Arizona State's 'NFL-level' quarterback torches Kansas State
For the first time since 2013 the Arizona State Sun Devils are 8-2.
And Sam Leavitt is a big reason why.
Arizona State's redshirt freshman quarterback has seemingly come out of nowhere to headline one of the best stories in college football this season.
Picked to finish last in the Big 12, the Sun Devils are very much alive in the race for the second spot in the Big 12 football championship game — and a potential berth in the 12-team College Football Playoff.
Leavitt torched Kansas State for 275 yards and three touchdowns in ASU's 24-14 win on Saturday. In the first half he was 12-of-22 for 156 yards and 3 TDs to stake the Sun Devils to a 21-0 lead.
Leavitt's favorite target was Colorado transfer Jordyn Tyson, who is having a tremendous season. Tyson caught 12 passes for 176 yards and 2 touchdowns, including this incredible 30-yard dime from Leavitt in the second quarter:
JORDYN TYSON, HIM 😈
— Sun Devil Football (@ASUFootball) November 17, 2024
📺 ESPN
📻 https://t.co/0CMltGmpCV pic.twitter.com/XI7jwukbpF
Leavitt Reaches Another Level
Over his last three games Leavitt has been one of the most efficient quarterbacks in the country, passing for 740 yards, 9 touchdowns and no interceptions.
"He's a dog. That's it. He's a great player," Arizona State head coach Kenny Dillingham said after last week's win over UCF. "The fact that that dude has three years left, every company in the state should be calling him for an NIL deal. People should be throwing cars at him, they should be throwing condos at him, they should be throwing whatever they can throw at him to be excited about the fact that you have an NFL level player in your state in the flagship school, in the town, for three more years."
Dillingham doubled down on Leavitt after the win over Kansas State.
"Sam's good. Sam's really good. I keep saying it," Dillingham said in his postgame press conference. "Sam's really good and we should be really happy that we have Sam and we have him for two to three more years. I mean, Sam's going to play on Sundays. There's zero doubt in my mind Sam's an NFL player. I think the sky is his limit and I think he's going to be the face of Sun Devil football.
"Everybody wants to talk about me. I suck if I don't have a quarterback, so stop talking about me. Start talking about Sam Leavitt. Start putting Sam Leavitt on billboards. Start doing everything about Sam Leavitt, because a coach is useless without a quarterback and that's one of the leaders of our football team and he's a big reason we're having this success."
In a conference filled with elite quarterbacks, Leavitt has quickly risen to the upper echelon. Despite missing a game with a rib injury he has passed for 1,906 yards, 17 touchdowns and just 4 interceptions, while rushing for 348 yards and 4 TDs.
And now Leavitt gets a big stage.
Arizona State (8-2, 5-2) will host No. 6 BYU (9-0, 6-0) next Saturday in Tempe, Arizona, in a matchup that has ESPN College GameDay written all over it.
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Ben Sherman has been covering the sports world for most of his journalism career, including 17 years with The Oregonian/OregonLive. One of his favorite memories was covering the 1999 Fiesta Bowl - the first BCS National Championship Game - at Sun Devil Stadium.