Justin Tryon
CB | (5'9", 190, 4.41) | ARIZONA STATE
Born: MAY 29, 1984
Hometown: Palmadale, CA
Overview
The former junior college transfer instantly became ASU's top cover cornerback, starting all 26 games during his two seasons with the Sun Devils. He proved to be an effective run support defender who simply loved the challenge of taking on receivers much bigger than him. In 2007, his main pass coverage assignments featured four receivers who stood at least 6-feet-4 and five who were 220 pounds or more.
The 5-9 cornerback allowed the opposition to complete just 31.13 percent of the passes thrown into his area during his final campaign (33-of-106). Tryon was just as capable of covering the top receiver on deep routes, but also excelled in press coverage, rerouting his man away from 54 potential catches, in addition to breaking up or intercepting 19 other throws. He allowed a miniscule 3.74 yards per pass attempt vs. him as a senior.
At Taft High School, Tryon earned second-team All-City honors as a running back, gaining 1,435 yards and scored 21 touchdowns in 2002. He also registered a 96-yard kickoff return vs. Jefferson High. He earned All-American, All-State and All-City accolades in track-and-field as a senior, as he clocked 10.6 seconds in the 100-meters, 21.2 in the 200-meters and 47.25 in the 400-meters (fastest time in the state).
Tryon attended San Joaquin Delta College after graduating from Taft, but did not play football in 2003. He then enrolled at the College of the Canyons in 2004, earning second-team All-Western States Conference honors while starting all 14 games at cornerback. He helped the team capture the 2004 National Championship, the state of California Championship and the Western States Conference Championship.
As a sophomore, Tryon earned second-team All-American accolades. He was selected to the All-State team in addition to earning first-team All-Western States Conference honors. Super Prep rated him the 18th-best player in the junior college ranks.
Tryon was an All-Pac 10 Conference honorable mention in his first season at Arizona State in 2006. He took over right cornerback duties, ranking fourth on the squad with 47 tackles (37 solos), including a sack and 2.5 stops for losses. He recovered two fumbles, broke up seven passes and picked off another. He also averaged 41.2 yards on five kickoff returns.
As a senior, Tryon earned All-American third-team honors from The NFL Draft Report and was an All-Pac 10 Conference second-team choice by the media. Named the team's Most Improved Defensive Player, he started all 13 games at right cornerback, as he ranked fifth on the team with 56 tackles (43 solos).
He caused a fumble and led the team with 16 pass deflections. He also had three interceptions, returning one for a touchdown and returned seven kickoffs for a 23.7-yard average. His total of 19 passes defended ranked 11th in the nation.
Career Notes
In 26 games at right cornerback for Arizona State, Tryon recorded 103 tackles (80 solos) with a 7-yard sack, 3.5 stops for losses of 10 yards, two fumble recoveries and a forced fumble...Deflected 23 passes and intercepted four others for 102 yards (25.5 avg) in returns, including one touchdown...Returned 12 kickoffs for 372 yards (31.0 avg).
Junior College
Tryon attended San Joaquin Delta College after graduating from Taft, but did not play football in 2003...Enrolled at the College of the Canyons in 2004, earning second-team All-Western States Conference honors while starting all 14 games at cornerback for head coach Chuck Lyons...Helped the team capture the 2004 National Championship, the state of California Championship and the Western States Conference Championship...As a sophomore, Tryon earned second-team All-American accolades in 2005...Selected to the All-State team in addition to earning first-team All-Western States Conference honors... Super Prep rated him the 18th-best player in the junior college ranks.
High School
Attended Taft (Woodland Hills, Calif.) High School, playing football for head coach Troy Starr...Earned second-team All-City honors as a running back, gaining 1,435 yards and scored 21 touchdowns in 2002...Also registered a 96-yard kickoff return vs. Jefferson High...Earned All-American, All-State and All-City accolades in track-and-field as a senior, as he clocked 10.6 in the 100-meters, 21.2 in the 200-meters and 47.25 in the 400-meters (fastest time in the state).
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Analysis
Positives: Has a lean frame, but shows good muscle tone and has room to add at least another 10 pounds of bulk without having it affect his impressive timed speed...Is much quicker reading routes than recognizing run plays, showing good urgency closing on the ball...Rare to see him get taken out of position when playing in man coverage...Shows good foot quickness and flexibility, demonstrating the acceleration and second gear to get back on the route when a receiver gets behind him...Has enough of a hand punch to generate good press coverage, but also has the balance and change of direction agility to play in off coverage...Can stay on the hip and run with most receivers...Comes out of his breaks with good suddenness, opening his hips smoothly coming out of his backpedal...Rare to see him take any false steps in transition, showing good weight distribution and loose hips to turn and go after the thrown pass...Can even be effective using a shuffle-and-bail technique...Has a good feel for the routes developing, playing his man tight while showing proper body adjustments on the move...Got better breaks on the ball as a senior than he did in the past, but gets into trouble when he eyeballs the backfield too long...Has the speed and burst to make plays at the opposite side of the field and takes good angles to close...Can cover a lot of ground with his sudden burst...Adjusting to runners in support is a concern, as he struggles to play off blocks, but has good wrap-up technique to hang on to the ballcarrier until help arrives...Gets himself into position to make plays on the ball, but does not show natural hands (will trap) and must improve his timing when elevating for the ball...Lacks the sand in his pants to be an impact tackler, but shows willingness coming inside the box on run plays...Good second effort tackler (more of a pester type), who might bounce off a few bigger receivers, but he will not hesitate to face up or attempt to drag down when working in space...Not used often as a kickoff returner, but has that explosive burst and good ball security to get big yardage when running back the ball...Even though he lacks natural hands for the interception, he is good at reaching around and knocking balls out of the hands of the receiver...Ballcarriers have had good success running over him, so he has now developed good cut tackling skills, getting low in his pads to attack the opponent's feet.
Negatives: Has a lean frame that will need to carry more bulk to compete vs. the physicality of the pro game...Good program performer, but needs structure in the offseason and must develop better training habits...Generally quiet player off the field, but does get a bit too cocky and vocal on the field, leading to unnecessary penalties...Has excellent leaping ability, but needs to time his jumps better, as he is too inconsistent getting to the pass at its high point...Struggles to retain plays and digest a complicated playbook, needing more than a few reps to understand his assignment...Good wrap-up tackler, but shows little to no pop behind his hits, which sees bigger backs easily bounce off his tackles...Will bite on play-action, but has shown improvement in not being fooled by a receiver's double moves...Easily engulfed when trying to lend run support at the line, as he lacks the hand technique or power to shed...Aggressive cut tackler, but does not have the strength to just drag down the ballcarrier...Traps the ball rather than extending to pluck outside his frame and this has resulted in at least a half dozen of potential interceptions becoming merely pass deflections in 2007...Needs to show better work ethic in his approach to classroom and playbook study (not a student of the game).
Compares To: TYE HILL-St. Louis...Like Hill, Tryon plays much bigger than his size indicates. He has very good speed to mirror the receiver throughout the route and has a smooth backpedal, coming out of his breaks with good explosion. If he can ever develop better timing and better hands, he could be a dominant pass thief. He is a bit too cocky at times, sort of like Fred Smoot, and this leads to unnecessary penalties, but he has had good success taking on receivers that tower over or out-weigh him considerably with relatively good success.
Injury Report
No injuries reported.
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