ASU will travel to Ohio for a matinee showdown when the Sun Devils go up against Big 12 foe Cincinnati, but will be without its starting quarterback due to injury.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Suffering a rib injury against Utah last Friday, Sam Leavitt returned right before halftime against the Utes but has been ruled inactive for Saturday. Stepping up in his place, Jeff Sims will be the starter and Trenton Bourguet will be the backup vs. the Bearcats.
“Sam Leavitt is out for this week, we will be starting Jeff Sims,” ASU head coach Kenny Dillingham said after practice Wednesday.
Dillingham went on to say, “It’s not just that,” when talking about Leavitt’s rib injury, suspecting there is something else he is dealing with. The coach also had no timeline of how long he would be out for.
The injury happened in the early goings of the second quarter where Leavitt was tackled and struggled to get up. After a few minutes with ASU’s medical staff, he would stand up and walk to the injury tent before returning before the quarter ended, took a knee and went into halftime.
“I wasn’t too worried about the pain, I was just sad I couldn’t put on for the team.”
Arizona State QB Sam Leavitt revealed he was hit in the ribs and while he was in pain, he cared more about how it would impact the team.#ASU #SunDevils #ForksUp https://t.co/FlL4DrxHcB pic.twitter.com/7oxyxZp5yJ
— Burn City Sports (@BurnCitySports) October 12, 2024
Leavitt has started all six games so far this season, completing 90-of-152 passes and throwing for 1,166 yards, eight touchdowns and four interceptions. A dual-threat quarterback, he has rushed 55 times for four touchdowns and 279 yards.
Sims stayed patient, now gets an opportunity
While Leavitt was down, Sims did as much as he could to fill in for his teammate. Following a couple of rushing attempts by running back Cam Skattebo, Sims scrambled and ran to his right for a three-yard touchdown and a 13-6 ASU lead. He connected on 1-of-2 passes for 13 yards vs. the Utes.
“We have a lot of confidence in Jeff. We put him in there, put the ball in his hands and he scores a touchdown… He went in there and executed the calls. Kudos to him and being ready, he is a veteran and is a guy who transferred here who didn’t transfer here to be the No. 2, he transferred here to start,” Dillingham said on Sims after Friday’s game. “There is great power in what it means for the football team that you have a guy who is a senior and transferred here to start and win the job and he didn’t.
“He is a great teammate, he’s a great person and he goes in there and gets the job done when he was called upon. That’s the culture we are trying to build and that’s the program we are trying to build. What he did tonight and how he has handled himself tells you everything you need to know about him.”
“What he did tonight and how he has handled himself tells you everything you need to know about him.”
Stepping up with Sam Leavitt out and scoring a touchdown, Arizona State QB Jeff Sims was praised by Kenny Dillingham for stepping up when needed.#ASU #SunDevils #ForksUp https://t.co/qRqO30ixb0 pic.twitter.com/7fxSGT4kXx
— Burn City Sports (@BurnCitySports) October 12, 2024
Sims transferred to Arizona State during the offseason from Nebraska. In five games (two starts) with the Cornhuskers in his one and only season there, the 22-year-old completed 28-of-47 passes (59.6%) for 282 yards and threw a touchdown.
The Florida native originally started his collegiate career at Georgia Tech where he passed for 4,464 yards, 30 touchdowns and 23 interceptions through 24 games (23 starts) from 2020-22.
Playing two games at Arizona State, Sims made his Sun Devil debut in the season opener against Wyoming.
While some programs may panic if their No. 1 quarterback is injured, Dillingham and ASU aren’t worried about Sims stepping in because of his wealth of experience.
“We brought him in to compete to start. Sam beat him out, but it was close,” Dillingham said Wednesday. “Jeff had a good camp. Now Jeff, who has started a crap-ton of games, gets to go start again.”
ASU vs. Cincinnati begins Saturday at 9 a.m. AZT.
ASU expects NFL-type offense, ‘violent’ defense from Cincinnati
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Reporter Alec Cipollini covers the Phoenix Mercury, Suns and ASU Athletics for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on his X account, @AlecCipollini
