Dillingham “has a really good feeling” with ASU QB Sam Leavitt

TEMPE – Kenny Dillingham reiterated his confidence in Arizona State quarterback Sam Leavitt on Monday after the redshirt freshman struggled in his second start.

Leavitt completed 50% of his passes and rushed for 69 yards in Saturday’s 30-23 win over Mississippi State, a stat line similar to ASU’s limited quarterback play a year ago.

“He’s had two games, he has no (turnovers), we have very few procedural penalties, he’s got us making good decisions, converted/extended three different third downs with his legs,” Dillingham said. “Then he missed a couple of shots.”

“I can sleep really well at night if our quarterback just misses a couple of throws. I can’t sleep if he throws the wrong way, if he loses the football, if he panics, if the guys are lined up wrong, if the running back runs the wrong way… none of that happens to him.”

ASU didn’t need any success in the air to build a 30-3 lead early in the second half, and running back Cam Skattebo was named national player of the week for his 262-yard run.

Dillingham said his insistence on passing to Skattebo threw Leavitt off his rhythm, but a 1-for-5 shooting percentage in the first quarter after two successful first attempts suggests the quarterback was out of rhythm from the start.

“I did a bad job,” Dillingham said after the game. “I stand there and tell Coach Arroyo, ‘Keep going, they can’t stop it,’ and that’s my side as a head coach. But I forget that I ruined everything with the rhythm of the quarterback. That was a bad job on my part, I should have just let him go with the flow and let him comment on the game the way he commented on it.”

Leavitt helped the running game with almost as many rushing yards (68) as passing yards (69). He also ran for two touchdowns.

Sam Leavitt looks for long throws to transfer from practice to game

Despite the opportunities, Leavitt has failed to convert a throw downfield this season, but the quarterback said it’s only a matter of time before the Sun Devils start scoring in the game.

“I just repeated them in practice. I think we were really close on some of them, should have had them, but I don’t think it’s much more than that,” Leavitt said after the game. “A few pregame jitters and I was just a little too strong, so I think we’ll come back and really start to get those.”

Leavitt had Jordyn Tyson in the backfield for a potential touchdown on ASU’s first drive, but the throw landed just short of the receiver.

Tyson, who later made blocks that enabled Skattebo’s game-winning run, is one of the receivers, along with Jake Smith and Malik McClain, with whom Leavitt has shown great chemistry down low in practice.

“That gives me a lot of confidence because in his second start without rhythm he is missing the throws that he routinely makes in practice,” Dillingham said Monday.