Welcome back to The McShay Report! Today, we’re concluding the quarterbacks portion of our Summer Scouting Series with Arizona State’s Sam Leavitt.
If you’re a new subscriber or haven’t read my scouting reports before, make sure to check out the rest of my quarterback notes—including tape breakdowns of Arch Manning, Garrett Nussmeier, LaNorris Sellers, Drew Allar, Fernando Mendoza, and John Mateer—here.
Next week, we’ll continue the Summer Scouting Series with Ohio State safety Caleb Downs and Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love—two of the most talented prospects projected to be selected in next year’s draft.
Getty Images/Ringer illustration
Sam Leavitt Background
Leavitt began his career at Michigan State, where he played sparingly in four games (15-of-23 passing) and wound up redshirting before transferring to Arizona State. As a redshirt freshman in 2024, Leavitt beat out Jeff Sims for the starting job and led the Sun Devils to a Big 12 championship and CFP berth, finishing with an 11-2 record as a starter (missed the Cincinnati loss due to an injury). He completed 61.7 percent of his passes (216-350) for 2,875 yards with 24 touchdowns and six interceptions. He also rushed for 443 yards and five scores. He’s listed at 6-foot-2 and 200 pounds.
Players are graded on a scale of 1-5, with 1 being best.
Mental Makeup (2)
When he makes a commitment to stay poised in the pocket and execute progression reads, he shows zero fear staring down the barrel. Fast eyes when going through progressions. Mentally and physically tough (first-quarter hit vs. Wyoming and getting sawed off when attempting to make a throw vs. BYU are just two of many examples).
In general, he makes good decisions given his limited experience. I’m encouraged by his improvement as a first-year starter. After throwing just three touchdowns with two interceptions in his first four games, he threw 21 touchdown passes with just four interceptions in his final nine starts.
The next step in his development is to get comfortable with taking the short change. As a first-year starter last season, he was frequently too eager for the big payday, which resulted in some of his negative plays. Needs to strike a better balance in year two as a starter.
Accuracy (2.5)
Thrives on play-action, especially when drilling in-cutting routes.
Impressive accuracy when on the move. Gets hips around and can drive the ball. You can tell that he has been coached on proper mechanics and has worked to drill them in. Even though there’s still work to be done, he has a nice foundation.
Tends to miss high when he misses.
Flashes a beautiful deep ball but is a bit too inconsistent with placement.
Release and Arm Strength (2)
Longer-than-ideal delivery with good—not elite—velocity on the football.
Gives it a little double pat and has a bit of a windup delivery before driving it downfield. But he does have an easy stroke on the deep ball and drives it without much strain.
Ball jumps off his hand with good energy. Good zip on throws outside the numbers.
Pocket Mobility (2)
He’s just one of those guys who frustrates defenses because he’s so much more productive/dangerous with the ball in his hands than people think. He’s not twitchy but has plus (not game-breaking) speed. He’s light on his feet, he’s coordinated, and he’s instinctively athletic. His athletic traits don’t jump off the tape, but he consistently extends plays and picks up chunk yards with his feet.
Frequently sidesteps the rush and extends a lot of plays. And when he elects to tuck-and-run, he does so aggressively and without any hesitation—that’s where he can kill defenses. Rushed for 435 yards on 51 scrambles last season, good for the second most among quarterbacks in the FBS.
Next step in his development is keeping his eyes downfield and sliding/climbing with his base underneath him to continue to go through progressions before committing to taking off running.
Preseason Prospect Status
Leavitt proved to be up to the challenge as a transfer and first-year starter at ASU last season, and there were a lot of positives that have me eager to track him as a pro prospect over the next season or two. His natural instincts as a passer and playmaker really stand out on tape. While he doesn’t have Josh Allen’s arm or Lamar Jackson’s mobility, the ball jumps off Leavitt’s hand, and he will kill you with his feet if you don’t respect his running ability.
