TEMPE, Ariz. — Every offseason seems to center around the same theme for Arizona State football: who will be the starting quarterback?
The Sun Devils now have their answer after ASU head coach Kenny Dillingham made the announcement Monday morning after the team's practice.
"Sam Leavitt is going to be our starting quarterback," Dillingham said. "We talked to him and the other quarterbacks the other day and we are fired up. We believe we have a lot of quarterbacks that can win games on this team, and I feel our depth is really good. I am confident in all three of the quarterbacks that have been getting the reps with the 1's, 2's and 3's."
Leavitt, the scholarship quarterback with the least experience, will start for Arizona State in its home opener against Wyoming at Mountain America Stadium.
The redshirt freshman transferred to ASU from Michigan State this offseason. He played in four games last season in East Lansing and completed 65.2% of his passes (15/23) for 139 yards and two touchdowns. He also threw two interceptions.
Throughout ASU's fall camp, Leavitt's play was the best of the three quarterbacks vying for the job. The other quarterbacks, Trenton Bourguet and Jeff Sims, are in their last seasons of college eligibility.
The redshirt freshman was the frontrunner all throughout camp yet Dillingham made it clear he had to earn the job, which he did primarily thanks to ball security.
"In 300 clips of team series scenarios, he has two interceptions," Dillingham said. "So you're talking roughly five football games and you have two interceptions, that's pretty good. He's got a lot of traits where I think he's a really good football player."
Not only that, but throughout camp Dillingham said he liked the pace in which he was reading and adapting to the play on the field.
"The game has slowed down a little bit for him," Dillingham said. "Obviously, it's going to speed back up when you have bullets coming. Let's not kid ourselves, there's going to be some year one things that you don't see until you see it. But the game has definitely slowed down for him."
Leavitt is originally from Oregon and was named the 2022 Oregon football Player of the Year and the 2022 MaxPreps Oregon High School Player of the Year as he led West Linn High School to a state championship. He threw for 3,184 yards and 36 touchdowns that season.
Leavitt was the No. 1 player in the state of Oregon in the class of 2023 and committed to Michigan State over Washington State, Arizona, Florida State and Washington.
Dillingham and Leavitt's relationship dates back to when Dillingham worked on head coach Mike Norvell's staff at Florida State. Dillingham recruited Leavitt during that time.
Leavitt will get his first opportunity to prove he is the worthy starter when the Sun Devils kick off the 2024 season on Saturday, Aug. 31 at Mountain America Stadium in Tempe against Wyoming. Kickoff will be at 7:30 p.m.
Arizona sports
The city of Phoenix is home to four major professional sports league teams; The NFL's Arizona Cardinals, NBA's Phoenix Suns, WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury and MLB's Arizona Diamondbacks.
The Cardinals have made State Farm Stadium in Glendale their home turf and the Footprint Center in downtown Phoenix is home to both the Suns and the Mercury. The Indoor Football League’s Arizona Rattlers play at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale.
Phoenix also has a soccer team with the USL's Phoenix Rising FC, who play at Phoenix Rising FC Stadium in Phoenix.
The Valley hosts multiple major sporting events every year, including college football's Fiesta Bowl and Guaranteed Rate Bowl; the PGA Tour’s highest-attended event, the WM Phoenix Open; NASCAR events each spring and fall, including Championship Weekend in November; and Cactus League Spring Training for 15 Major League Baseball franchises.
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