Legend has it that Dan Marino almost attended Arizona State. The former NFL great made a recruiting visit to Tempe, where his hosting party included 20 potential teammates and 25 cheerleaders in uniform. A good source tells me that Marino was so impressed he gave something resembling a verbal commitment.
When Marino returned to Pittsburgh, the star quarterback found out his girlfriend wanted no part of Arizona, and he quickly reneged. He chose to sign with his hometown university, and the rest is Hall of Fame history.
“But Dan,” his ASU recruiter pleaded. “There are 10,000 girls on campus at ASU!”
The story resonates today because of Sam Leavitt. The ASU quarterback will be one of the featured stars at the Big 12 media event beginning Tuesday in Dallas. He has already been selected as the conference’s preseason offensive player of the year. Like Marino, he is a gunslinger. He ranks among the most highly publicized returning athletes in ASU history.
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Leavitt has it all: the arm, the legs, the confidence, the star receiver by his side. Oh, and the attitude. He has that in abundance. His mom even told a reporter that Leavitt has a list of 10 college contemporaries on a whiteboard in his bedroom. They are quarterbacks who have received more recognition; more Heisman hype; and stronger consideration as a future NFL prospect.
Like many other greats in many other sports, Leavitt finds insults and motivational fuel everywhere he looks.
“He’ll hear the commentary and repurpose it,” his mother, Tania, told SI’s Pat Forde.
With all due respect to architect/head coach Kenny Dillingham, Leavitt is the main reason the Sun Devils will rank in the Top 15 entering the season, and the main reason they can repeat as Big 12 champions. Nothing travels better or erases mistakes more than a star quarterback. ASU has one of the brightest in the nation.
Consider the lessons of the Peach Bowl, and how we all processed that exhilarating, nauseating game between ASU and Texas in the College Football Playoff. It was a game where the rest of the nation fell in love with Cam Skattebo’s hard-charging, hit-first, puke-and-rally mentality. But around here, the game hit differently.
Valley sports fans already knew about Skattebo’s lion-sized heart. But it was Leavitt’s performance on a gigantic stage as a red-shirt freshman that kept Arizona State in the game; consoled diehard fans following a painful defeat; and served as the true revelation of the postseason.
Arizona State has enough quarterback to win a national championship in the next couple of years, if he sticks around. And they have a coach smart enough to let Leavitt cook.
Some head coaches might cringe at a quarterback’s outspoken confidence and shows of swagger. Some head coaches beg for media attention until it makes them uncomfortable and seems uncontrollable, and then they want it to stop. Kenny Dillingham is different. He leans into it. He embraces it.
At the 2024 media event, his delegation of players wore polo shirts with Arizona State logos, just so Big 12 reporters would know who they were. This year, their allotment of six players includes five preseason Big 12 selections (Leavitt, WR Jordyn Tyson, OL Ben Coleman, DL C.J. Fite, and DB Xavion Alford), four of whom hail from the state of Texas.
They are all wearing tailored suits this time around. They no longer have to court attention. The spotlight is coming for them.
We also know that expectations are a killer in Arizona. They always let us down. They seem to ruin everything. But the 2025 Sun Devils have a chance because Dillingham knows you can’t meet great expectations halfway. You have to tackle them head-on. And we know their quarterback is up for any kind of challenge.
Reach Bickley at [email protected]. Listen to Bickley & Marotta mornings from 6 a.m. – 10 a.m. on Arizona Sports.
Follow @danbickley
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