What I was most encouraged by was Leavitt’s noticeable improvement from early in the season. I first noticed a difference versus Kansas (Game 5), and then he seemed to take it to another level beginning with UCF (Game 9).
Now, granted, Cam Skattebo (Giants) is gone to the NFL, and a lot of Leavitt’s success was predicated on play-action against heavy boxes. In 2025, opposing defenses will be keyed in on Leavitt and the Sun Devils’ passing game. How does Leavitt handle that increase in responsibility? That’s what NFL scouts want to see. They’ll also want to see improvements with his ball-placement consistency and his ability to stick with reads in the pocket rather than bailing too early. Additionally, we’ll want to see more willingness to take a small profit when appropriate instead of trying to break the bank too often.
NFL Comp: J.J. McCarthy, Vikings
I’m stealing this one from Muench. His “comps” during the Summer Scouting Series have been borderline outrageous, but this one is pretty darn good. They have similar frames (McCarthy bulked up to 219 pounds predraft but played in the 205-pound range early in his Michigan career, which is where Leavitt was last fall. More importantly, they’re similar in that both their athleticism and velocity on the ball are better than they get credit for.
They also thrive off play-action and working the middle of the field. Their toughness—both mental and physical—really stands out as well. Unlike J.J. at Michigan, we’re likely to see Leavitt shouldering the offensive load for ASU in 2025.
From the Scouting Notebook: A bonus inside look at some of the stream-of-consciousness notes I took while watching Leavitt’s film. (These are intentionally unedited!)
Wyoming
5:00 1Q: Play-action RT, throwback LT (deeper corner route). Needs to get ball out earlier here. Sees the FS commit to the other hash … but waits a full count before starting delivery. Gives it a little double pat (and has a bit of a windup delivery to begin with) before driving it downfield. WR has to gear down to go up and get it.
2:00 2Q: Just DRILLS the in-route on target to TE. Lots of energy on ball but easy energy with proper placement hitting moving target.
11:59 3Q: Overshoots deep shot down LT rail. Needs to hit this one. WR had a step or two.
11:48 3Q: Climbs, takes off, makes LB miss with nice open-field move, and runs for 17-yard gain on third-and-9.
Kansas
11:53 1Q: Beautiful shot down RT rail. Perfect trajectory with energy on end of throw. Drops it in perfectly over outside shoulder!!
1:59 3Q: Another beautiful ball on in-cutting route to his LT. Full field progression. Works back to left and drills strike. These are his best throws!
6:49 4Q: Third-and-6! Trailing by 3 points midway thru 4th QTR—recognizes FS cheated to left and one-on-one opportunity for slot-WR (simple seam route RT). This is a sweet stroke with perfect trajectory over the DB’s head and LEADING the WR to the outside (keeping the FS out of the play). REALLY GOOD STUFF ALL AROUND HERE—AND IN A KEY MOMENT!!
:53 4Q: MORE CLUTCH—time running out and trailing by 3 pts (31-28), he sees the defense bailing in coverage and exploits a crease in the LOS … picks up 12 yards to put team in easy FG position.
:30 4Q: Few plays later, third-and-3, grinds out tough yards for first down!
:20 4Q: Rub route RT—ball out on time and perfectly dropped in to WR. TD—game-winner (35-31)! BIG TIME STUFF FROM A ROOKIE QB IN CLUTCH.
UCF
1:45 2Q: Second-and-6 play inside RZ. Defenses continue to underestimate his speed. Turns corner on left side and picks up 1st down.
1:09 2Q: Second-and-goal TD pass. Bootleg left—like how he naturally gets hips around when throwing on the run to his LT. Not a difficult throw, but makes it with confidence and trusts his mechanics.
13:59 3Q: Really nice touch and placement on the crosser to his LT (from pocket). Easy stroke. Layers it smoothly before the SL. 17-yd gain.
8:07 3Q: Good trajectory down LT rail and puts the ball up in position for WR to make play on ball. Drop.
