Tight end Messiah Swinson is looking to have a big role in Arizona State's new offense

Arizona State redshirt junior Messiah Swinson doesn't mind blocking, but like other tight ends, he wants to get his hands on a football occasionally. He has played just one game in a Sun Devil uniform, but it is looking like he'll get the ball in his hands — and that could be a good thing for head coach Herm Edwards and his crew.

The transfer from Missouri recorded three catches for 50 yards in last week's 40-3 victory over Northern Arizona in the season opener at Sun Devil Stadium. He'll look to build on that performance on Saturday as the Sun Devils (1-0) make a stop at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater, Oklahoma for a 4:30 p.m. showdown against Oklahoma State (1-0), which enters ranked No. 10 in one national poll and No. 11 in the other.

The game will air on ESPN2.

Swinson didn't arrive in Tempe with a reputation for handling the ball. He had just five catches for 46 yards last season for the Tigers. His ASU debut bettered what he had in an entire season.

"It felt good. It felt natural," he said, after practice earlier this week. " I feel like pass catching is something that comes natural to me in terms of coming here I'd say the transition is more about route running, not necessarily pass catching but just being able to get out there and catch passes again, move in space. I'm excited to keep doing it."

At 6-foot-8, Swinson is an imposing target, much like the departed Curtis Hodges, who also stood 6-8. Swinson tips the scales at 255, about 15 pounds more than Hodges, who made the Washington Commanders' 53-man roster as an undrafted free agent.

Hodges registered 20 catches for 375 yards and while he played under a different offensive coordinator, it appears that the tight end position will be equally important in the Glenn Thomas offense.

ASU tight ends coach Juston Wood has been working with Swinson on the fines point of the position, most notably route running and catching the ball since his primary role there at his previous school was as a blocker.

Quarterback Emory Jones appreciates having a good-sized target.

“It’s great for me. The guy, he’s standing — I mean he’s 6-foot-7 in the middle of the field, it’s hard to miss him," Jones laughed. "That’s somebody anybody would love to have so he’s real quarterback-friendly. He’s still getting better every single day, he’ll learn different things, his IQ in the middle of the game, I mean it’s constantly improving. I’m excited for him.”

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Swinson says he and other receivers have spent a lot of time with Jones. He feels good about the rapport with the new signal-caller.

"I feel like I'm someone he trusts in the passing game and he definitely looks for me and he's making his reads and he trusts me to come open and bring it down," Swinson said. "I love playing with him. He's a tremendous athlete, adds a dynamic to the game not all quarterbacks can with his legs and he can really move and get around. He's really a damn good thrower too. I'm excited that we get a whole season together."

Swinson landing at ASU is proof that is good for coaches to keep an open dialogue with a recruit even if that athlete doesn't originally pick their school. Swinson, a native of Bay Shore New York, was the No. 6 recruit out of the state in 2019 according to Rivals and dubbed a three-star prospect by all services. He took an official visit to Tempe before deciding on Missouri, He sustained a torn ACL his first year there.

When Swinson started thinking about transferring, ASU topped his list.

Now he's found an offense in which he thinks he can excel. While three catches was a good start, Swinson is hoping for more. Playing a lesser foe last week means the Sun Devils didn't have to go deep into the playbook.

"We haven't even scratched the surface yet. We have a whole bunch of stuff we can do and a whole bunch of stuff we've installed, the spring and the summer and during fall camp but with a game like last week we only showed so much," he said. "There are some pretty cool things in the pass game that we have yet to do and will do in the upcoming weeks. Not just me but other receivers too. There are opportunities for everyone in the passing game. "

For subscribers: What to know before Arizona State plays at Oklahoma State

Defense looks to improve

ASU gave up just three points and 120 total yards in its opener. On the surface that looks like a convincing effort but defensive coordinator Donnie Henderson expects improvement and that will be needed if the Sun Devils are to pull off an upset on the road.

"We made a ton of mistakes. If we’re going to win this game, we’re going to have to correct some of those,"  he said, after watching the game film over. "That’s what showed up and that’s why I said to you I’d have to wait till I see the tape, but we made a ton of mistakes so we got to get those corrected. It was fundamental things that you work on every day and then in the heat of the moment, guys defer or get a little frustrated — those type of deals. Overall, we were pretty good, but we did make a lot of mistakes.”

Henderson added that his team is going to have to focus on quarterback Spencer Sanders.

“Athlete, extends plays. I’m scared. He really reminds you of that guy from Utah (Cam Rising)," Henderson said. "He’s a pretty good athlete, can move around, extends plays, knows where the ball’s got to go, makes all the checks, and a pretty good player, really.”

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Odds and ends

—Running back Xazavian Valladay needs 13 all-purpose yards to reach 4,000 for his career.

—According to Pro Football Focus, ASU linebacker Merlin Robertson has missed just 24 tackles in his career which covers 2,528 snaps. That's the second-fewest of any FBS linebacker who has played 2,000 or more snaps.

—ASU was the only FBS team to not allow a 50-yard play last season and extended that streak to 16 games but not allowing one in last week's opener.

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Reach the reporter at Michelle.Gardner@gannett.com or 602 444-4783.  Follow her on Twitter @MGardnerSports.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: ASU tight end Messiah Swinson looking to have big role in new offense