On the day that Colorado two-way star Travis Hunter won the Heisman Trophy as college football’s top player, speculation about 2025’s Heisman candidates surfaced.
One name should have Arizona State fans excited: quarterback Sam Leavitt.
ESPN senior writer Mark Schlabach shared his “Way Too Early” list of Heisman contenders Saturday night, and Leavitt was one of 14 players listed.
Leavitt, in his first season guiding the Sun Devils‘ offense, has taken ASU to new heights, he and running back Cam Skattebo leading the team to the Big 12 title and a spot in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals.
Schlabach shared an interesting tidbit about Leavitt in his assessment of Leavitt’s candidacy for the Heisman.
“It’s a good thing for the Sun Devils that Michigan State hired former Oregon State coach Jonathan Smith to replace Mel Tucker last year,” Schlabach wrote. “Leavitt grew up in West Linn, Oregon, and wasn’t happy that Smith didn’t offer him a scholarship when he was coaching the Beavers.”
Leavitt, apparently not wanting to play for Smith because he felt slighted — Smith also brought a former Oregon State quarterback with him from Corvallis — bolted for ASU and coach Kenny Dillingham’s team. And now Dillingham is singing Leavitt’s praises, saying the redshirt freshman has talent to play in the NFL and will be the face of the football program in Tempe.
The 6-foot-2 Leavitt, the Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year, has thrown for 2,663 yards with 24 touchdown passes to five interceptions this season. He has completed 63.2% of his passes with an additional 383 rushing yards and five touchdown runs.
On Schlabach’s list, Leavitt is one of nine quarterbacks. Other potential Heisman candidates for 2025 include quarterbacks Kevin Jennings (SMU), Drew Allar (Penn State), Cade Klubnik (Clemson), Arch Manning (Texas) and Nico Iamaleava (Tennessee), all in the College Football Playoff. So are running backs Jordan James from Oregon and Nate Frazier of Georgia.
Manning is the backup to Quinn Ewers at Texas, but Ewers could declare for the NFL draft or transfer. ASU and Leavitt could face either Ewers/Manning or Klubnik in the Peach Bowl CFP quarterfinal on New Year’s Day.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: ESPN speculates ASU’s Sam Leavitt could make run at Heisman Trophy in 2025
