Tag: Arizona State

Reports: Top transfer QB Sam Leavitt expected to sign with LSU

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Arizona State transfer quarterback Sam Leavitt is expected to sign with Lane Kiffin and LSU after a contested portal recruitment, according to multiple media reports.

Leavitt, the No. 1 player in this year’s portal class according to 247Sports, led the Sun Devils to a Big 12 championship and the College Football Playoff in 2024 before his 2025 season came to an end after seven games due to a foot injury.

Leavitt’s first transfer visit was to LSU before he also made stops at Kentucky, Miami and Tennessee.

Leavitt threw for 4,652 yards, 36 touchdowns and 11 interceptions and rushed for 816 yards and 10 scores over 24 games at Michigan State (2023) and Arizona State (2024-25). He will arrive in Baton Rouge with two years of eligibility remaining but is likely to be considered a top prospect for the 2027 NFL Draft.

Leavitt’s addition is the most impactful of what has been a busy few weeks for Kiffin since he left Ole Miss to take the LSU job Nov. 30.

LSU also landed a commitment from Elon transfer QB Landen Clark on Sunday after the Tigers had no scholarship quarterbacks left on their roster due to graduation and transfer departures.

The Tigers, who have not made the CFP since their last national championship in 2019, have added 23 transfers, including eight wide receivers, per 247Sports.

–Field Level Media

Report: Top transfer QB Sam Leavitt visiting LSU

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Quarterback Sam Leavitt, the top player in the On3 transfer portal rankings, is visiting LSU on Monday and Tuesday, per On3.

Leavitt spent the past two seasons at Arizona State. His 2025 season was cut short after seven games by a foot injury that required surgery.

New LSU head coach Lane Kiffin is in need of a starting QB. The position was filled last season by Garrett Nussmeier, who is out of eligibility, and sophomore Michael Van Buren Jr. He has entered the portal.

Leavitt previously visited Kentucky.

In 2024, Leavitt led Arizona State to the Big 12 title and an appearance in the College Football Playoff as he threw for 2,885 yards, 24 touchdowns and six interceptions in 13 games.

In seven appearances in 2025, Leavitt completed 60.7% of his passes for 1,628 yards, 10 TDs and three picks.

Leavitt started his college career in 2023 at Michigan State and attempted just 23 passes before transferring to the Sun Devils. He has two seasons of eligibility remaining.

–Field Level Media

Duke outscores Arizona State as offenses shine in Sun Bowl

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Darian Mensah’s fourth touchdown pass of the day went to Que’Sean Brown for 17 yards for the go-ahead touchdown with 2:10 remaining in Duke’s 42-39 victory against Arizona State in the Sun Bowl on Wednesday at El Paso, Texas.

Brown caught the ball behind the line of scrimmage and made his way down the left sideline for his second TD of the game as the Blue Devils (9-5) followed their Atlantic Coast Conference championship with another postseason triumph.

Mensah was 29-for-51 for 327 yards, with Brown making 10 catches for 178 yards and two TDs – all game-highs. Nate Sheppard rushed for 170 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries.

Arizona State quarterback Jeff Sims threw for three touchdowns and ran for two more. He was 27-for-38 for 375 passing yards. Jalen Moss collected 129 receiving yards with a touchdown on five catches, and Jason Brown Jr. rushed for 120 yards for the Sun Devils (8-5).

The Sun Devils totaled 619 yards of offense, the Blue Devils 539.

Despite all of the offense, Arizona State’s defense made big plays in the fourth quarter by stopping Duke after the Blue Devils reached the 6-yard line, so the Sun Devils regained possession with less than three minutes to play. On the next snap, Duke’s Ma’Khi Jones recovered Demarius Robinson’s fumble at the Sun Devils’ 22 and the turnover set up the winning drive.

Linebacker Luke Mergott then intercepted Sims. Mergott also made the game-clinching pick-off in overtime of the ACC title game against Virginia on Dec. 6. The Blue Devils clinched the outcome on Wednesday with a fourth-and-4 conversion.

