Sam Leavitt says running helps rhythm, needs to stay healthy

TEMPE — Sam Leavitt has run the ball more to begin this season than any other four-game stretch of the Arizona State quarterback’s career.

Leavitt’s 15 rushes against Baylor set a new career high after his 12 carries against Texas State were among his previous career highs (also 13 in the Peach Bowl).

“I don’t think it was really part of the game plan. It was kind of just what happened,” Leavitt said Tuesday of the new career high. “More so taking what the defense gives me. Try not to do that throughout the rest of the season as much, keep my body a little healthier. But yeah I’m just trying to win the game at the end of the day.”

Leavitt missed one game last season due to a cracked rib sustained while fighting for extra yards against Utah. Arizona State saw firsthand how valuable he is to the offense when it rolled quarterback Jeff Sims out at Cincinnati, one of two Big 12 losses the team had.

“(Leavitt) ran more (at Baylor) than we like to usually run quarterbacks, but he did because it was needed in the game,” ASU coach Kenny Dillingham said.

While the usage is higher than any other stretch in his career (10.5 rushes per game), he’s also picked his spots well. Of his 42 rushes, 14 have been for first downs, and six of those have come on third or fourth down.

He’s also had nine explosive runs, defined by ASU defensive coordinator Brian Ward as pickups of at least 12 yards, including a 52-yard scramble against NAU.

His 220 scramble yards — distinguished from designed run plays, according to PFF — are the most in the country and 63 more than the next-best Power Four quarterback (Auburn’s Jackson Arnold).

TCU coach Sonny Dykes told reporters the Horned Frogs should prepare better for Leavitt’s scrambling after facing athletic SMU quarterback Kevin Jennings, but the numbers indicate a different story.

Jennings has nearly as many scrambles (13) as Leavitt (16), but his production is far below at 6.5 yards per scramble compared to Leavitt’s 13.8. Stripping away the outlying 52-yarder, Leavitt would still average 11.2 yards per scramble. Leavitt also has doubled up Jennings’ yards on designed runs (59 to 28).

“The SMU quarterback was more of a ‘run around to throw.’ This quarterback is more of a runner. He wants to run, and he’s very effective. He’s very fast, he’s very elusive and he does a good job getting down before you tackle him,” Dykes said.

Sam Leavitt in better rhythm passing when running the ball

Four of Leavitt’s six touchdown passes on the year have come after he carried the ball within the previous four plays, his level of engagement higher when feeling the hits.

“Early on, I like to kind of get the juices out, you know, butterflies out by running it a little bit, but later in the game I’m kind of settled in already,” Leavitt said.

After ASU lost to Mississippi State, Dillingham emphasized the importance of Leavitt feeling a rhythm early in games, with the QB run game as a way to get “feisty” signal callers feeling it.

Leavitt rushed the ball twice before he attempted a pass against Baylor and once before his first pass against Texas State. He then had two carries in the final 14 minutes of the Baylor win and three carries in the second half against Texas State.

Catch ASU-TCU on Friday at 6 p.m. MST on the Arizona Sports app, ESPN 620 AM or 98.7 FM HD-2. It will be televised on FOX.