Tyson gone, but Hines Ward, Dillingham eager for receivers they have
Arizona State wide receivers coach Hines Ward has an embarrassment of riches. And he knows it. Sure, his room lost a marquee talent in Jordyn Tyson, soon to be a first-round NFL draft pick. But Ward and the Sun Devils struck gold in the transfer portal, so it doesn't look like the squad will skip a beat at that position this coming season.
The Sun Devils just wrapped up the fourth set of spring drills under coach Kenny Dillingham. One of the positions that looks to have superior depth is the wide receiving corps.
Three newcomers have stood out — redshirt junior Reed Harris (Boston College) , senior Omarion Miller (Colorado) and sophomore Raiden Vines-Bright (Washington). All three caught touchdown passes in the Maroon and Gold Scrimmage on April 18.
Add those to returners such as Jalen Moss, Jaren Hamilton and Derek Eusebio, as well as red-shirt freshmen Cory Butler and Uriah Neloms, and you have good flat-out competition. Just what Ward and Dillingham want.
"Bringing the guys we brought in really elevated everybody to another level as far as competition," said Ward, starting his third year heading that position group. "They always say competition brings out the best in everyone, and overall as a unit we have done that.
"It's great to be able to work with the level of talent with the guys we brought in. Coach Kenny, his objective all season was, he wanted to make the room competitive."
Miller was the second-rated receiver and ninth-best overall player, according to 247Sports at the time of his commitment. That made him the highest-ranked prospect ASU has ever landed out of the portal. Like Tyson, his college journey started at Colorado. He spent three years there, recording 66 catches for 1,268 yards, with 45 receptions for 808 yards coming in 2025.
Miller, a 6-2, 210-pounder, is easily recognizable because he's got quite a collection of colorful cleats. He donned sparkling gold ones for the recent scrimmage. He appreciates the competition because it will pay off for everybody.
"It's going to be hard for teams to game plan against us, the wide receivers we have," Miller said. "I think we're going to be very competitive every single day. Everybody wants to be that guy."
Miller added that the chance to work with Ward was one of the factors that led him to ASU. While he wasn't on the same team as Tyson, he saw the player's development under Ward's tutelage. He also had a chance to converse with Tyson, who has been to several practices.
"The common thread between all the guys that ended up here, the one keyword was development," Ward said. "That's what they wanted. They saw JT and his growth as a football player, and they wanted to be a part of that. It made my job easy."
Miller admitted that he has been working on his blocking technique, something Ward was known for in his playing days with the Pittsburgh Steelers . While perimeter blocking by the pass catchers was an ASU strong suit in 2024, led by Melquan Stovall and Xavier Guillory, it wasn't necessarily up to Ward's standards last season.
"They're gonna block," Ward said. "That's one thing I said, I don't want you if you're not going to block. It's about building a complete wide receiver. We've got some explosive runners. You don't have to block for very long, but you have to block."
Dillingham doubled down on the importance of that little-recognized part of the game.
"One of the hidden things in football is perimeter blocking," Dillingham said. "You wanna know why we're having explosive runs? The backside wide receivers are sprinting over to cut off guys. When you block well on the perimeter, you create explosives. When you don't block well on the perimeter, a 9- to 15-yard gain happens. When you block at a high rate, a 15-yard gain could go to 40, it could go to 60, it could go to 70."
Spring drills have loomed large this season because there are so many newcomers in the fold, not just at wide receiver, but at quarterback as well. The only returning quarterback is Cam Dyer, who did not see any game action.
Cutter Boley (Kentucky) and Chandler product Mikey Keene (Michigan) appear to be the two leading the race for the starter spot, but true freshman Jake Fette has also impressed. The key is timing and getting everyone on the same page.
"We're getting better the more we work together," Miller said. "They're all doing a good job. They have different skill sets. We're going to be in good hands no matter who comes out as the starter."
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Jordyn Tyson is gone, but ASU has depth receiving unit