Neither team led by more than seven points other than when Duke went up 35-24 in the third quarter on Sheppard’s 3-yard run.

It took the Sun Devils slightly more than a minute to respond, with Sims’ 8-yard pass to Khamari Anderson and Sims’ two-point conversion run.

Then Arizona State went ahead when Sims threw for 6 yards to Malik McClain with 12:31 remaining.

Duke followed with an 11-play possession that ended on a fourth-down incompletion after moving to the Arizona State 37-yard line.

Arizona State scored on its first possession of the game when Sims ran 2 yards for a touchdown at the end of an 83-yard drive.

Duke’s first two scoring drives consisted of a total of seven plays covering 124 yards, with Mensah throwing for 69 yards to Brown and then tossing 3 yards to Cooper Barkate in a span of less than 2 1/2 minutes.

Sims threw to Moss for a 44-yard touchdown play to complete the scoring in an eventful first quarter.

Duke got rolling again on a bit of a trick play, with Jeremiah Hasley taking Mensah’s pass 14 yards for a touchdown. Sims countered with a 38-yard TD run.

Anderson Castle put Duke back in front on a 3-yard run with 1:50 left in the half, but there was time for Jesus Gomez to boot a 54-yard field goal as the Sun Devils trimmed the deficit to 28-24 before halftime.

Arizona State held a 348-271 edge in first-half yardage.

–Field Level Media

Duke, Arizona State meet in Sun Bowl after unsatisfying finishes

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Duke accomplished one goal earlier this month and would like to add another achievement in the Sun Bowl.

The Blue Devils will take on Arizona State on Wednesday in El Paso, Texas.

Both teams have created late-season momentum that they would like to expand on.

Arizona State (8-4) had a three-game winning streak until losing 23-7 to rival Arizona in the regular-season finale.

While bowl season brings a cloud of uncertainty, it’s about adjusting, according to Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham.

“I’m going to support whatever our players do, whatever they deem is best,” he said.

Duke (8-5) is the Atlantic Coast Conference champion after upsetting Virginia in the title game. But the Blue Devils had too many hiccups during the regular season, including three nonconference losses, so they were left out of the College Football Playoff.

The consolation prize was a spot in the Sun Bowl. The teams met in the same stadium in the 2014 Sun Bowl, with Arizona State winning 36-31.

“I’m excited at the way our team has worked,” Duke coach Manny Diaz said in the lead-up to the bowl. “As we’ve seen this year, when we play well we’re pretty hard to beat. … We’re learning how to build a big-time program here. And this season has been a remarkable teacher for us.”

The Sun Devils have relied on Jeff Sims (seven TD passes, five interceptions, 466 rushing yards, three TDs) across the past four games after an injury to Sam Leavitt, who informed Arizona State earlier this month that he’s entering the transfer portal. Sims has yet to throw for 210 yards in a game.

Dillingham said speculation about him leaving for another coaching job didn’t create a distraction in the big picture.

“Just another day doing what I do and operating,” he said.

Duke had a sour bowl experience last season when a largely depleted roster was a blowout victim to Ole Miss in the Gator Bowl.

This could look different for the Blue Devils, with quarterback Darian Mensah announcing earlier this month that he’ll play another season for Duke and thus will take snaps in this week’s game.

Mensah has thrown for 30 touchdowns with five interceptions, racking up an ACC-leading 3,646 passing yards.

There will be no bowl for Duke offensive lineman Brian Parker II, defensive end Vincent Anthony Jr. and cornerback Chandler Rivers. They all opted out in pursuit of prepping for the draft after receiving some level of All-ACC recognition.

With the exception of that trio, Diaz says he expects the rest of Duke’s roster which won the ACC championship to play in the bowl game.

Arizona State could be a bit more depleted, with 11 players declaring for the draft. But some of those, including linebacker Jordan Crook and defensive lineman Justin Wodtly, are expected to be in uniform on New Year’s Eve.

“They’re a team that immediately grabs your attention,” Diaz said. “They certainly have enough good players to beat anybody.”

