“He’s a competitor,” Kenny Dillingham told Pete Thamel and Rece Davis on the College GameDay podcast. His eyes lit up when asked about his star QB Sam Leavitt. “He makes plays that we don’t call the play for,” he said. And that’s not fluff because if you look at how Arizona State fared last season, the 20-year-old QB didn’t just run the offense, he rescued it. The Sun Devils’ miracle leap from 3-5 to 11-3 wasn’t built on clean, scripted football. It was born out of chaos. And in the heart of that chaos is the Michigan State transfer who turned broken plays into highlight reels. But what if those broken plays weren’t always accidental?
On July 29, ASU insider Chris Karpman shared a brutally honest confession of Kenny Dillingham on X. And it’s something most coaches would never dare say out loud. “We actually hindered him in a lot of ways (last year), like, ‘Go fix it on third and long, go fix it on second and long,” the HC admitted. Sam Leavitt was basically handed a live grenade every drive and told to survive. But this season could be different.
Kenny Dillingham on Sam Leavitt: “We actually hindered him in a lot of ways (last year), like, ‘Go fix it on third and long, go fix it on second and long.’”
“This year, I hope we will be able to put him in a better position to be successful on early downs.”
— Chris Karpman (@ChrisKarpman) July 29, 2025
Heading into 2025, Kenny Dillingham’s promising to flip the script. “This year, I hope we will be able to put him in a better position to be successful on early downs,” he said. No more panic throws on 3rd and 17. Still, despite the pressure, Sam Leavitt was a hero throwing for 2,885 yards, 24 TDs, and only six picks while adding 443 yards and five scores on the ground. That earned him the title of Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year, second-team All-Big 12, and a name already whispered in early Heisman talk.
The cherry on top, however, is the 39-31 double-overtime thriller against Texas in the Peach Bowl that capped the Sun Devils’ first-ever CFP appearance. So where does that leave is now? Athlon Sports has ASU at No. 14 in their preseason rankings. Kenny Dillingham’s offense returns eight starters. Sam Leavitt, meanwhile, is slotted at No. 4 on ESPN’s Thamel and Davis’ top QB list. Now, with Cam Skattebo gone, it’s up to the QB and one very familiar face to steer this ship again.
Jordyn Tyson steps in to boost Kenny Dillingham’s confidence
Jordyn Tyson isn’t just back. He’s back with a purpose. The former Colorado standout WR, who posted 75 receptions for 1,101 yards and 10 TDs in a breakout 2024 before missing ASU’s two biggest games due to injury, is healthy and hungry. And this time, he’s not just running routes, he’s leading. Named to the Pat Tillman Leadership Council alongside Josh Atkins, Jordan Crook, Keith Abney, and Ben Coleman, the 6’1, 195-pounder is officially more than just a stat monster.
The good thing is Jordyn Tyson knows the weight his role carries. “They look at me as a leader and I need to be more vocal as a leader,” he previously said before the spring camp in March. “I feel like I’ve kind of set the example, but being more vocal about it.” And the Maxwell Award committee agrees. Both Sam Leavitt and his primary WR were named to the prestigious watch list this year. Max Chadwick of PFF already has the receiver locked in on his preseason All-American team as a flex. Because in the final six games of 2024, he led all receivers with 729 yards and averaged a monstrous 4.03 yards per route run.
Now, with an elite talent beside him and bigger expectations in 2025, Sam Leavitt is willing to lay it all down for Kenny Dillingham. On USA Today’s Sports Seriously, he said, “Coach Dillingham wants to build a legacy. He wants to become the next blue blood… Me and his relationship has grown so much. That’s my guy. I’ll go to bat any time just because of his passion for the game and then his genuineness for me and every other player in the team. So he’s a special coach and not going to ask me in a better situation.” Legacy-building starts now. And with a retooled scheme, a healthy WR1, and a QB finally set up for success, ASU might just be the next blue blood in the making.
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