Sam Leavitt Revels In Arizona State Sun Devil's Fearless Football

Forbes

a day ago

Sam Leavitt's last game of the 2024-2025 season was a New Year's Day thriller. Leavitt's Arizona State Sun Devils were down 17-3 in the first half of the Peach Bowl. But soon after the first moments of the second half, the Sun Devils had the high-flying Texas Longhorns on the ropes.
But Leavitt said he took nothing for granted, even if Texas, an SEC team, was thought of before the ref's first whistle as the odds-on favorites.
'Walking in that stadium as someone who was (initially) a red shirt freshman, not even supposed to be there, you take it in and really understand the moment,' Leavitt said.
The Sun Devils outscored the Longhorns 21-7 in that second half, pushing the game into double overtime, thanks to a one-two punch from the 20-year-old quarterback and their ace running back, Cam Skattebo. Skattebo rushed for 143 yards and scored two touchdowns on 30 carries, while Leavitt provided plenty of air support, passing for 222 yards.
During that game, the Sun Devils' defense also did its share, chasing Texas QB Quinn Ewers out of the pocket throughout the game and forcing Longhorns' kicker Bert Auburn to miss two of three field goals.
It all came down to the wire down to the wire in double overtime, when down 38-31, Leavitt and ASU made a march toward the endzone. Leavitt's and ASU's only turnover of the game came on a third inside the opposition's 20-yard line when Texas safety Andrew Mukuba boxed out intended receiver Melquan Stovall to pick off Leavitt's pass and end the game.
Shown on ESPN, the game was heralded as an 'all-time classic,' and the near upset of one of the SEC's top teams boosted both ASU's profile and Leavitt as one of college football's standout quarterbacks.
I joked to Leavitt during our interview this summer that he and his Big 12 champion team not only played one of Arizona State's most memorable games, but almost made Matthew McConnaghey cry.
'I'm a big fan of him,' Leavitt said of the Oscar Award-winning actor and Longhorns diehard. 'But that would have been great.'
That said, Leavitt says that while he and his team always intended to rise to the moment at the Peach Bowl in Atlanta, they knew their opponents were no brush-off.
'I remember seeing the Texas player No. 95,' he said of 6-foot-6, 325-pound defensive lineman Alfred Collins. 'I thought, 'that might be the biggest player I've ever played against'.'
Last year's Peach Bowl marked the Sun Devils' first major bowl game in over a decade. Last year, ASU football had just joined the Big 12 after leaving the PAC-12 and hadn't had a winning season since 2019. Their position as the No. 4 seed in the College Football Playoff (CFP) felt like new and exciting territory.
'You look around at all the fans and the situation and really embrace it," Leavitt explained. "Then you go back to it like any other game.'
Looking forward to this season, Leavitt said that Skattebo, now a player for the New York Giants, will be missed. But he acknowledged that the Sun Devils are ready to contend for another Big 12 title and much more.
'Obviously, we're not going to try to replace Skat—he's a unique player you can't replace," Leavitt explained. "But what great coaches do is make people play to their strengths, plus we have a bunch of guys who are good with the ball in their hands.'
Leavitt said that one of the reasons he wanted to come to Arizona State after spending his first year with the Michigan State Spartans was to work under Sun Devils head coach Kenny Dillingham.
Dillingham joined ASU in 2023 and is the first ASU alumnus to win the Sun Devils' head coaching role. Projected to finish dead last in the Big 12 last season, Dillingham and ASU instead won the Big 12 Championship.
'I learned a lot at Michigan State, watched a lot of tape there, learned the college game, and all that game gave me a lot of confidence coming in,' Leavitt said. 'But part of the reason I wanted to come here was because of what Coach Dillingham had with other quarterbacks, like Bo Nix.'
Dillingham held the roles of both offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Oregon, prior to being tapped by Arizona State as head coach.
'Some of the biggest things,' Leavitt said he takes from Dillingham's coaching are, 'situational football and understanding when to take risks, plus my role and how to treat people. He teaches you how to interact with your peers better.'
VIDEO: Sam Leavitt on fire at last season's Peach Bowl versus Texas.
Leavitt knew that after his first year at Michigan State, entering the transfer portal might bring him to a new team and a new challenge, but that earning a starting quarterback role was his ultimate goal.
'It was about showing the team I'm a hard worker, showing who I am as a competitor," Leavitt said. "Then, once you win the job, it's about playing well.'
Leavitt says that now, after such a successful run last season, he feels like the possibilities are endless for Arizona State. But also, he thinks his coaching staff and ASU's system are built in a way in which he can play his game to its fullest.
'At times when it's, say, third down and 8, you might take more risk knowing that if you take a sack, who cares—you're not going to go on 4th and long,' Leavitt said. 'It's something that we're comfortable with.'
Overall, Leavitt hints that now, like other perennial contenders such as Oregon and even Alabama, the Sun Devils' style of football is not a particularly conservative one. But her said in order to thrive in risky situations, the Sun Devils focus on fundamentals and team chemistry.
'When we're out there, we treat third down like second down. People might say we play risky, but we know certain times like those are the game changers. And we know how to do it.'
ESPN just named Leavitt among its '40 most important players in college football in 2025' last week, also calling Leavitt one of the three most important players in the Big 12 title race. Meanwhile, there have been whispers from Steelers fans and writers hoping that the 6-foot-2 sophomore might become their next franchise quarterback.
Joining Leavitt on the field are a number of exciting players, including wide receiver Jaren Hamilton, a transfer who came in after playing only a few times over two seasons at Alabama. There's also rookie Jai'Storm Knight on the offensive line, who will be instrumental in closing gaps and providing protection, to provide more opportunity for Leavitt to shine.
Sports Illustrated has predicted that ASU will win another Big 12 title and easily secure a spot in the NCAA postseason.
But Leavitt thinks that No. 11-ranked Arizona State's best scenario will involve the Sun Devils playing their own relentless, fast-paced way, while facing down other Top 25-ranked Big 12 teams like BYU, Kansas State, Texas Tech, and Iowa State.
'This season, we'll focus on opening up things, with a lot more controlled passing,' Leavitt said. "And there are some new things on my task list that I'm pretty excited about for this season.'
Read Frye's interviews with Coach Prime and Barry Sanders.
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