Diaz said generating a rushing attack against Arizona State will be a major task. Duke freshman running back Nate Sheppared is at 962 rushing yards this season with 10 touchdown runs.

The Sun Bowl is Arizona State’s most frequent postseason destination. The Sun Devils are 4-2-1 in the bowl, with the most recent appearance coming when they defeated Florida State in 2019.

–Field Level Media

Reports: ASU coach Kenny Dillingham signs 5-year contract

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Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham, his name linked to the open job at Michigan, reportedly is staying with the Sun Devils.

Multiple outlets reported Saturday that Dillingham has signed a five-year deal to stay at his alma mater. His salary will be $7.5 million a year, which makes him the second-highest paid head coach in the Big 12, behind Deion Sanders at Colorado, according to the USA Today coaches salary database.

The school also agreed to increase the salary pool for his assistant coaches, according to reports.

Dillingham, 35, is concluding his third season at Arizona State, which will end Dec. 31 at the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas, against Duke.

The Sun Devils are 8-4 (6-3 Big 12) this season, with Dillingham 22-16 overall since taking over after the firing of Herm Edwards.

Dillingham was a leading candidate for the Michigan job, which came open Dec. 10 when Sherrone Moore was fired for having an inappropriate relationship with a staff member. That same day, he was arrested and charged with stalking and home invasion after a break-in at the woman’s home.

–Field Level Media

Arizona State star WR Jordyn Tyson declares for NFL draft

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Arizona State standout receiver Jordyn Tyson said Friday that he’s entering the NFL draft, stating his declaration during an Instagram video.

Tyson, named a third-team All-American for the second straight season, is expected to be among the first 10 players selected in the 2026 draft.

Tyson has 61 receptions for 711 yards and eight touchdowns this season despite missing three games with a hamstring injury. He recorded three 100-yard outings and twice caught 10 or more passes.

Last season, he caught 75 passes for 1,101 yards and 10 scores in 12 games for the Sun Devils before missing the final two games with a broken collarbone. The latter contest was a College Football Playoff game loss to Texas.

In 2024, Tyson produced five 100-yard outings and made 12 catches for a career-high 176 yards against No. 16 Kansas State in a 24-14 Sun Devils’ victory. He also had a dozen catches in 2025 against Northern Arizona.

The Allen, Texas native amassed 136 catches for 1,812 yards and 18 touchdowns for the Sun Devils.

Tyson spent the spent 2022 season at Colorado before transferring to Arizona State. He had 22 receptions for 470 yards and four touchdowns in nine games for the Buffaloes before sustaining a major season-ending knee injury that led to him red-shirting at Arizona State in 2023.

–Field Level Media

No. 25 Arizona remains on roll, defeats No. 20 Arizona State

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Noah Fifita passed for 286 yards with a touchdown while leading No. 25 Arizona into Arizona State territory 11 times in the Wildcats’ 23-7 victory Friday night at Tempe, Ariz.

Arizona (9-3, 6-3 Big 12) has won five consecutive games and three out of the last four games against the 20th-ranked Sun Devils (8-4, 6-3).

The Wildcats forced five turnovers, including three interceptions of Jeff Sims, who also fumbled and lost the ball on an exchange with Raleek Brown for another turnover.

Sims was 11 of 25 for 114 yards, while Fifita completed 28 of 45 passes.

Arizona scored its first touchdown on its sixth possession that was in Arizona State territory following Sims’ errant exchange with Brown.

Taye Brown recovered the fumble on the Arizona State 6 with 12:22 left in the third quarter.

Two plays later, Fifita connected on a 9-yard touchdown pass with Cameron Barmore to put Arizona ahead 10-7 lead with 11:36 left in the third quarter

After an interception by Treydan Stukes, Arizona drove from its 6 before stalling at the Arizona State 31.

Michael Salgado-Medina made a 49-yard field goal with 1:22 left to increase the lead to 13-7.

After Arizona’s defense forced a three-and-out, the Wildcats gained possession at their 40.

The possession ended with a 29-yard field goal by Salgado-Medina with 12:05 left.

