Tyson Excited for New Chapter with Arizona State

Alabama transfer Paul Tyson is excited to be competing for the starting quarterback job at Arizona State.

It's not every day that a Division I football program has a wide open quarterback battle. But that's the case for the Arizona State Sun Devils as they head into the fall. 

Following the abrupt departure of expected starter Jayden Daniels, the Sun Devils now have five players battling it out to earn the team's starting job. One of those five quarterbacks is highly touted transfer Paul Tyson, who comes to Tempe after serving as the backup quarterback at Alabama last season.

For Tyson, coming to Arizona State presents a new set of challenges and opportunities. The 6-foot-5 quarterback told reporters that he feels extremely prepared to start fresh with a new program.

"I think it was just a great opportunity for me," Tyson said. "I thought the University of Alabama, I wouldn't change a thing staying for three years and I really felt like I had a great experience and they really taught me to where I am today."

The redshirt junior added that he saw something special in the Sun Devils program after he entered the transfer portal.

"I felt like it was just a great opportunity for me and with Coach Herm [Edwards] and what he's doing here," Tyson said. "And all the players and how we're bought into his process. I think it's just a great fit."

And while Tyson saw limited playing time over his three years with the Crimson Tide program, that gave him time to develop his game on the practice field. More important, adjusting to the speed and skill of college-level defenses.

It also helped that Tyson worked with a number of offensive coordinators, such as Mike Locksley, Steve Sarkisian and Bill O'Brien. 

Tyson said, "They were extremely helpful in helping me grow with the defense's knowledge of just the game itself. And things that I didn't even know before I was coming into college with like 'mike' points and changing protections and things like that.

"So I think it definitely helped a ton and really just the standard that Alabama has to help me come here and just know that I know what it takes." 

And while the quarterback race seems to be led by Tyson and redshirt junior Trenton Bourguet, Tyson isn't shying away from stepping up as a leader on the practice field.

"I think leadership is something that we can't take lightly," Tyson said.  "I believe a lot of it is earned on the field, actually, I think that's when you get your respect and you build relationships with your players and when they trust you."

"When you can reach that point, that's when you can really make a difference and be the leader that you want to be." 

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