ASU Football: John Humphrey’s journey back from injury

Now fully recovered from a torn Achilles, ASU football wide receiver John Humphrey has worked himself back into a potential starting job for the offense.

They transferred to ASU together, played on the scout team together, graduated together and  lived together for a year and a half. ASU wide receivers John Humphrey and Ryan Newsome are brothers, not by blood, but by a bond that dates back to 2016.

Humphrey had transferred in from Oklahoma while Newsome had come in from Texas. Both had to sit out the season due to NCAA rules but, thankfully for them, got to share the same experience together.

“We really grew closer to each other,” Newsome said. “All we pretty much had was each other given our situation. Nobody else could really relate because everybody was pretty much on the field.”

“By having my brother with me, we both went through it together,” Humphrey said.

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It was Newsome and Humphrey’s relationship that helped them understand the offense and help each other succeed while on the scout team. But the two grew together off the field as well.

“We still have an allegiance to our old teams,” Newsome said. “When Texas and Oklahoma play we still our pulling for our original squads. It’s kind of cool to have that rivalry.”

After both appearing in ten games for the Sun Devils in 2017, Humphrey tore his Achilles in March before the start of his redshirt junior season. Unlike before, Humphrey was alone.

The recovery process was difficult. The ups and downs in Humphrey’s attempt to return to the field were stressful. But the people closest to Humphrey made the grind a bit easier.

“I was in some dark times, really trying to isolate myself because I wanted to be out there with my teammates playing (but) instead I was over there rehabbing,” Humphrey said. “On the other hand, I had a good support system like my family back home, people up here (and) my friends. They just kept telling me to keep going.”

For Humphrey, one member of that support system has been coach Herm Edwards.

“He’s a cool guy,” Humphrey said. “He (helped) keep me uplifted. (Gave me) words of encouragement and cracked little jokes here and there.”

Eleven months later, Humphrey feels better.

The Texas native has added 15 pounds and feels as if he is faster than he was prior to the injury. “I’m ready to roll,” Humphrey said.

Now finally healthy, Humphrey will have the opportunity to fight for a significant role within the Sun Devils’ passing attack in his final season at ASU.

Newsome, Humphrey, Brandon Aiyuk – who has looked explosive in spring practices –  Kyle Williams, Frank Darby and even Geordon Porter will have an opportunity to fight for snaps in 2019.

This spring, Humphrey has been featured in the slot and on the outside. His potential versatility in the offense should help him in ASU’s deeply competitive receiving core.

“You don’t just have one guy that you can rely on now, now it’s really the core,” Newsome said. “Now you can really see what the whole receiving core is made of as opposed to one or two guys.”

“I think the receiving core is going to be even better than last year,” Humphrey said. “We have some guys that are really experienced now that they have some playing time underneath their belt. I think (the wide receiver depth chart) is wide open across the board.”

ASU will for sure need Humphrey; the departure of N’Keal Harry has created a big hole of unfulfilled production within the Sun Devils’ receiving core.

But Humphrey alone cannot fill Harry’s shoes; Darby, Aiyuk, Porter and Humphrey’s brother, Newsome, will need to fill the rest of the void.

All quotes in this article were obtained firsthand by Devils in Detail unless otherwise noted.