Arizona’s five possessions in the first half reached Arizona State territory but the Wildcats scored only three points.

Quincy Craig fumbled the ball at the Arizona State 6 and Javan Robinson recovered for the Sun Devils to quell Arizona’s first possession.

The Wildcats’ second possession ended with a missed 45-yard field goal by Salgado-Medina.

Michael Dansby set up Arizona at the Arizona State 37 after intercepting a pass with 14:49 left in the second quarter.

Three straight incompletions forced the Wildcats to punt.

Arizona State scored first after driving 90 yards for a touchdown, capped by Sims’ 27-yard run with 10:33 left.

Arizona then drove the ball to the Arizona State 12 but Fifita was sacked for a loss of 12 yards by Justin Wodtly.

Salgado-Medina followed with a 42-yard field-goal attempt that was blocked by Keith Abney II, keeping the Wildcats scoreless.

Arizona reached the Arizona State 29 on its next possession before Salgado-Medina converted on a 47-yard field goal with one second remaining, cutting the lead to 7-3.

–Field Level Media

Coaches stress rivalry, but more at stake when No. 20 ASU meets No. 25 Arizona

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More than bragging rights will be on the line for No. 20 Arizona State and coach Kenny Dillingham when the Sun Devils face No. 25 Arizona, an archrival, on Friday night in a Big 12 Conference game at Tempe.

Arizona State (8-3, 6-2) remains in the chase for a spot in the Big 12 championship game heading into the last weekend of the regular season, but the Sun Devils would have to beat Arizona (8-3, 5-3) and get help from other teams.

During his weekly press conference on Monday, Dillingham reflected more on what Friday’s game means as a rivalry between two winning teams this season rather than the Sun Devils’ remote hopes to play in the title game.

“This is a game that matters,” Dillingham said. “You know that your neighbor could have gone to either school. That’s what makes this rivalry fun is that people are friends with people on both sides of this rivalry, and that’s what makes it so big is the relationships that are within the rivalry, right?

“It’s awesome to have this game played with two really good football teams. I think that’s what you want. You want this game to matter. It’s awesome that it matters.”

Arizona State enters the game with three straight wins, with backup quarterback Jeff Sims leading the way following the season-ending foot injury suffered by Sam Leavitt. The Sun Devils are coming off a 42-17 victory over Colorado last week.

Arizona is on a four-game winning streak after losing two games in a row: in double overtime to BYU and by a field goal to Houston. The Wildcats’ latest win came Saturday against Baylor, 41-17.

“I think it’s one of the best rivalries in college football,” Arizona coach Brent Brennan said of Territorial Cup matchup with Arizona State. “It’s such a unique thing just being in the state of Arizona; there’s so many kind of families divided by these two schools.

“I think it’s just a really, really special thing, and we’re excited to play. Rivalry games just have so much to them, that make them so fun and exciting. Then when you have two teams come together, they’re both playing good football, I think just have a little extra juice to them.”

Dillingham mentioned that Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita is “playing as well as any quarterback in the country.”

During the Wildcats’ winning streak, Fifita has played efficiently, throwing eight touchdown passes and only one interception. He is 64-for-106 (60.4%) for 848 yards in the last four games.

Overall this season, Fifita is 219-for-341 (64.2%) for 2,677 yards and 25 touchdowns, with five interceptions. Last season, when Arizona went 4-8, Fifita threw 18 TD passes and 12 picks.

For Arizona State, Sims — formerly of Georgia Tech and Nebraska — has proved to be a dual-threat quarterback more dangerous as a runner since permanently replacing Leavitt five weeks ago.

Sims has rushed for 423 yards on 83 carries with two touchdowns and has thrown for 772 yards while completing 67 of 125 attempts (53.6%) with seven touchdowns and two interceptions.

–Field Level Media

Raleek Brown (255 yards), No. 25 Arizona State pull away from Colorado

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Raleek Brown rushed 22 times for a career-high 255 yards, including an 88-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter, to lead No. 25 Arizona State to a 42-17 victory over Colorado on Saturday night at Boulder, Colo.

