LONDON – Wembley Stadium is no stranger to games heavily impacted by a few kicks of a ball.
The 1966 World Cup final, the 2020 Euro final and the Champions League finals in 2013 and 1992 were decided that way.
Saturday’s Union Jack Classic, where ASU defeated Kansas 24-17, was no different.
While football, the American kind at least, puts an emphasis on placing the ball in the players’ hands, the driving force behind the scoring in this historic game was on plays that began with a player kicking the ball.
As the second half began at one of the most iconic venues on the planet, ASU wide receiver Jaren Hamilton knew he was about to add another unforgettable moment to the history of the stadium.
After an action Wembley has seen countless times, the kick of a ball, Hamilton did something Wembley hasn’t seen as often: catch it and run it back 100 yards for a touchdown.
Since he stopped running track in high school to focus on football full-time, Hamilton has heard the same thing about himself countless times: “He’s just fast.” In one of the most famous venues in the world, Hamilton did nothing to damage that reputation, extending ASU’s lead at the beginning of the second half.
Hamilton knows his reputation and he chooses not to ignore it.
“I lean into it,” he said. “I trust my speed and you can see what it does.”
While Hamilton made the biggest impact on special teams on Saturday, he was not the only player who made his name known, for better or for worse.
The only points in the first quarter came from ASU’s special teams unit, with Carson Smith connecting on a 39-yard field goal on the Sun Devils’ first drive of the game.
It took another quarter for either team to score, with Kansas’ special teams unit shining via a 72-yard punt return from Tate Nagy.
It seemed as if the 7-3 score would hold into the half, until a special teams miscue from the Jayhawks gave ASU (2-1, 1-0 Big 12) an easy shot.
Pushed back deep in its own territory, Kansas (1-2, 0-1 Big 12) opted to punt the ball with 29 seconds left. However, after Matt Gill’s punt went just 17 yards to the Jayhawks 25, ASU was set up perfectly for a Cutter Boley to Reed Harris touchdown, giving the Sun Devils a 10-7 lead at the half.
Right out of the half, Hamilton showed off his supersonic speed, extending the ASU lead to 17-7.
Just two plays came in between the two ASU touchdowns, a fact that coach Kenny Dillingham called a turning point in the victory.
“It was huge,” Dillingham said. “Fourteen points swing there. That was critical in the game. We needed every point.”
ASU continued to roll in the second half. While it might not have been according to Dillingham’s master plan, special teams made sure ASU’s lead did not fade.
A Kansas missed field goal in the third quarter kept ASU up 17-7 going into the fourth quarter, where teams traded a touchdown each. With just over five minutes left in the game, ASU had its final special teams moment.
Just outside of field goal range, punter Nick McLarty trotted out to punt it back to Kansas. Up 10, McLarty pinned the Jayhawks on their own 1-yard line, capping off a day of eventful special teams play.
When all was said and done, 20 of 41 points at Wembley were scored directly from special teams, with seven more being created by special teams, and three being lost via special teams miscues.
McLarty is an Australian native whom one might expect to play a sport closer to the type of football typically played at Wembley. But McLarty made his impact in the American version of the sport with nine punts that went for a combined 382 yards.
“Nick did an absolutely phenomenal job tonight,” Dillingham said. “He’s fun to watch. That guy’s energetic. He’s got passion for the game.”
What McLarty had in quantity, Hamilton had in quality, becoming the first Sun Devils player to score a kick-return touchdown since D.J. Taylor did it in ASU’s 70-7 victory over Arizona in 2020.
After the game, Hamilton said he had a special feeling walking into Wembley, one that grew even stronger as he came out for the second half. While it’s a feeling he has often at games, something in the back of his mind told him what was about to happen.
“I called it,” Hamilton said. “I said, ‘If they kick this ball to me and it doesn’t go out the back of the end zone, I’m gonna run it back.’”
Hamilton is no stranger to the 100-yard sprint down a football field. He sees track as his “baby.” His run down the field was just nine yards off of 100 meters, one of four events he ran in high school. Hamilton said the moment made him remember his time as a track star fondly.
“I was the person on the team that, if you wanted to make it to states in a certain event, put me in,” Hamilton said.
Hamilton was one of two players to make waves with a big run at Wembley. The one that might have picked up more traction online is Hyrum Vaeono, the 305-pound ASU lineman who returned a fumble 77 yards to the 1-yard line.
While Vaeono’s return might have been posted more online, he credited the special teams unit for making waves on the scoresheet.
“Shout out to those guys,” Vaeono said. “Big-time players, big-time players. I’m not surprised that (Hamilton) did, but it was big.”
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