CHANDLER — Arizona State quarterback Sam Leavitt appeared to spend no time this offseason considering the transfer portal, and he said on Saturday it’s because no one can prepare him for the NFL like ASU can.
“It’s just the culture, the trust and the belief in each other and the coaching staff,” Leavitt said after wrapping up a youth camp at Chandler High, where he presented the Pat Tillman Foundation with a five-figure donation. “(Coach Kenny Dillingham is) such an honest person, he’s never going to steer you wrong. And he really started that, and that’s just trickled down to every single aspect of the entire staff and facilities.
“Why would you not want to be in a situation where you know exactly what’s going on? You know what you’re gonna get out of it. … Then you’re playing at Arizona State at a great team. Who cares if you get paid a couple hundred thousand dollars less when you’re gonna have a shot to now go play in the NFL and make 10 times more money?”
Dillingham’s authenticity has been something players have taken notice of at multiple levels, from his relaxed handling of transfer portals to his emphasis on having fun while working hard to recruits who aren’t even on campus yet catching his viral postgame moments.
Sam Leavitt knows everything he needs to prepare for the NFL is at Arizona State with head coach Kenny Dillingham.
"Who cares if you get paid a couple hundred thousand dollars less?" he said of potentially bigger monetary offers from other programs. pic.twitter.com/QmGxP8LT6H
— Arizona Sports (@AZSports) May 24, 2025
Jordyn Tyson has seen a dramatic change in how everyone has bought in to what the coach is selling. His own dramatic change saw him go from heavily-injured as a first-year Sun Devil in 2023 to leading the nation in receiving over the last eight weeks of 2024 before he was hurt ahead of the postseason.
“It’s definitely different,” the star receiver said at the camp, which he co-hosted with Leavitt. “So really seeing it all, like it’s a completely different team. Completely different players, like we all love each other, we all embrace each other.
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“I think that’s the reason why a lot of people came back too. We just all love each other, we’re one big close family for real.”
The head coach isn’t the only staffer who has a deep connection with the quarterback.
Leavitt and offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo have previously detailed their first meeting together back when Leavitt was a sought-after portal quarterback following his true freshman season at Michigan State. The meeting lasted several hours, as each discovered the other’s love for the game firsthand.
That dynamic now shows itself in each practice, where Arroyo’s intensity is matched by Leavitt.
After not starting a collegiate game prior to 2024, the quarterback now has the knowledge and feel to operate like a veteran, helping his receivers and blockers all get in order before the snap.
That level of understanding and control could have NFL teams salivating at the chance to have him as their franchise leader come next April.
Sam Leavitt’s draft stock entering 2025 season
Leavitt is a popular bet to be a first-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft following what Dillingham believes could be a Heisman season.
In about a month since the 2025 draft, Leavitt has been mocked in the first round 14 times and ranked as a first-round pick on three big boards, per NFL Mock Draft Database.
Those mocks, however, don’t offer a clear picture of where he could land on the draft’s opening day. He’s as high as No. 5 (Cleveland Browns) on one mock and as low as No. 30 (Detroit Lions) on another. Eight of the mocks had him in the top 17 picks and the rest had him between 24 and 30.
The most frequent team pairings for the ASU signal caller early in the process were the Los Angeles Rams (six times) and Pittsburgh Steelers (four).
Leavitt’s Heisman projections suggest he’s a longshot for the award on the outside of the consensus top 10 but firmly in the top 20. However, Sun Devil fans will remember Cam Skattebo finished top five in voting after he was nowhere to be found on preseason awards lists.
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