Arizona State Athletics
Football
IRVING, Texas – The Arizona State tandem of Jordyn Tyson (offensive) and Sam Leavitt (newcomer), the CU duo of Amari McNeill (co-defensive) and LaJohntay Wester (special teams), Arizona’s Genesis Smith (co-defensive) and WVU’s Reid Carrico (co-defensive) were selected as the Big 12’s football weekly award winners.
Tyson had an electric performance in the Sun Devil’s 24-14 win at then-No. 16 Kansas State with career highs in catches and receiving yards, finishing his day with 12 catches for 176 yards and two touchdowns. His 176 receiving yards were the most by an Arizona State player since Brandon Aiyuk tallied 196 yards versus Washington State during the 2019 season. The Allen, Texas native has now amassed 44 receptions for 624 yards and eight touchdowns in his last six games.
Smith filled the stat sheet with his performance in Arizona’s 27-3 victory over Houston with seven total tackles, one-and-a-half tackles for a loss, a fumble recovery, a pass breakup and an interception. The interception was his third of the season while the recovered fumble was the first of his career. He was pivotal in the Wildcats’ defense matching their fewest points allowed by the Arizona defense in a conference game since shutting out Oregon State during the 1993 season.
McNeill was an instrumental part of Colorado’s defensive unit that held the Utes to 31 rushing yards, which marked Utah’s fewest yards on the ground since the 2011 season. The Buffaloes also forced four turnovers and four sacks as McNeill tallied three tackles, a sack, and a forced fumble in the 49-24 win. The Suwanee, Georgia native has been key to CU’s pass rushing prowess that has tallied 33 total sacks that ranks sixth nationally.
With the most tackles in FBS in Week 13, Carrico recorded 16 total tackles versus Baylor and eclipsed his previous career best by 12 tackles. His 16 tackles are also the third most by a Big 12 player this season. Carrico also became the ninth Mountaineer defender to post a double-digit tackle game this season.
Winning his third Big 12 Newcomer of the Week award this season, Leavitt was instrumental in the Sun Devils’ road win over then-No. 16 Kansas State. The redshirt freshman completed 21 of his 34 passes for 275 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for 42 yards on five carries that included a pair of key first-down runs. He also became the first Sun Devil signal caller to throw three touchdowns in the first half since Jayden Daniels in 2019. ASU is now 8-1 with Leavitt as its starter, and he has now thrown 17 touchdowns this season to just four interceptions.
Wester’s impact on special teams for Colorado was highlighted by his 76-yard punt return for a touchdown in the first quarter of the Buffaloes’ 49-24 victory over Utah. The speedy wide out caught the punt before slicing through the middle of the field untouched and breaking away down the left side of the field for the score. Wester also tacked on 10 catches for 77 yards to end his day with 153 all-purpose yards.
