Redshirt freshman quarterback Sam Leavitt certainly faced adversity in the Mississippi State game, a contest that, while it ended in the win column and saw him score twice on the ground, still drew much criticism for his 10-20 passing for 69 yards.

Fast forward a mere five days later, and the signal caller had arguably his best game as a Sun Devil in the 31-28 win over Texas State. The third win of the season saw Arizona Satte face the biggest deficit they have seen all year, but Leavitt felt that despite being down two touchdowns with five minutes left in the first half, the players were well prepared for that type of situation because of the leadership of head coach Kenny Dillingham.

“It shows our maturity and emotional stability throughout a game,” Leavitt said. “We never got too high or too low, which is what we harped on and talked about all week. It was a testament to Coach Dillingham and how our team receives information he gives to us, so we were able to take something and apply it to a road game situation.”

Tuesday’s session was the first time in a week and a half that ASU was able to practice with full intensity, an aspect that was denied in a shortened prep week ahead of a Thursday road game. Dillingham often preaches to his players that he wants practices to be more difficult than the games, and a Saturday's road game at Texas Tech will show the coaches how battle-tested his players are.

“We started off slow, but I honestly thought we had a really good practice,” Leavitt noted on today's session. “I feel like he’d (Dillingham) say the same thing that we stepped up at the end. We haven’t practiced really hard in a while because we came off a short week, so we came out today and were able to get it going, but we need to come out with that every day.”

The narratives swirling around the game against the Red Raiders revolve around the fact that this contest will be Arizona State's first-ever Big 12 game, but Leavitt tries to block that excitement out. His focus is on the desired result itself, not as much as the historical significance of the game, as the Sun Devils are trying to protect an undefeated 2024 record heading into week four.

“I just view it as another game,” Leavitt admitted. “After the game is over, we can dive into all those things, but for right now, I’m focused on our opponent. Schematics are obviously going to be a little different week to week based on what the defense shows us, but we still view it the same. I heard the student section is a little rowdy, throwing a couple of tortillas on the field, so I’ll be prepared.”

The bond between Leavitt and Dillingham was strong from the day the quarterback visited the Tempe campus. They frequently mention how much each other’s love for the game connects them and how the chemistry between them is building up each day. As the season has progressed, that connection has trickled down to the team as a whole.

“It’s really cool,” Leavitt expressed. “He’s able to see the work I put in, and I’m able to see the work he puts in, and there’s a lot of trust there. Trust is earned, not given, and I feel like I’ve done a fair amount to earn it, but I’ve only played three games. I’m going to challenge our team as a whole to how they respond to success, and I’m looking forward to getting better every single day.”

Leavitt and redshirt sophomore wide receiver Jordyn Tyson connected on a 52-yard touchdown against Texas State, as Tyson has begun to emerge as the top aerial target for Leavitt. Tyson has built upon the foundation he laid down in fall camp, but the wide receiver room is a unit that is still somewhat underrated, in Leavitt’s opinion.

“I’ve been saying that about him (Tyson) since spring ball,” Leavitt recalled. “To see it come into effect on a game day is pretty fun. It’s going to keep getting better, and we have a lot of other guys that are going to get a few more touches, so I’m excited to see what they can do as well.”

Leavitt recognized that the 2023 season was a learning experience for the team and has embraced that into this season. Dillingham mentioned that after the first two games of the year, the team needed to learn how to win, and each week, they’ve grown wiser in that regard. Even as a redshirt freshman, Leavitt has become a leader from that standpoint, being the anchor that keeps his teammates grounded.

“Last year, they weren’t super successful as a program, so every week, there are new things to learn,” Leavitt commented. “That’s always going to be something I’d imagine we need to work on because everybody gets complacent in their own ways. How much you can respond to success and keep coming to work with the same mental focus and grind every single day is what’s going to make the difference.”

The Texas Tech offense is a force to be reckoned with, putting up 118 points in their two wins. In their 37-16 loss to Washington State, their star running back, senior Tahj Brooks, didn’t participate in the game. ASU’s defensive line struggled at times against Texas State, allowing 132 rushing yards. Texas Tech ranks 45th in the country with just over 180 yards per game, and an already banged-up Sun Devil front six will surely be challenged for 60 minutes facing a stout ground attack.

“I don’t know what our defense is going to do but I have full faith in them,” Leavitt commented. “I play against them every day and it’s a great defense with a great scheme. I’m not too worried there, and I’m just going to handle what I have to do on the offensive end. Their defense is one of the most base-structured defenses we’ll play, and they move the front around a lot, so we’re going to have to dial in there and get set up early.”

As for the Red Raiders’ defense, in the first two games of the season they struggled, but showed marked improvement against North Texas. In a 66-21 win, they scored 21 points in a minute and intercepted North Texas three times in the second quarter alone. Dillingham is less focused on the criticism the Red Raiders defense has received over the 35.6 points average yielded in their games since he is also familiar with Texas Tech defensive coordinator Tim DeRuyterl.

“I don’t really listen to much of the chatter,” Dillingham said. “I just watch both sides of the ball. In my opinion, there’s a team that just turned in four takeaways essentially on consecutive drives in a football game versus a good North Texas team that was 2-0 at the time. I think this coordinator, Coach DeRuyter, has been around for a very long time and has been very successful. His ability to go in and out of the odd and four down front and then mix up back-end looks is simple. It reminds me of Cal, which crazy enough he worked at, so you can see the similarities.”

Join your fellow Sun Devil fans on our premium message board, the Devils’ Huddle, run by the longest-tenured Sun Devil sports beat writer, to discuss this article and other ASU football, basketball, and recruiting topics. Not a member yet? Sign up today and get your daily fix of Sun Devil news!