When Jordyn Tyson talks about Arizona State football, it’s easy to hear the conviction in his voice. To Tyson, last year’s Big 12 championship wasn’t an anomaly, it was the first step in changing the narrative around Sun Devils football.

Speaking at the Pro Athletes Direct youth football camp at Chandler High School Saturday (May 24) that Tyson co-hosted with ASU quarterback Sam Leavitt, the receiver didn’t mince words: He believes the Sun Devils can compete with the nation’s best in 2025.

“We’re obviously going to get better, but we’re ready,” Tyson said. "We know what it feels like. … We know what we have to do.”

Tyson said he has taken more of a leadership role heading into his junior season and hopes to help his team reach the pinnacle of the sport.

“I’m trying to go all the way,” Tyson said. “I want us to be great, and we’re going to need a lot of these guys to step up so we can get there.”

Next year’s team will have to adjust and play differently than it did in 2024 after losing Cam Skattebo, the team’s do-it-all Heisman-contending running back, and Xavier Guillory, its third-leading receiver, to the NFL.

Tyson, however, sees something brewing within the team: a growing connection and sense of shared purpose.

“It’s amazing,” he said. “I think we’re all starting to finally embrace each other. We’re more of a family now.”

That cohesion has been building over time, fueled in part by the culture coach Kenny Dillingham – or “Dilly,” as players call him – has preached since Day 1. Tyson was on the roster during Dillingham’s first season but was sidelined for most of it with a knee injury he suffered before transferring from Colorado.

He has seen his coach’s vision start to come into fruition.

“Dilly preached this message of activating the Valley, and it was kind of hard to see to be honest,” Tyson said. “But we’re seeing it now.”

One of Tyson’s closest bonds has been with Leavitt. As their connection on the field has continued to grow, leading them to be one of the more effective tandems in the country before Tyson’s season-ending collarbone injury against Arizona, their relationship off the field has grown closer as well.

“Sam’s one of my best friends – probably is my best friend,” Tyson said. “We push each other so much on and off the field, and we’re so similar in so many ways. … He’s an amazing player, and he’s just going to continue to get better and better.”

Leavitt shared similar optimism about the kind of 2025 season that Tyson can have, after the wideout posted 1,101 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns in 2024.

“The more we’ve been around each other, the more we’ve been able to see what the other person is about,” Leavitt said. “I’ve been able to see the way he views the game, he views life.

"He’s become a better person, player and leader. … That’s my guy for life, and I can’t wait to see what he does this year.”

In the meantime, the Sun Devils have months of grueling offseason practices ahead.

“We’ve been going to 7 a.m. wake-ups,” Tyson said. “We’re grinding. It’s what we did last year, just taking it up another notch.”

Tyson knows there’s plenty more work to be done, but for him and the Sun Devils, the mission is clear: prove that 2024 was just the beginning.