Arizona State Reacts to Big 12's Major Sam Leavitt Announcement

Arizona State Reacts to Big 12's Major Sam Leavitt Announcement originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

The Arizona State Sun Devils had an amazing 2024 season. They went 11-3, securing the No. 4 seed in the College Football Playoff, eventually losing to No. 5 Texas in the quarterfinals.

What makes that even more impressive is that the expectations weren't high at all, considering they were coming off back-to-back 3-9 seasons in 2022 and 2023 and hadn't appeared in a bowl game since 2021.

Much of that unexpected success fell on the shoulders of quarterback Sam Leavitt, who has now earned an exciting honor before 2025 as he was named the Big 12 Preseason Offensive Player of the Year.

That caught the attention of the Sun Devils, who reshared the exciting news on X, captioning it "Preseason praise." 

Preseason praise

Sam Leavitt named @Big12Conference preseason offensive player of the year ‼️#ForksUp /// #ActivateTheValleypic.twitter.com/jVX6VVaeHp

— Sun Devil Football (@ASUFootball) July 7, 2025

Last season, in his first year as a full-time starter at the collegiate level, Leavitt was impressive, completing 216 of 350 passes for 2,885 yards, 24 touchdowns, six interceptions and a 150.2 passing efficiency rating.

It wasn't only his passing ability that was on display, though, as he also showed a strong ability as a dual-threat quarterback, rushing the ball 110 times for 443 yards and five touchdowns.

Leavitt's efforts helped Arizona State achieve some impressive offensive numbers, finishing the year tied for 30th in points per game (32.9) and tied for 28th in total yards per game (429.4).

Not only will Leavitt be looking to achieve the same team success, but also chase some more personal accolades, as ESPN BET ties him for the 11th-best odds (+3000) to win the Heisman Trophy.

Related: Nation's No. 1 Recruit Predicted to Choose Big 12 Team Over Alabama, Georgia

This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 7, 2025, where it first appeared.