TEMPE – Following a football season in which nearly all of Arizona State’s offense was devastated by injuries – with the passing game hit especially hard – the next iteration will feature almost exclusively new faces.
Both quarterbacks who saw playing time for the Sun Devils in 2025 are gone. ASU’s top three pass catchers, including future NFL first-round pick Jordyn Tyson, are also gone.
The latter departures accounted for a whopping 40% of the receiving yardage last season, forcing ASU coach Kenny Dillingham and receivers coach Hines Ward to completely refurbish through the transfer portal. The resulting additions – Omarion Miller, Raiden Vines-Bright, Reed Harris II – form a group that brings size, speed and experience to the receiving room.
At the top of the list sits a familiar face, Miller, who was the nation’s No. 13 overall player in the portal and the third-highest rated receiver.
Miller matched up against ASU last November during its trip to Boulder, Colorado, recording three receptions and 35 yards against the Sun Devils in Colorado’s 42-17 loss. One of those receptions was a 22-yard touchdown that gave the Buffaloes a brief 14-13 lead in the third quarter.
Miller accounted for just under one-third of Colorado’s receiving yardage and just under half of the Buffaloes’ touchdowns last season. His 808 receiving yards ranked sixth in the Big 12, and his eight touchdowns were tied with Tyson for fifth.
Tyson, like Miller, also transferred from Colorado. Coincidentally, both wore No. 4 during their time in Boulder, but Miller comes in as an older, more developed receiver than Tyson.
“Just getting a feel from (Tyson), coming from Colorado, coming to here, I’m in that same boat,” Miller told FOX 10’s Robby Baker. “It was good to hear from him and hear what he had to say.”
Dillingham said that he was impressed with how Miller plays slower than he really is, but not that he was actually slow.
“I think the best players move fast but are always in control,” Dillingham said. “He can create body control at really high speeds.”
High speed is where sophomore Raiden Vines-Bright excels at the receiver position, transferring from Washington as the No. 46 receiver in the portal.
The Valley native was initially recruited by Dillingham out of high school, playing his home games at Tempe Corona Del Sol just eight miles down the road from ASU. In his two years on varsity at Corona Del Sol, Vines-Bright recorded 1,875 yards and 18 touchdowns.
Following his junior season, Vines-Bright transferred to IMG Academy in Florida. Three months later, he added to a wave of high schoolers with Arizona ties to commit to the University of Washington and former University of Arizona coach Jedd Fisch upon his hire in Seattle.
“I told him in the recruiting process, ‘Eventually you’re going to miss it here, and you’re going to want to come home,’” Dillingham said. “It’s funny cause two years after he left for IMG, he’s right back here.”
At Washington, Vines-Bright got playing time right away, appearing in 12 of 13 games and starting seven. He had 238 yards and a touchdown, with his best performance coming against Colorado State, where he accumulated 52 receiving yards.
He entered the portal following the 2025-26 season and came home to Tempe, committing to Arizona State in a loaded transfer receiver class.
“I know where I’m going, I know the city pretty well…I’m not having to learn new things…I’m back in my comfort zone,” Vines-Bright said.
What the 6-foot-1 Vines-Bright lacks in size, Boston College transfer Reed Harris II makes up for with his 6-foot-5, 217-pound frame.
“The sheer size and physicality, I mean, he’s a specimen,” defensive passing game coordinator Bryan Carrington said. “To just have him give our cornerbacks and our safeties an opportunity to compete with a guy who’s going to play on Sundays is tremendous, not only him, but selfishly, our DBs to compete against that. The thing that made (ASU cornerback) Keith (Abney) really good was that he went against Tyson.”
In 2025, Harris recorded 673 yards and five touchdowns for the Golden Eagles. Against No. 16 Georgia Tech, Harris reeled in five catches for 142 yards and a touchdown in his last game in Chestnut Hill.
His 17.26 yards-per-reception ranked third in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
“Going against (Reed), going against Raiden Vines-Bright, going against Omarion, it gives these guys so much confidence when they step into Mountain America Stadium on Saturdays,” Carrington said.
Players say Ward instills confidence in his receivers. He also played a role in recruiting a number of new additions to ASU’s receiver room.
“Just how (Ward) goes about things, some of the things he pointed out in my meeting on my official visit was definitely an eye-opener for me to come here for sure,” Miller said.
Ward, who recorded 12,083 yards and 85 touchdowns across 14 seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers, gives a unique perspective on coaching with his NFL experience and storied career.
“He knows what it’s supposed to look like at every level,“ Harris said. “His emphasis is just making us the best that we can be every single day. Just attack it, one day at a time.”
Even though Tyson is leaving ASU for the NFL, his impact had a lasting effect not only on his previous teammates, but in replacing the production he will take with him to the NFL Draft from April 23-25.
Ward said there was only one common thread between the three new receivers who decided to transfer to ASU: Tyson’s development.
“That was all they wanted,” Ward said. “They saw (Tyson) and his growth as a football player, and they wanted to be a part of that. So it made my job easy.
“You just come over here (to) ASU, opportunity, and development. Those are the two key points that we were stressing to other guys, and I’m glad that we have them.”
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