LONDON — Arizona State safety Lyrik Rawls has been in Tempe for only seven months, but he's already had an impact on his new teammates.
His peers voted him onto the Pat Tillman Leadership Council, quite a compliment given that he played for a conference rival in Kansas last year. Then, in Saturday's loss at Texas A&M, he made a diving interception of a Marcel Reed pass for the Sun Devils' first takeaway of the season. So he is off to a good start.
Next up is the Union Jack Classic, with ASU (1-1) facing Kansas (1-1) here at historic Wembley Stadium.
Temperatures hovered in the low to mid-70s on a sunny Tuesday, Sept. 15, and Rawls and his team are gearing up for an early (9 a.m. MST) start, at least for ASU fans who remained in Arizona.
The game
kicks off at 5 p.m. here.
The game will be special not only because it's the first college football game played in England, but also because it marks Rawls' first appearance against his former team.
"Lyrik's done a great job for us," coach Kenny Dillingham said. "He has a lot of respect for that (Kansas) program. A lot of respect for that place. He's told me that through the whole process. But he's been a great player for us. I have nothing but positive things to say about him."
In 2025, he started all 12 games at safety for the Jayhawks. He finished second on the team in total tackles with 73. He led the team in unassisted tackles (57), ranked second in pass breakups (seven), and recorded three quarterback hurries and one interception.
"It's been nothing but great. I got nothing but love coming in," said Rawls, who was also chosen to represent ASU at Big 12 Media Day. "Being in this position to be voted on by the players, and I'm a new guy. It's definitely an honor. I felt like I was doing something right for the guys to want to be following behind me, so I'm going to keep doing what I'm doing.
"I think I'm just being myself, being natural. I guess people just gravitate to me."
Arizona State is actually the third school for Rawls, who played at Oklahoma State from 2022-24. He then moved on to Kansas, where he played just one season.
Rawls, a 6-foot-1, 215-pounder, said the move to Arizona State made sense for several reasons. First, he attended the same high school where ASU veteran Montana Warren played, although the two were not at Marshall High School in Texas at the same time.
Second, he already had a good relationship with Bryan Carrington, ASU's assistant head coach and passing game coordinator, who is the school's primary recruiter in Texas.
Third, he saw for himself the difference head coach Kenny Dillingham had made at the school in a short time. Rawls was in Tempe in 2023 as a member of the Oklahoma State Cowboys, who played a nonconference game in Tempe. Oklahoma State prevailed, 27-15. That was just the second game of the Dillingham tenure, so he hadn't put his stamp on the program quite yet.
A year later, the Sun Devils were Big 12 champions and they've been selling out games ever since.
"I definitely saw the program grow because I played against Arizona State in their stadium," he said. "I could see the whole stadium and the fans, and it was crazy to see. They were losing, then they were in the Big 12 champions, so it was crazy to see how fast it happened."
Rawls admitted he thought he would transfer to a school in the SEC, but ASU was his first visit after entering the portal. He was sold immediately. He didn't take another visit.
"The brotherhood, the coaching staff. When I came here on a visit, they were all so welcoming and so calm, no pressure," he said. "They said, 'We want you to feel comfortable here.' We want you to want this for you. Yes, we want you, but we want you to want it.
"I felt like the coaching staff and the people around the sport in the Big 12 were more together, more family-forward. I could feel more of a connection with them."
Rawls said he felt comfortable in the defensive scheme right away.
ASU safeties coach David Gibbs appreciates the veteran presence of Rawls, who starts at strong safety opposite Adrian "Boogie" Wilson, a returning starter who holds down the free safety spot. That duo, along with corners Ashton Stamps and Rodney Bimage, has given ASU a strong back end that has allowed just 249 passing yards over two games.
Rawls came into the season having played in 41 games. So he was already a seasoned veteran.
"Lyrik has played a lot of football," Gibbs said. "This is his third school in five years. He's a good, solid football player. He's taken on a leadership role, which is great, but he's a hard-working kid. He has earned his spot and he's doing a great job."
Rawls wears No. 2, the same number worn the previous three years by Xavion Alford, another former Texan and one who was noted for his leadership and his pregame speeches. They have a similar hairstyle. So yes, he has been told he resembles the popular former Sun Devil.
Rawls is making himself at home and appreciating his last year of college football. He says he has found a couple of good soul food restaurants in the Valley. He also has a new hobby. Hiking.
"And I never thought I'd be a hiking guy," he laughed.
Now the focus is on his former team, which also comes in with a 1-1 record and a 38-21 loss to Missouri last week.
He has been asked about playing against his former team for the past few months, but now that game is next on the agenda.
"People ask me that all the time; every time I see a post about it, someone is sending it to me," he said. "It's all good. I'm just going to go out there and play my game. You can't go out there and worry about who the opponent is on the other side."
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona State's Lyrik Rawls has extra motivation in London game
