ASU Football's Sam Leavitt has led the Sun Devils' resurgence

ARLINGTON, Texas – Arizona State head coach Kenny Dillingham can dish out as much as he can take. The same goes for Sun Devils quarterback Sam Leavitt, and that’s one of the reasons the two get along so well. They are competitive in everything they do, be it on the football field or elsewhere.

One place is in the locker room, where a basketball hoop has been the scene of many showdowns.

Leavitt will bring that competitive spirit to the field at AT&T Stadium on Saturday when the No. 15 Sun Devils (10-2, 7-2) face No. 16 Iowa State (10-2, 7-2) in the Big 12 title game and a spot in the 12-team College Football Playoff.

Dillingham has noticed Leavitt’s competitive nature before and says it’s one thing that drives him. Earlier this season, as ASU prepared to play Kansas State, Leavitt said it was a game he expected because of the matchup against Wildcats quarterback Avery Johnson, who was in the same draft class and a higher one Rank than Leavitt had.

“Sam is competitive. So if you tell him he’s tied with the best player in the country at something, he’s going to be mad, and that’s good,” Dillingham said after the Sun Devils completed practice earlier this week.

“That’s why we get along, because I like to fool people, so we talk back and forth about things all day long. He thinks he’s the best basketball player in the country, and I’ll say, ‘You’re not.’ I told him today that Jordan Travis (former Florida State quarterback who Dillingham worked with) could have killed you in his prime on the field and he made a 10 minute comment about how he did said, “No, trust me, he’s a better athlete than you, Sam. He would have killed you.’ That’s just his nature, so he does that in all aspects of his life.

The rise of the Arizona State football program has everything to do with Leavitt’s emergence as one of the best young quarterbacks in the country. For those who like metrics, Leavitt is the highest-graded rookie in the country regardless of position, according to Pro Football Focus, which gives him a grade of 89.4.

How good is that? It’s seventh-most among FBS rookie quarterbacks in the PFF era since 2015 (with at least 500 snaps played). Of the seven players tied with or ahead of Leavitt, six have started an NFL game this season (Brock Purdy, Trevor Lawrence, Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, CJ Stroud and Spencer Rattler). This is indeed a good company.

The 19-year-old Leavitt has completed 62.7% (180 of 287) of his passes for 2,444 yards and 21 touchdowns with just five interceptions. But Leavitt’s performance over the last five games is even more impressive. He completed 66% of his passes and threw 13 touchdowns with just one interception.

Leavitt is the first ASU quarterback since Mike Bercovici in 2015 to have five games in a season with three or more touchdown passes.

The Michigan State transfer says his improvement is just a result of experience. He only played a handful of snaps last season, so this is his first year as a full-time starter.

“Confidence in the offense, understanding of the situational ball,” Leavitt said of his biggest improvement. “Not extending in situations where I don’t have to and taking negatives to protect the ball.”

“Plus, I see things better behind the field, leverage and when I have a shot, I orientate myself to where a defender’s eyes are, 15 yards further down the field, and know that someone is going to make a tackle or a post will, just based on that.” his body language.

Dillingham’s expertise lies on offense. Two years ago at Oregon, he was instrumental in the development of Bo Nix, a future first-round draft pick. So Dillingham knows a thing or two about quarterbacks.

He said work ethic and competitiveness were factors, but Leavitt exceeded his expectations for the rookie.

“He’s a very special boy,” Dillingham said. “His ability to see the field on game day. His work ethic. You know he’s working. You can see the work. You can see the process. You see the level of care, but until you get into a season and just see that, it’s just different.

“No, when we named the starter, I didn’t expect so much growth. I thought he was definitely going to be an NFL player. Did I think he was going to be an NFL player his first year? No.”

Earlier this season, Dillingham talked about how his tenure ties in with that of Leavitt, who emerged from spring drills as the leading candidate for the starting job ahead of returning veteran Trenton Bourguet. He backed that up with his performance in fall camp, even though Nebraska transfer Jeff Sims was brought in to challenge him.

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Leavitt rewarded the coach for his trust with a consistent, confident performance that got better with every game. He was named the conference’s Freshman Offensive Player of the Year.

This season may not be over yet, but Dillingham, who was named Big 12 Coach of the Year earlier this week for orchestrating one of the most impressive turnarounds in college football, has hinted that the future is bright because of Leavitt is only a freshman and his favorite target, Jordyn Tyson, is just a sophomore.

Of course, ASU football fans are hoping Leavitt and other top players stay and don’t move on to a higher bidder after proving their worth. But it seems like Leavitt is happy with what he has in Tempe.

The quarterback puts all profits from merchandise sales back into the Sun Angel Collective to help his teammates – further proof that he likes his current situation. His father said this in a television interview that aired earlier this month.

Offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo was also impressed with his quarterback and points to the growing relationship between Leavitt and Tyson, who was enjoying a successful season before getting injured in last Saturday’s game.

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ASU Football’s Sam Leavitt has led the Sun Devils’ resurgence

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