Arizona State notched its first road victory in its Big 12 conference history in an ambiguous fashion, not only surviving through a 2-hour and 39-minute weather delay but thriving through the chaos. En route to scoring 28 unanswered points and defeating Oklahoma State 42-21, the newcomers flourished on both ends of the gridiron. Here are the performances of ASU's first-year players in that contest.

(Note: all transfer players, true freshmen, redshirt freshmen regardless of if they played last year, and other players, regardless of class, who redshirted last year are the ones mentioned in this article series)

Offense

Redshirt freshman quarter Sam Leavitt returned to the field against the Cowboys. Absent against Cincinnati with a rib injury, the signal caller came back better than ever.

Leavitt looked comfortable in the pocket, completing 20 of 29 passes for 304 yards, the most yards and competitions in any career colligate game while producing his best completion percentage of the season as well.

Perhaps the most impressive wrinkle of Leavitt's game was his improvisation throughout the contest. He led ASU to complete 12 of 18 third and fourth down conversions that generated impactful drives, as the Sun Devils were forced to convert on third down at least on every single drive.

“He balled out,” Coach Kenny Dillingham put simply. “One of the craziest little scrambles, I’ve coached some athletics quarterbacks in my career. That was one of the most impressive plays I’ve seen, he didn’t get a first down but he got us in position for a fourth down which we were good at tonight.”

Leavitt's targets also turned ‘balled out’ on Saturday. Starting with redshirt sophomore Jordyn Tyson, who led the game in receptions with eight and earned 81 yards, Tyson scored the opening touchdown and continued as a vital piece in the passing game as WR1.

Tight end Chamon Metayer made his impact felt offensively as well, catching five receptions for 53 yards. He positioned himself as a bailout option for Leavitt by consistently finding himself open underneath.

Leavitt was pleased following the game, articulating the strides this team has taken in the passing game and execution. The team produced 529 total yards of offense, their highest total of the season.

“It's just everybody getting more confident in the plays,” he said. “It's just being impactful when you get the opportunity. It's just us understanding who we are as a team. Just coming to play for one another and playing for the brother next to you, really understanding how you work with each other and stuff like that. It's just time, and we're really young in this office, so there's a lot of growth to have.”

Defense

The defensive line provided constant pressure against the Cowboys, containing star running back Ollie Gordon II to a meager 26 yards rushing, averaging 2.3 yards per carry, his worst performance in both categories this season. In terms of the newcomers, defensive lineman Jacob Kongaika made his presence felt through a tackle for loss he made in the contest.

With the longest Oklahoma State rush of the game being 11 yards, it was evident the linebacker core monopolized the box, controlling and containing explosive plays. Junior Jordan Crook led the way for the newcomers in the group, making three tackles. However, it was certainly a prevail-by-committee performance as junior Keyshaun Elliott, redshirt junior Zyrus Fiaseu, and freshman Martell Hughes contributed multiple tackles themselves, including three combined solos.

The Sun Devils swallowed up OSU's run game, causing them to struggle on third and fourth down situations. They held their opponent to just 3 of 11 in those situations.

“Third down has been real hard for us especially in the beginning games,” Safety Myles Rowser said. “During practice third downs have been a sequence for us during our 11-on-11s and keeping them in front of us.”

The pressure up front forced Oklahoma State quarterback Alan Bowman to throw in rapid conditions time and again. Junior defensive back Laterrence Welch took advantage of those circumstances, making four pass breakups on Saturday, which is the most of any ASU player all season.

“You want to see guys that put in the work like that succeed, just like [Welch],” Dillingham said. “You love to see guys like that come in and make plays.”

Although highly impressive, Welch was one of many defensive backs who had nights to remember. After going out with a shoulder injury against Cincinnati, redshirt sophomore Javan Robinson came up with a first-quarter interception. Robinson's night didn’t end there, making three solo tackles throughout the contest, limiting big plays, and stopping threatening situations.

Rowser, who leads the team in total tackles with 63 in 2024, made four solo tackles on Saturday. He credits his performances this year to the schematics of Defensive coordinator Brian Ward.

“Really just our [Defensive Coordinator] putting me in positions to do what I do,” Rower said. “And I’m doing it so, I'm going to keep playing our defense being a strong safety and I just go to live up to it.”

Special Teams

The Cincinnati matchup sparked a hectic two weeks for the field goal unit that saw Dillingham call for kicking tryouts and later led to an alteration in the starting field goal taker, as graduate placekicker Parker Lewis, who is usually limited to kickoffs, was the selected change in Stillwater. Lewis converted on all six of his extra points. However, he missed a 47-yard field goal attempt in the first quarter, which was his sole effort in the contest. Freshman punter Kanyon Floyd had three punts on the day, his longest being 48 yards, netting a 40.8-yard average.

True freshmen who exceeded four game appearances and are unable to redshirt:

P Kanyon Floyd

LB Martell Hughes

DB Kyan McDonald

Newcomer Participation List for Oklahoma State Game:

QB Sam Leavitt

WR Jordyn Tyson

WR Jake Smith

TE Chamon Metayer

TE Markeston Douglas

TE Coleson Arends

TE Cameron Harpole

OL Josh Atkins

OL Terrell Kim

DL Roman Pitre

DL Zac Swanson

DL J.P. Deeter

DL Jeff Clark

DL Jacob Kongaika

LB Keyshaun Elliot

LB Zyrus Fiaseu

LB Martell Hughes

LB Jordan Crook

LB K’Vion Thunderbird

DB Laterrence Welch

DB Javan Robinson

DB Xavion Alford

DB Myles Rowser

DB Montana Warren

DB Adama Fall

DB Keontez Bradley

DB Kamari Wilson

DB Kyan McDonald

K Parker Lewis

P Kanyon Floyd

True freshmen who recorded four or fewer game appearances and can still redshirt:

DB Rodney Bimage (two games)

RB Jason Brown (one game)

DL Albert Smith (one game)

DB Tony-Luis Nkuba (one game)

OL Terrell Kim (one game)

True freshmen who haven’t appeared in a game this season:

OL Champ Westbrooks

OL Semisi Tonga

WR Zechariah Sample

TE Jayden Fortier

TE James Giggey

DL Ramar Williams

DL Salesi Manu

DB Plas Johnson

DB Chris Johnson II

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