including just 24 in 2024. He also took 61 snaps at left tackle along with 68 on the right side of the line in 2023, but he is yet to take any center snaps in-game. Coleman could also fill in as a veteran.

Klemm is maybe the most notable name to return on the line, as the former Washington transfer was expected to be a reliable starter but ran into a major health scare before his season could get started. He has since said he plans to run it back in Tempe.

Who is expected to return to ASU on defense?

– DL: Clayton Smith, Prince Dorbah, C.J. Fite, Jacob Rich Kongaika, Elijah O’Neal, Justin Wodtly, Zac Swanson, J.P. Deeter, Roman Pitre, Blazen Lono-Wong, Albert Smith III
– LB: Keyshaun Elliott, Zyrus Fiaseu, Jordan Crook, Martell Hughes, Tate Romney, Krew Jackson
– DB: Xavion Alford, Myles “Ghost” Rowser, Javan Robinson, Keith Abney II, Montana Warren, Kyan McDonald, Rodney Bimage Jr., Plas Johnson, Chris Johnson, Tony Louis-Nkuba

LOVE THIS MAN TO DEATH. FOREVER RIDING WITH HIM. ALWAYS HAS MY BACK NO MATTER CIRCUMSTANCES. GIVE EVERYTHING I HAVE AND THEN SOME FOR HIM. I APPRECIATE YOU COACH. AND I CAN PROMISE YOU ONE THING.

WE WILL BE BACK. https://t.co/gv7MMUf7YC

— X̾a̾v̾i̾o̾n̾ ̾A̾l̾f̾o̾r̾d̾ (@100YARDLANDLORD) January 3, 2025

The ASU defense is on track to bring even more continuity into 2025 than the offense, as it expects to return four of five starting defensive backs, seven of eight rotational defensive linemen along with two more depth pieces and four of five rotational linebackers.

Expect a competition between Warren and incoming transfer Adrian Wilson from Washington State over spring and fall camps to determine whom takes over for Simmons at starting nickel.

Wilson played 319 of his 424 defensive snaps last season at either nickel or free safety, a position which defensive coordinator Brian Ward has said mirrors what ASU wants to do at nickel.

The secondary could be the thinnest position on the team in 2025 depending on how the young talent develops, but with such effective mainstays in starting spots, it’s the position that can most afford a lack of depth.

McCullough finished the year as the highest-graded linebacker and the one with the most snaps, so his loss after being a Sun Devil since 2020 will be felt in a big way.

“It means everything,” McCullough said of what it means to leave ASU in a better place than he found it. “This is what I came to college to do is play in games like this and do things like this. And to finally just in my fifth year, being able to do all of this stuff, is just everything to me.

“It’s everything to my family, it’s what you work for your whole life. You dream of stuff like this and to finally have it here, it’s just means everything.”

Among special-teamers, expect to see true freshman punter Kanyon Floyd take a step up in his sophomore season, and expect him to catch snaps from long snapper Tyler Wigglesworth, who made his first start in the Peach Bowl. ASU’s starting long snapper over the regular season, Cole Marszalek, entered the transfer portal after the Big 12 title game.

The decisions in this story are subject to change, as the spring transfer portal window runs from April 16-25.