Arizona State Insider Shares Insight Into Future of Arizona State Star
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TEMPE -- Very little has transpired as anticipated for the Arizona State football program during the 2025 campaign.
The team sits at 7-3 despite numerous injuries and other unfortunate developments shaking the fabric of the program - the most recent of which being a report that star quarterback Sam Leavitt is "doubtful" to return to the program. The report links Leavitt's camp to other high major programs and frames it in the sense that the highest bidder has a high likelihood of winning out for his services.
Arizona State insider Chris Karpman joined local radio program "Bickley and Marotta" on Wednesday morning to further discuss the saga that has potential to go south in the coming weeks.
Shedding Light on Current Situation
Karpman began by revealing that there was trepidation from those within the program in recent weeks that Leavitt may potentially consider a move elsewhere despite previous commitment to the program from the star over the course of the 2024 offseason - also highlighting that the NFL route is much more likely after the 2026 college season at this point.
"A couple of weeks ago, behind my paywall, I said that I thought that there was about a 50-50, chance of Sam Levitt returning to ASU or transferring I thought very strongly he wasn't going to be headed to the NFL Draft. He's undergoing a five or six month recovery process now from the lisfranc surgery that he had, which almost eliminated the NFL option... So we're in annual free agency, and the reality is, is he's he's one of the top quarterbacks who could potentially be on the market, should he choose to go that route."
Reports surfaced during the spring transfer portal window that numerous power four programs presented overtures to Leavitt, with the 20-year old further hammering down his commitment to staying in Tempe in multiple discussions with media over the summer.
It's undeniable that the modern landscape of college athletics as a whole will typically lead players to operate (justifiably so) in the mindset of a businessman - Leavitt has every right to operate in this manner whether he opts to return or not.
Karpman Discusses Process Behind Ultimate Decision
"He's got a team around him. He's got CAAs repping him, and his family is very involved in others that are in his inner circle, and he's got a lot of marketing deals, and they've been very NIL conscious through this process. And so part of that, I think, is gathering a lot of information, having conversations, determining what the valuation is on the market, and then using that to inform whether or not he wants to return to ASU.
So none of this should surprise about the process, whether or not it's, it's 50-50, or whether it's a little bit more likely than not that he leaves, I think that is, that's, I think, a little bit more on the speculative side than than what I've been able to gather to this point."
This statement from Karpman would tend to add fuel to the notion that Leavitt is simply doing due diligence in figuring out his market value and gifting Arizona State an opportunity to match or approximate the offer. As Karpman said, much of the talk around the situation is speculative to this point in the face of uncertainty - much of what is reported will not be set in stone until official announcements are made.
Roster Building Potentially a Factor
Karpman closed out his segment by bringing up that roster building might be a major player in the efforts to retain Leavitt.
The Sun Devils will be forced to replace numerous players on the defensive side of the ball that are losing eligibility - perhaps even juniors Keith Abney II and C.J. Fite to the NFL draft.
Ditto for the offensive side of the ball, as they will need to replace at least four starting members of the offensive line, potentially TE Chamon Metayer (AJ Ia is an emerging force), and WR Jordyn Tyson - who is nearly assured to be NFL-bound.
The question is certainly valid as to which manner Kenny Dillingham and company want to allocate the resources that are at-hand. If Leavitt commands one of the most lucrative deals in all of college sports, it has potential to prevent the program from spending at other crucial positions, which in turn has potential to harm the ultimate balance of the roster.
It will be fascinating to see how the impending weeks transpire, as the transfer portal opens on January 2 - until then, Arizona State has two more regular season games remaining.
Read more on why the Arizona State men's basketball team will exceed expectations in the 2025-26 season here, and on how the culture that has been cultivated by coach Dillingham showed up against West Virginia here.
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Kevin Hicks is an Arizona State alumni and now serves as the Arizona State Beat Writer On SI.