Arizona State’s go-to-guy, Jordyn Tyson, has been out for over a month. But that hasn’t stopped the wide receiver from keeping off the turf. If there’s one thing he desperately wants to do, it’s tying up his cleats and plucking that deep ball straight out of the air. However, Kelly Dillingham won’t let go.

In October, Jordyn Tyson sustained a hamstring injury during a game against Texas Tech. Since then, the WR has been listed out. Keeping him off the field, Coach Dillingham had made it pretty clear that the junior wouldn’t be returning until the Colorado game. However, Saturday’s wholesome episode has surfaced that question once again.

At the Arizona Stadium, ahead of the West Virginia matchup, fans witnessed an enthusiastic Tyson pulling reps with his teammates, catching throws, and even attempting to snag an interception. Although he was listed as out of the game, his energy did not fail to grab media attention.

“Jordan loves ball,” Dillingham laid it out flatly, aware of Tyson’s love for gridiron. “If Jordan could play, he would 100% play football,” he added, but reiterated that the junior wide receiver is not expected to return for a while.

An impact player, the 6’1 “, 170-pounder has been an instrumental part of the ASU’s success this season. Boasting the highest receptions in the WR room, at 57 receptions for 628 yards and eight touchdowns, his longest 57-yard TD catch from Sam Leavitt revived the offense against TCU, leading to a 27-24 win.

As an elite draft prospect, he topped the Big 12 charts in receptions, with a top-three rank nationally. When ESPN analysts Mel Kiper Jr., Steve Muench, Matt Miller, and Jordan Reid listed out their top 2026 NFL Draft prospects, Jordyn Tyron was their first pick. However, some skeptics believe that Jordyn wants to save his draft prospect and is sitting out the regular season.

But the ASU coach was quick to quell those murmurs. “Jordan wants to play. But Kenny Dillingham’s not going to let him play until he’s 100 percent,” said the head coach. “Not 90 percent. Not 95 percent.” The message was clear. Until Tyson completes his full rehab, he will not be hitting the field.

“When you’re dealing with muscles, you don’t mess around. You can’t push through a muscle, right? You know, if your shoulder hurts, if your knee hurts, you can push through something. You can’t push through when you have a torn hamstring.” Presently, it all depends on Tyson’s recovery. “We just got to keep progressing him and he’s putting in the work to come back and he wants to come back,” the head coacg added.

ASU Locker room is cheering for Jordyn Tyson

Jordyn Tyson’s teammates have always had his back. It’s understandable when you see him keeping the energy high even when he’s not supposed to play. “That’s our guy, man,” said WR Derek Eusebio, a walk-on mentored by Tyson. “When he goes down, we’re playing for him, man. We don’t wanna let him down. He’s been putting us on his back for a long time. We just want to put our best foot forward for him.”

So far, the priority has been to keep him healthy. The WR receiver room is doing well, and Dillingham is not in a hurry to get Tyson on the field. “I think the wide receiver room is in a really good place,” Dillingham said, according to On3. “At the same time, when you have Jordyn Tyson, if a team is not going to take him away, would you not be a fool to avoid throwing him the ball?”

This is not the first time the wide receiver has been forced to miss games. Last season, he suffered a collarbone injury, sidelining him from the Big 12 championship game. During his freshman year at Colorado, he sustained an ACL injury, limiting his game time.