TEMPE — Arizona State believes Sam Leavitt looks capable of a run at the Heisman Trophy, and it’s getting the campaign started early.
The program just saw its second Heisman vote-getter in fourth-round draft pick Cam Skattebo, which came 28 years after Jake Plummer finished third in 1996.
Getting a third next year after two over 90 seasons would be remarkable.
Kenny Dillingham said Leavitt looks ready for that kind of run.
“I think he does,” he said after the ASU Fan Fest on Friday. “I think Sam’s done everything he can do.”
Leavitt threw for 2,885 yards and 24 touchdowns with just six interceptions in his redshirt freshman season, having never started a college game before. He was also the team’s second-leading rusher with 443 yards and five touchdowns.
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His command of the offense was apparent from Day 1 of spring camp, and it only became more so as it went on.
“Sam’s a Heisman Trophy candidate in our opinion,” Arizona State athletic director Graham Rossini said earlier on Friday night. “He’s coming off a Big 12 Championship team that played in the CFP. He’s returning with that experience. He’s a leader by example.
“We’ve had a lot of conversations with FOX and ESPN on how do we tell his story to the nation, and we’re lucky to have those kind of partners.”
As of Saturday, Leavitt is tied for 11th on FanDuel’s odds for the award and tied for 15th by DraftKings and BetMGM. It’s worth noting four of the players ahead of him on all three lists will be in their first years either as a full-time starter or on a new team.
“We’re about to post later today his stats, I got ‘em. I think he was like 42-for-44, 680 yards and eight touchdowns. So we’ll post that later,” Dillingham said with a smile, apparently ready to inflate spring practice numbers to campaign with.
Sure enough, the post came.
Haters will say it's fake ? pic.twitter.com/yBGxPymiTw
— Sun Devil Football (@ASUFootball) April 26, 2025
Sam Leavitt’s biggest area of improvement in spring camp
Dillingham came into the spring wanting Leavitt to take steps as a rhythmic passer and execute first-read throws at a higher level.
Offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo went one step further, saying the toughest thing for someone in Leavitt’s position to master the first two reads on each dropback.
Arroyo compared how he’ll coach the quick game in Year 2 to how he coached Leavitt’s run game in Year 1 of being a starter.
“The quick game, the control passing game, there’s no question there’s been a big uptick in that,” Arroyo said. “That’s really understanding the why, not the what.”
When the spring started, the offense was visibly behind where the defense was at.
It checked out, as the defense returned 10 of 11 starters whereas the offense had mostly new receivers, a reshuffled offensive line and was without its former star running back in Skattebo.
Ben Coleman shifted from guard to center to replace Leif Fautanu, now a Detroit Lion. With Coleman never having taken a snap at center in college, it was another thing for Leavitt to juggle.
Slowly but surely, the offense took steps throughout camp. Leavitt identified his new favorite targets in transfers Jalen Moss (Fresno State) and Jaren Hamilton (Alabama) while developing more of a connection with Malik McClain, who figures to be a more consistent part of the rotation this year.
They had the opportunity for more reps because Jordyn Tyson suffered a minor foot injury in the first week and missed the majority of team reps in camp as a precaution.
By the end of camp, Leavitt and the offense was regularly gashing a defense not far removed from the same unit that largely dominated down the stretch of 2024. That “iron sharpens iron” aspect isn’t to be taken lightly with this team, either.
It helps that Leavitt and Tyson, who will hold a youth football camp at Chandler High on May 24, were back to their regular connection by the end of it, too, finding pay dirt at the Fan Fest as they did 10 times a season ago.
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