The Most Vital Players for Rest of Arizona State's Season

These five players will play a hand in making or breaking the Arizona State season.

Aug 30, 2025; Tempe, Arizona, USA; Arizona State Sun Devils wide receiver Jordyn Tyson (0) and Arizona State Sun Devils quarterback Sam Leavitt (10) celebrates a touchdown in the fourth quarter between Arizona State Sun Devils and Northern Arizona Lumberjacks at Mountain America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Arianna Grainey-Imagn Images | Arianna Grainey-Imagn Images

TEMPE -- The Arizona State Sun Devils dropped a game in 2025 two weeks earlier compared to the season before - the team is now facing pressure from all angles to bounce back in a major way, starting with the battle tonight against Texas State.

The Bobcats are a talented group of five squad that have some facilities to challenge the Sun Devils, but this should ultimately serve as a 'get right' game for Kenny Dillingham and his roster - with Big 12 play set to open a week from now.

Arizona State on SI explores the five most vital players to the success for the remainder of the season.

Sam Leavitt/Jordyn Tyson

The ceiling of the team will come down to the connection of Leavitt and Tyson.

The redshirt sophomore quarterback is coming off the most challenging game of his career, while Tyson remains incredibly productive against numerous scenarios/coverages.

The Sun Devil duo remains in a strong position to make a major mark on the college football world this season.

Max Iheanachor

Sep 6, 2025; Starkville, Mississippi, USA; Arizona State Sun Devils offensive lineman Max Iheanachor (58) and Arizona State Sun Devils offensive lineman Kyle Scott (77) block during the third quarter against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images | Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

Any offensive lineman would suffice here, but Iheanachor remains the individual player who receives the most NFL draft hype.

Offensive line coach Saga Tuitele stressed the importance of the line playing together as much as they do in their individual assignments - that became more apparent over the second half of the loss to Mississippi State.

C.J. Fite

Fite remains one of the players with the highest ceilings on the entire roster.

The incredibly gifted junior has already been the leader of the charge of yet another elite run defense, as he continues to demand an ample amount of defensive attention while remaining productive through the different blocking strategies.

Xavion Alford

Alford came into the season widely considered to be the best player on the Arizona State defense.

His ability to generate pass breakups, create timely turnovers, and be a sound tackler when called upon hasn't been around to the degree that they were in 2024.

Still, fans should hold confidence that the senior will turn things around in a major way in the coming weeks.

Wild Card: Jaren Hamilton

Hamilton has not received a ton of playing time to this point during the season, but his consistent, all-around strong play during practice cannot be ignored.

The speedster should have his moment to show off as a dynamic playmaker in the future - whether it's the near future or going to be a longer wait.

Read more on major takeaways from Arizona State's week two loss here, and on taking a dive into coach Dillingham's comments after the game here.

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