Sam Leavitt says he’s better than Quinn Ewers … Is he right?

TEMPE — Sam Leavitt said he’s the better quarterback in a Peach Bowl that includes Texas star Quinn Ewers.

“I’ve watched him for a fair amount of time now, and I’m just excited for the opportunity,” Leavitt said at a press conference on Saturday. “People keep counting me out since Day 1 and, you know, I’m gonna go prove why I’m the better quarterback. And that’s how I feel since day one. So I’m gonna go put everybody on the map.”

Hearing a redshirt freshman quarterback still finishing his first season as a collegiate starter say he’s better than Ewers, who is expected to be an NFL draft pick and has 19 more games and one more College Football Playoff appearance under his belt, is admittedly jarring on the surface.

But when taking a closer look, Leavitt might have a point.

Maybe the biggest area of success for the ASU signal caller is ball security, as he has just five interceptions across 12 games this season, including one in the past six games.

On a deeper level, Leavitt has four turnover-worthy plays over the season, according to PFF. Out of 43 Power 4 quarterbacks with at least 350 dropbacks this season, he is the only one with fewer than six, with playoff quarterbacks Dillon Gabriel (Oregon) and Drew Allar (Penn State) as two of the three tied with six.

Where is Ewers on the list? Down below at 31st with 17 turnover-worthy plays on the season. He has thrown four interceptions over the last three games. He had none in the previous three games after starting the season with six in six games.

“We know the issues it’s caused us,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said on a joint Zoom call with Dillingham last week. “We’ve had a strange year when it comes to the turnover bug that we’ve had. And it’s come at odd times, and it can change the impact in games, and they’ve done a great job of controlling football games by not turning it over.”

Part of the recent downturn could be due to an ankle injury Ewers suffered on Nov. 23 in a win over Kentucky. He has played through it despite viable backup Arch Manning waiting in the wings.

While he was saddled with a hefty ankle brace for much of the recovery, he played without it for the first time in the first-round win over Clemson in which he went 17-for-24 with 202 yards, one touchdown and one interception after starting the game 7-for-7 for 100 yards.

Leavitt’s injury, meanwhile, came much earlier in the season during an Oct. 11 win over Utah in the form of a cracked rib. He missed the following week’s matchup at Cincinnati, which became one of the Sun Devils’ two losses on the season and put both teams at 5-2.

Leavitt took advantage of the following bye week and the time spent on the sideline to gear up physically and mentally for the home stretch of the season, and ASU hasn’t lost since.

The injury also taught him to protect himself better and be more conservative as a runner overall, which was a visible problem for the young quarterback early in the season.

It led to a decrease in his rushing production, but he has still been there to pick up timely first downs and be a threat in the red zone. He did so in the Big 12 title game, such as when he helped set up a Cam Skattebo touchdown to take a 24-10 lead late in the first half.

As a passer, he threw for a career-high 304 passing yards in his first game back with his five best games in completion percentage all coming since the injury, including his two best in the last two (77.3% at Arizona, 70.6% vs. Iowa State).

Sam Leavitt says he's going to go prove he's the better quarterback in the Peach Bowl against Quinn Ewers and Texas. pic.twitter.com/OBjW3jOHgo

— Arizona Sports (@AZSports) December 28, 2024

Over the season, Ewers has the edge in passing yards (2,867 to 2,663), though Leavitt has the edge in total touchdowns (29 to 27) and interceptions (five to 10).

What does Texas coach Steve Sarkisian say about Sam Leavitt?

Sarkisian was very complimentary of how mature Leavitt is as a redshirt freshman, noting that it’s a product of how he’s been coached up.

“I think (Leavitt) makes good decisions. I think he has only five interceptions on the year, so he’s making good decisions. They’ve got a great plan,” Sarkisian said on a joint Zoom call with Dillingham last week. “Obviously with Kenny (Dillingham)’s background and Marcus Arroyo, the OC, those guys are really good football coaches. So they’ve put together good schemes, and you can tell the quarterback’s really well-coached up.

“They’re not forcing throws, he trusts his guys to go make their plays but at the end of the day, if you’re holding onto the ball and then your quarterback makes good decisions, you know, that’s about all you can ask for, and they’re getting that.”

What Sarkisian doesn’t know firsthand is what sets Leavitt apart from other redshirt freshmen is his work ethic. Jordyn Tyson has said he’s blown away by how much film Leavitt watches, routinely entering meetings “overprepared.”

“I would just say them being so stout in everybody being where they’re supposed to be, you know,” Leavitt said of what he saw from a Texas defense that’s the best in pass defense, per PFF. “Then they have players on top of that, corners that are driving routes in a Cover 3 look and, you know, safeties playing aggressive and everybody’s where they’re supposed to be and they’re physically dominant.

“So when you get those two things combined, you’re able to play coverage behind a base look and then the quarterback feels flustered and might make some dumb plays. So that’s one thing that I’m gonna really emphasize going into this game: just being smart with the ball.”

ASU and Texas square off in the Peach Bowl at 11 a.m. MST on Wednesday. Listen to coverage on 98.7, the Arizona Sports app or online, with pregame coverage beginning at 8 a.m., or catch the broadcast on ESPN.