The Sun Devils (8-3, 6-2 Big 12) have an opportunity to advance to their second straight Big 12 championship game based on various tiebreakers if they beat visiting Arizona on Friday at Tempe, Ariz.

Arizona State rushed for 355 yards against Colorado with Kanye Udoh contributing nine rushes for 62 yards and a touchdown.

Brown’s 88-yard touchdown run, which put Arizona State ahead 28-17 with 13:31 left in regulation, came one play after Colorado’s Ronald Coleman fumbled and Keith Abney II recovered the ball for the Sun Devils.

Colorado (3-8, 1-7) suffered that lone turnover that led to seven points for Arizona State. The Buffaloes scored only three points following the Sun Devils’ four turnovers.

Arizona State led 13-7 at halftime after having difficulty on third-down conversions, succeeding on 2-of-10 tries in the first half.

Third-down conversions were not an issue in the second half because the Sun Devils rushed for 236 yards after halftime.

Colorado took a 14-13 lead after true freshman quarterback Julian Lewis engineered a scoring drive on the first possession of the second half.

The drive ended on Lewis’ 22-yard pass to Omarion Miller with 12:02 left in the third quarter.

Lewis completed 19 of 38 pass attempts for 161 yards with a touchdown and no interceptions.

Arizona State answered Colorado’s scoring drive with Jeff Sims connecting on a 68-yard touchdown pass with Derek Eusebio with 10:45 left in the third quarter.

Sims’ two-point conversion pass to Khamari Anderson was successful, giving Arizona State a 21-14 lead.

Sims finished with 206 passing yards while completing 11 of 24 passes with two touchdowns and one interception.

After Sims fumbled and Shaun Myers made the return to the Arizona State 9, Alejandro Mata made a 28-yard field goal and cut the lead to 21-17 with 5:25 left in the third quarter.

Brown’s 88-yard scoring run was the first of three straight possessions with a touchdown to end the game for Arizona State.

Udoh and Jason Brown Jr. each had 3-yard touchdown runs to help the Sun Devils pull away.

–Field Level Media

No. 25 Arizona State winning with backup QB, takes on struggling Colorado

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No. 25 Arizona State faces Colorado on Saturday in Boulder, Colo., riding a two-game winning streak under veteran backup quarterback Jeff Sims, while the Buffaloes look to the future with freshman quarterback Julian “JuJu” Lewis.

Colorado (3-7, 1-6 Big 12) is assured of the second losing season in Deion Sanders’ three-year tenure as head coach following the 29-22 loss at West Virginia on Nov. 8.

A bright spot for the Buffaloes, who are on a three-game losing skid, was the play of Lewis in his first collegiate start against the Mountaineers.

He finished 22 of 35 for 299 yards and two touchdowns, becoming the ninth true freshman to start a game at quarterback for Colorado and the fifth since 2000.

The 299 passing yards were the second-most by a freshman in a starting debut, behind Sanders’ son, Shedeur Sanders, who passed for 510 yards against TCU in the 2023 season opener.

Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham said Monday that Lewis’ performance with Colorado is indicative of high-caliber recruits wanting to play for Deion Sanders at Colorado.

He defended Deion Sanders’ performance as head coach by saying, “You know, he’s won 300 percent more games this year than the year before he took over? That’s pretty good. I think he’s done a great job there.”

Colorado was 1-11 in 2022, the season before Deion Sanders was hired.

“I haven’t forgotten how to coach in a year,” Sanders said Tuesday in his weekly press conference. “A lot of these wonderful coaches out there that’s not winning haven’t forgotten how to coach.”

Sims, a redshirt senior formerly of Georgia Tech and Nebraska, has led Arizona State (7-3, 5-2) to wins over Iowa State and West Virginia after Sam Leavitt suffered a season-ending foot injury in a loss to Houston on Oct. 25.

Against Iowa State and West Virginia, Sims passed for 384 yards while completing 32 of 52 passes with four touchdowns and an interception.

He rushed for 309 yards on 46 carries, including a 228-yard performance on 29 rushes against Iowa State.

–Field Level Media