Hot off its second win of the season in a 38-27 victory over Washington State, Arizona State football hit the ground running on Monday in hopes to start its first win-streak of the season. 

Sun Devil tight end Jalin Conyers was brimming with excitement as he aligned with the team’s leaders in their push against the Cougars.

“It felt good to get back going again,” Conyers said. “Every opportunity you know, I want to make the best of it, making plays and helping my team out that way felt good again.”

Conyers led the ASU team in receiving yards with four catches for 90 yards. 

Since their week one triumph against Southern Utah, the ASU team had previously not secured another victory.

Despite the challenging journey toward their second win, one consistent factor has been the contribution of Conyers who has amassed 24 receptions and a total of 310 yards for the Sun Devils this season.

Finally securing a conference win on top of Conyers stellar performance felt like a good restart to the Sun Devil’s season. 

“Just (getting) back in the rhythm of things,” Conyers said. “Appreciate you know, obviously the offense just for allowing me to do that stuff. (It) felt good.”

Although ecstatic to finally grasp a win, two wins is not good enough for the redshirt junior who has much higher aspirations for the program. 

With No. 6 Oregon, No. 18 Utah and No. 20 UCLA still on the schedule, the Sun Devils are hungrier than ever to grab some more victories.

“(We) still want to get the job done,” Conyers said. “Off that win, we didn’t want to be satisfied so to be able to come out this next week and get a couple of wins is definitely the goal.”

A Baller on and off the field

Conyers has been with the Sun Devil program since 2021 as a redshirt freshman and as one of the longest tenured players on the roster, he is enthusiastic about helping his team overcome the challenges they currently face.

Before his stellar career at ASU, the 6-foot-4 tight end came close to pursuing an entirely different path, unrelated to football.

While attending Gruver High School in Gruver, Texas, Conyers was one of the state’s best two-way athletes, dominating both football and basketball in the south.

As a senior at Gruver, Conyers averaged 20.5 points per game, 11.7 rebounds and nearly two blocks per game. 

With a mix of skill and passion, Conyers was all in on basketball. 

He had the height, he had the skill and he was known as “Mr. Everything” in the small Texas town of Gruver.

While putting up impressive stats on the court, Conyers was simultaneously gaining recognition as the No. 2 ranked tight end in the nation by ESPN.

Receiving college offers for both sports throughout high school, his mind was set on pursuing his power forward position at the collegiate level. 

Clearly, that is not how things panned out for the multi-sport athlete. 

“Honestly I kind of owe it to my dad,” Conyers said. “I wanted to play basketball in college (and) he told me that he thought I was better fit for football.”

As the football offers began to heavily roll in, his parents sat him down and told him he would have to make a decision. If he aimed to compete at the level commensurate with his abilities, he would not be able to play both.

Seeing his exceptional talent on the football field, his parents recognized something truly remarkable, which led him to wholeheartedly commit to the sport.

He is undoubtedly content with his decision to pursue a football career which has led him to remarkable achievements, including earning a spot on the all-time list for the most receiving yards in a season by a tight end in Sun Devil history for his 2022 performance.

Ranked No. 22 in Pac-12 receiving yards per game this season, Conyers admits that he still misses hitting the court every now and then.

“You know, there’s still days I’m like, ‘Oh, yeah, basketball,’” Conyers said. “My body would feel probably about 20 times better if I was playing basketball.” 

Although he occasionally participates in pick-up basketball games, Conyers has largely left the sport behind and is now focused on multiple aspects of his future in football.

With a strong desire to make it to the NFL, he cannot help but aspire for more when football comes to an end.

For Conyers, more comes in the form of podcasting.

The High Point

For those PHNX Diehards, one might recognize Conyers from the weekly podcast that he hosts called “The High Point.”

Conyers’ podcast is centered around relaxed, sit-down conversations between him and a few other ASU football players. They talk about everything from their upcoming games and player performances to Arizona sports and whether TikTok or Instagram is better. 

It’s evident that Conyers has a future behind the mic as he effortlessly guides and facilitates conversations on the podcast like a natural and brings something new to the world of podcasting.

“I just thought it’d be cool to give a college perspective of things,” Conyers said. “Not a lot of people have a college (podcast) that they can go and watch and kind of hear the perspective of not only just the football player, but the person in general.”

The idea was a rather makeshift one according to Conyers. 

When approached with the idea, it was one that he could not pass up. It not only allowed him an opportunity to boost his resume, but also serves as a way to relax and bond with friends and teammates away from the football field.

Bringing players like Cam Skattebo, Dashaun Mallory and Xavier Guillory to chat live on air while supporting ASU players are in the chat hyping them up and coach Kenny Dillingham comments on the guys’ conversations, it is the place to be for anyone that loves Sun Devil football. 

“That’s what I think is super cool,” Conyers said. “I get to have teammates come on and kind of tell their story not just about football, just about how they grew up and what they like and stuff like that (and) just have a good time.”

For Conyers, the podcast might evolve into more than just an enjoyable side project that he juggles alongside football.

It just might lead to a career – after an NFL career of course. 

“I always watch NFL players that retire (and) would end up going to commentate and stuff like that,” Conyers said. “Then, you know, kind of more modernized, like now in 2022/23 people start getting their own podcasts and stuff like that.”

He credits growing up and seeing Tony Romo do the same thing as his driving force to achieving the same goals.

Conyers already has a leg up on Romo with his pre-career podcast and has fallen even more in love with the idea since taking on The High Point. 

“Being an announcer definitely would be cool,” Conyers said. “I feel like it’d definitely get a chance to kind of have my personality out and kind of get to do all that stuff again. So that’d be a cool opportunity for sure.”

With his skill on the field meshed with his stellar personality behind the mic, Conyers’ goals are well within his reach in the near future. 

For now, Conyers is focusing on his time at ASU and is making connections both in the studio and on the field. 

An unlikely duo

In a surprising partnership on the field and perhaps even more unexpected as roommates, Conyers has joined forces with quarterback Trenton Bourget in both aspects.

“It’s a cool dynamic to have and one of those stories that everyone can be like, ‘Oh, they’re roommates’ (and) wonder why we have such a good connection.” Conyers said. “I think that’s one of the reasons why.”

As roommates, Bourget and Conyers did not expect to spend very much time connecting under the lights with one another. Through the Sun Devil’s crazy start to their season, Bourget found his way into the starting position.

The connection between the quarterback and tight end duo is evident on the field, with Bourget targeting Conyers for 24 receptions across seven games. Conyers attributes this strong connection to the time they spend together off the field.

Conyers refers to Bourget as his “best friend” and emphasizes that their relationship extends well beyond being just teammates. They explore new dining experiences together and engage in intense Madden battles off the field.

Even in the closest of friendships, roommates can have their clashes and Conyers occasionally navigates a delicate balance keeping up with Bourget’s cleanliness demands. 

“I mean, he’s a clean freak so I try not to keep the house all messy and stuff,” Conyers said. “I try to think about that stuff because I know he’ll come and knock on my door and say, ‘Hey, you left this out.” 

After several months of living under the same roof together, Conyers has learned by now that dishes left out won’t fly, which is precisely why their roommate-friendship works as effectively as it does for the duo.

With just four games remaining in ASU’s season, Bourget will likely need to target Conyers more on the field to help balance out their season and conclude it on a high note.

After their recent win, a renewed sense of motivation burns within the pair and they are ready to grab some wins now more than ever.