Arizona State’s win over Kansas came with a heavy price. On the Sun Devils’ second offensive play of Saturday’s Union Jack Classic, tight end Khamari Anderson suffered a left lower-leg injury after getting rolled up on during ASU’s opening drive, and he will miss the rest of the season.
Anderson had to be helped off the field, and while Arizona State still found a way to finish the job and beat Kansas, the loss changes the shape of Kenny Dillingham’s offense in a hurry. Anderson wasn’t lighting up the box score, but he had become a real part of what ASU wanted to do. In two seasons with the program, and especially since arriving from Kentucky in 2025, he established himself as the best blocker in the tight end room.
That matters now because the Sun Devils were already dealing with issues up front. The offensive line had been hit by injuries to Tana Alo-Tupuola, Wade Helton and Luke Baklenko, and Anderson’s absence takes another piece out of the blocking structure.
It may help explain why the run game looked a little less forceful against Kansas. ASU still ran for 133 yards as a team, but it took 14 more carries to get there.
The result was a 3.1 yards-per-carry average, nearly a full yard worse than what the Sun Devils produced against Texas A&M, even with the Aggies providing a far tougher defense and road environment.
So what comes next at tight end? The depth chart now points to sophomore AJ Ia, redshirt sophomore James Giggey and redshirt transfer junior Anthony Miller.
At first glance, Ia is the new TE1. The 6-foot-6, 265-pound tight end has been a player ASU has liked since he committed from Orange County, California, in the Class of 2024.
He has two catches for 19 yards and a touchdown so far in 2026, and he may be the most athletic option in the room. Ia entered Kansas listed as probable and did play.
If the goal is replacing Anderson’s blocking, though, Giggey may be the cleaner fit. He is as strong a blocker as Anderson, if not better, and that’s part of why he saw so many more snaps after the injury.
But Giggey also brought the kind of mistakes that can stall drives in a hurry. Against Kansas, he was flagged for a false start before the first play of ASU’s second series, then picked up a holding penalty that erased a first-down run on fourth down.
Kansas followed that sequence with a punt-return touchdown after the callback, a brutal swing for an offense already struggling overseas.
Miller, who came over from Tulane this offseason, gives ASU another option. He can contribute as both a receiver and a blocker, though he has not yet produced any major plays or meaningful snaps in maroon and gold. That appears likely to change now.
Arizona State also shifted into 12 personnel with Miller and Giggey for several snaps after Anderson went down, offering at least a hint of how the Sun Devils may try to handle things moving forward in blocking situations.
The timing helps a little. ASU has a bye week coming up, and that should give the offensive line and the rest of the roster a chance to recover before the Baylor game in two weeks. Still, the questions around the offense are piling up fast.
“I think our defense played with that (toughness). I think our offense tried to play with it, but we're just not showing up at the rate we needed to right now.”
Dillingham had already been searching for answers at tight end, even moving DL Clayton Smith into the group for a brief stretch during August camp to try to spark competition after not liking what he saw there.
Now the Sun Devils are back at that same crossroads, only with fewer options. The room has to produce, and soon.
Arizona State returns home on Saturday, Oct. 3, to face Baylor in its second Big 12 game of the season. Kickoff time is TBD.
In Other News...
Sun Devil Support Just Turned This London Trip Into Something Bigger
The Union Jack Classic in London drew 46,523 fans, and a noticeable chunk of that crowd came dressed in Arizona State colors. For ASU Athletics Director Graham Rossini and head coach Kenny Dillingham, the trip was about more than a game abroad. It became a reminder that Sun Devil support can travel, and that players were able to experience college football on a stage far beyond the usual Saturday routine.
Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark has already made clear that international games are part of the leagues future, with the Union Jack Classic contracted through the 2030 season. For Arizona State, that matters because the London showcase was not treated like a one-off curiosity. It looked more like a sign of where the sport is headed, with ASU fans helping turn the event into something bigger than a neutral-site matchup. [Read more 🡒]
ASU's London Win Couldn't Hide Two Worrying Problems
Arizona States trip to Wembley Stadium ended with a 24-17 win over Union Jack Classic, and the Sun Devils had enough splash plays to make the long flight home feel worthwhile. Senior wide receiver Jaren Hamilton flipped the game with a 100-yard kickoff return touchdown, while sophomore defensive lineman Hyrum Vaeono added a 77-yard fumble return that gave the defense a highlight of its own. Head coach Kenny Dillingham pointed to the middle eight minutes of the game as the stretch that helped separate ASU and keep the result in hand.
Even with the victory, the performance did not come with complete peace of mind. The Sun Devils still had two issues lingering in the background, the kind of problems that can be easier to ignore after a win in a showcase setting but become harder to brush aside once the season settles back into its normal grind. For ASU, the London stage delivered a memorable result, but it also left the staff with more to sort through than the final score might suggest. [Read more 🡒]
Arizona States Next Home Test Brings A New Baylor Wrinkle
Arizona States next chance to settle in at Mountain America Stadium comes with a familiar-looking opponent and a late kickoff. Baylor visits Tempe on Saturday, Oct. 3, with the game set for 7:30 p.m. Arizona time and airing on ESPN and the Sun Devil Radio Network, giving the Sun Devils another spotlight home date after continuing to build their schedule around high-profile nonconference matchups.
Baylor brings a wrinkle the Sun Devils have already handled twice before, at least on paper. This will be the third meeting between the programs, and Arizona State has won both previous matchups, a small but meaningful note as the Sun Devils look to protect home field in front of a national audience and keep an old edge intact. [Read more 🡒]