Breaking Down Leavitt’s Heisman-Level Performance vs. Texas Tech
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Arizona State Sun Devils Quarterback Sam Leavitt has returned to Mountain America Stadium field with question marks surrounding him. After missing the Utah Utes due to injury, how would Leavitt play? Would he even play at all? Would Leavitt's play be altered at all? Well, those questions were answered with an absolutely stellar game by Leavitt.
Passing
Going into this game, ASU faced a really good Texas Tech Red Raiders pass rush, especially Texas Tech's David Bailey. Often, when facing a great pass rush, the opposing offense will throw quickly into the short and medium areas of the field. However, that was not the case here as Offensive Coordinator Marcus Arroyo dialed up some deep shots for Leavitt.
The Deep Ball
Leavitt delivered those deep balls beautifully and accurately, as Leavitt really only had one major miss on a 4th and 2. Besides that, Leavitt had completions of 49, 45, 33, 23, and 19 yards.
The main element that sticks out about these plays is the consistency with which Leavitt hit them. It was not just once or twice, but about four or five times. This proves that Leavitt can hit the big plays through and through.
Ball Distribution
In this game, ASU got a good amount of their playmakers going. Now, credit is due to Marcus Arroyo, who schemed up the playmakers, but a lot of the credit also goes to Leavitt for having trust in them. As the season has gone on, Leavitt has continued to build chemistry, especially with receiver Jaren Hamilton.
Hamilton had an amazing stat line of three catches for 101 yards. Hamilton ran great routes and Leavitt threw them with great timing. It was really cool to see them connect, as it was an example of the chemistry building. Also, as per usual, Receiver Jordyn Tyson and Sam Leavitt linked up 10 times for 105 yards.
The Clutch
Speaking of Tyson, Leavitt's best play of the year and one of his plays that will go down in his ASU career was late in this game.
The play of the season
To set the stage, ASU was down 22-19, with 1:05 left in the entire game. It was also 4th down and 2, meaning if the Sun Devils did not get it, the Red Raiders would take over and most likely when the game, so this play was the game.
Leavitt dropped back, rolled out to the right and threw an absolute beauty of a pass to Jordyn Tyson on the run for a huge play that would set up the eventual game-winning touchdown. It was only a great scramble by Leavitt, but it also shows the heads-up and that instinct he has that makes him an NFL-level caliber QB.
When asked if the play was improvised or not, Leavitt said, “That was improv. Yeah, we're running a you know, we're empty. And they brought they brought cover zero, and saw JT is on a little five-yard out. So I ran at him, and he just turned it upfield and found him on the play.”
Scrambling
While on the topic of scrambling, Leavitt had 31 yards on 8 rushing attempts, which is if the sack yardage is removed. Even when not scrambling, Leavitt was still very nice on the move, and it is a factor of his game that defenses have to prep for.
Whether it be through the air or ground, Leavitt proved he was clutch this game and that the game is not truly over until Leavitt says it is.
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Tanner Cappellini holds a mass communications degree from Arizona State University and is pursuing his dream of being the person at the games, practices, and events who takes others inside the team they love.