Sam Leavitt exits games vs. Utah in 2nd quarter with injury, backup Jeff Sims enters

Arizona State starting quarterback Sam Leavitt left Friday night’s game against Utah with an apparent injury to his right side and throwing arm after a hard hit in the 2nd quarter. He was replaced by backup Jeff Sims.

After staying down through a commercial break, Leavitt was up and walking off under his own power. He appeared to be in a significant amount of pain and discomfort.

The two teams were tied, 6-6, at the time of Leavitt’s injury, with Arizona State driving in the red zone. Leavitt was 6-of-10 for 99 yards and a touchdown and an interception at the time of his injury.

After Sims entered, the Sun Devils ran a series of wildcat plays with star running back Cam Skattebo taking the snaps, including a fourth down conversion. Then on a goal-to-go look, Sims took a shotgun snap and ran right, scoring a two-yard touchdown run to give Arizona State a 13-6 lead.

Leavitt was taken to the locker room and appeared to be holding his right side, according to ESPN sideline reporter Paul Carcaterra.

Leavitt entered Friday night leading the 4-1 Sun Devils from under center. He’d completed 59% of his passes for 1012 yards and seven touchdowns with three interceptions and also brings a running threat — 257 yards and four more touchdowns. The hit that injured Leavitt came on a scramble.

Both Leavitt and Sims are transfers to Arizona State, coming from Big Ten schools with varying levels of experience. Leavitt began his career signing with Michigan State out of high school in the 2023 signing class and left for the Sun Devils after one year in East Lansing.

Sims came to Tempe after a season playing at Nebraska, beginning the season as the starter before being replaced. Sims began his college career at Georgia Tech.

In five games with the Huskers last season, two of which were starts, Sims threw for 282 yards, one touchdown, and six interceptions while completing 59.6% of his throws. Sims was a little better on the ground with 189 yards and a touchdown on 42 carries.

Turnovers were an issue for the quarterback, though. The six interceptions were mentioned but also fumbled on four occasions. Nebraska wound up losing all four of them and Sims was part of 10 turnovers throughout the season.