ASU star quarterback Sam Leavitt will miss the rest of the season; What does that mean for ASU?

Written by Vai Rayaprolu.

TEMPE, Ariz. – Arizona State football starting sophomore quarterback Sam Leavitt will undergo season-ending surgery for a lingering injury in the next week, and will miss the remainder of the season, according to coach Kenny Dillingham on Friday morning.

Breaking: Arizona State quarterback Sam Leavitt will miss the remainder of the season with an injury, coach Kenny Dillingham confirmed to @PeteThamel. He’s set to have surgery.

Get breaking news alerts from Pete Thamel through the ESPN App 🔗 https://t.co/huu2E9vdNL pic.twitter.com/RQsUseZNFa

— ESPN (@espn) October 31, 2025

The injury goes back to a right-foot issue that had surfaced during the Sun Devils’ win over the Baylor Bears. However, Leavitt played in the following game against TCU before re-aggravating the injury before ASU faced Utah.

The sophomore quarterback returned against Texas Tech and led the Sun Devils to a top 10 victory, but then left their following game agains Houston. Over his seven games this season, Leavitt passed 1,628 yards and 10 touchdowns, though for a large part of the season, he did so with his lingering injury.

What’s Next for ASU?

With Leavitt out, the Sun Devils will turn to their backup, senior quarterback Jeff Sims, who spot-started in the Utah game. ASU’s next quarterback in line is freshman Cam Dyer. The timing of the announcement – just two days before Saturday’s game against Iowa State – adds pressure to the rest of the Sun Devils team that is already dealing with multiple key injuries.

Despite Leavitt’s absence, Dillingham emphasized that the team remains “here to win games,” and ASU is preparing to “start fast.”

This development is a significant blow for ASU fans this fall. After an amazing 2024 season that included the Big 12 Conference Championship and College Football Playoff appearance, the team and the fans entered 2025 with high expectations. Leavitt’s play has been central to the offense’s momentum and losing him will place added urgency on the Dillingham and others to adapt quickly.

The Sun Devils basically need to win out for any chance at the Big 12 title game, and that just became a lot harder without their leader on the field.

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