7:37 3Q: This time down the RT rail. Simple 9-route. Leads WR perfectly—ANOTHER DROP!
4:20 3Q: NOW TRAILING BY 3 pts in 3rd QTR. Retreats in pocket to buy time. Throws falling backward. Not pretty in pocket, but impressed by ability to get the ball there on SAIL route along LT SL. WR makes a nice play going up b/t 2 defenders to make catch … but ball is placed high enough for WR to climb ladder over DBs with backs turned.
3:08 3Q: Instincts to feel pressure and agility to elude. Changes direction twice, then takes off for 1st down to extend drive inside RZ.
1:15 3Q: Follows the LAST TWO PLAYS UP with a touch pass to the back corner of EZ (RT). Places it where WR can adjust and track with DBs back facing. Well-executed TD PASS TO TAKE BACK THE LEAD (28-24).
TRAILING AGAIN IN WHAT IS TURNING INTO SHOOTOUT (31-28) ...
7:44 4Q: Third-and-5. Big time competitive play here!!! Extends and then takes off running … dives with ball outstretched along RT SL—1st down!
5:30 4Q: 2x1 with his WR singled-up on LT side. QK PA fake, and then snap release to WR, who won his release at LOS. Good pre-snap and post-snap recognition. Just like fast eyes and decisiveness here!! TD TO TAKE THE LEAD!
Arizona
10:59 1Q: Good read. Understood concept and knew where to go with eyes. Nice throw to open WR along LT SL.
15:00 4Q: Ball out early. Big-time touch on seam-fade route (RT side) for TD. Also important to note, BIG-TIME THROW on fourth-and-8, although leading by 28 at the time.
Texas
10:40 1Q: It’s obvious early on that ASU OL is overmatched in pass pro. Gonna be a long day at the office. But Sam is grinding early, trying to make things happen with feet. He escapes trouble here and turns the corner to set up manageable third-and-4 inside RZ.
8:14 1Q: Rolling RT. Bit indecisive and late with ball. It’s on target but WR has stepped out while waiting for it.
6:29 1Q: Third-and-10. AWESOME job escaping multiple rushers and creating enough time to locate open WR. But off target incomplete.
1:40 1Q: Missing high again (throughout season). Seems rushed with footwork because of frequent pressure on every dropback so far.
7:35 2Q: Great job eluding another two rushers. Rolls RT, completely off-balance (jumping) and throwing, but SOMEHOW able to deliver a strike 37 yards downfield. HIGH-LEVEL STUFF HERE!
:45 2Q: Just before half. Gets time in pocket and KEEPS POISED WITH FEET. Fast eyes LT to RT. Drills strike along RT SL to continue to 2min drill (but unable to get points before half).
12:55 3Q: PA, rolling RT. Gets eyes around and on time between four defenders for first down.
6:31 4Q: TRAILING 24-8 – Fast eyes in RZ. Locates open WR in back EZ and delivers it for 2-PT conversion (24-16)!
5:37 4Q: Rolls RT, throws back down LT rail. On target (Skattebo push off?). But big play in a big moment.
1:39 4Q: GAME TIED 24-24 – Takes off running for first down! Really quick starter as a runner and really good instincts when he crosses the LOS.
***SIDE NOTE: There have been 4 or 5 outlet/dump-off type throws where he’s just been off-target. Two throws stand out specifically (one over middle on a check-down and one on an out-route at the sticks on the LT SL) that he was off-target on. Needs to make those throws with GAME TIED late in QTR 4.
OVERTIME
OT1: Third-and-14. LOVE THE COMPETE HERE!!! Takes off running, diving for 1st down inside 5 yl. 17-yard gain in biggest moment of season! ASU SCORES, 31-24.
ASU GETS BALL BACK trailing 39-31.
OT2: First-and-goal from the 10—INT. Just the wrong read. 3WR set to LT. All three covered up well by UT. He got baited and threw the pick.
