Everything comes better in pairs, whether it’s peanut butter and jelly or milk and cookies. For ASU, an explosive tandem has arrived on the gridiron, comprising two newcomers at quarterback and wide receiver, which lately has been the tip of the spear for ASU’s offensive success. Redshirt freshman quarterback Sam Leavitt and sophomore wide receiver have recently been creating more than a few headaches for opposing defenses, and Saturday night in Manhattan was just another outing of their skills on display.
In the first half of Arizona State’s (8-2, 5-2 Big 12) 24-14 upset victory against No.16 Kansas State (7-3, 4-3 Big 12), the pair made the opening 15 minutes their own. Leavitt connected with Tyson for the opening two touchdowns of the game for ASU, spearheading the team's red-hot Saturday night on the road.
The first touchdown of the two scores was a classic connection between the two. Leavitt dropped back to pass with one option in mind, lofting a pass toward the back of the endzone, with senior running back Cam Skattebo proving formidable pass protection for Tyson to collect after beating his man at the line of scrimmage.
To begin the second quarter looking to double their advantage, Leavitt’s near targets were all draped over by Kansas State defenders, but noticing man-coverage meant Tyson only had one man to beat. Leavitt spotted his teammates on a post route rifling a 30-yard pass deep into the endzone.
“They were in quarters,” Leavitt noted about Kansas State's defensive alignment on the second touchdown. “I was worried that if they were going to roll to one, so after I gave my little fake pits, I checked the post safety and actually came to it a little late, so I had to put on the line and know just in the exact spot needs to be keeping it high in quarters.”
Heading into the postgame press conference, the two embarked on their signature handshake while cracking a smile before answering questions. During their shared time behind the microphones, Tyson broke down his point of view on the two touchdown passes, admitting he resorted to improvisation on the second score that led to the successful play.
“It was man-to-man pressed in the slot,” Tyson said on the first touchdown. “I saw the out route a little gave a hesitation just went up touchdown. The defender fell easy. The second one, I don't even know what coverage that was, dude tried to aggressive press and got my shoulder down I shot post-R he put it on the money.”
Continuing the playful banter, both Leavitt and Tyson praised each other as their successful performances ignited ASU’s underdog victory.
“He just knows what looks coming because he's in the film room so much,” Tyson said in regards to Leavitt's decision-making. “So he knows when the ball comes to me, I just have to be open, and he puts it on me. Every single rep or a play call that's designed for me, we talk about it every time we correct the little small details, and it works out.”
“I mean kid just has a great feel for the game,” Leavitt said. “We constantly work on it. Every single rep, after one-on-ones and stuff like that 11-on-11 situations, I go up and tell him what I was thinking on how he ran his route and everything like that. He can testify to that; we talk about almost every single rep, so when you get in the game, and then you see a look, he knows exactly what I want, and then that's only, you know, product from there.”
Tyson finished the game with 12 receptions for a career-high 76 yards and two touchdowns, accounting for 57% of Leavitt's completions and 64% of his total passing yards. Tyson also notched a career-best 12 receptions and 17 targets. Tyson’s nine receiving touchdowns are the most for an ASU player since N’Keal Harry had nine in 2018. Tyson’s next touchdown would tie him for sixth all-time in Sun Devil Football history and mark him one of just 11 Sun Devils total to reach double digits in a single season, the most since Jaelen Strong had 10 in 2014.
The wide receiver is also the first Sun Devil to catch two touchdowns in two straight games since Frank Darby had back-to-back two-score games at UCLA (10/26/19) and vs. USC (11/9/19).
The Allen, Tex. native began his career at Colorado and, during his freshman year in Boulder, stroked instant success, posting 22 receptions for a team-leading 470 yards in 2022, along with five touchdowns. He became the Buffs first-ever true freshman to record a touchdown reception in the opening game of a season and earned Pac-12 Freshman of the Week honors. However, an ACL injury suffered late that year derailed his 2023 season, the year he transferred to ASU, and he saw action in just three games and didn’t record any stats in limited playing time.
In the first four games of this year, Tyson posted 14 catches for 209 yards with one touchdown. In his last six games, he has registered eight touchdowns and 624 yards (104.0 yards per game) on 44 catches. When asked about his recent success in 2024, Tyson credited his faith with allowing him to get through the difficult valley in his career.
“It's amazing it's all God,” Tyson said. “God put me through all the adversity so I can come through anything, and it developed this crazy mindset that I just got to work, work, work, work to go to where I want to be. God is just so amazing I pray for stuff like this, like it just so amazing to see.”
Leavitt and Tyson’s symbiotic relationship is nothing new to the Sun Devil faithful. The 6-foot-1 receiver has been stuffing the stat sheet throughout the 2024 campaign; heading into the Kansas State contest, he’d made 29 more receptions than any other receiver on the roster. Furthermore, Tyson has accumulated 53% (9/17) of ASU’s receiving touchdowns this season.
Leavitt has continued to improve individually as a player game-by-game; as a young quarterback, his decision-making has taken leaps and bounds, according to the ASU coaching staff; head coach Kenny Dillingham kept it planned and simple on his thoughts on Leavitt's play.
“Sam's good; Sam's really good, I keep saying it,” Dillingham remarked. “We should be really happy that we have Sam, and we have him for two to three more years. Sam's going to play on Sundays, so there's zero doubt in my mind. Sam's an NFL player I think the sky is his limit. I think he's going to be the face of Sun Devil football.
“Everybody wants to talk about me. I suck if I don't have a quarterback. So stop talking about me and start talking about Sam Leavitt. Start putting Sam Leavitt on Billboards. Start doing everything about Sam Leavitt because you know a coach is useless without a quarterback, and that's one of the leaders of our football team, and he's a big reason we're having this success.”
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