Arizona State quarterback Sam Leavitt will eventually face a Sparky trident-shaped decision tree as he transitions from rehabbing to deciding where he’ll play his football in the 2026 season.
He could stay at ASU, where he’s built clout as one of the most successful and well-liked quarterbacks in the history of a program that has produced plenty of talented signal callers.
He could jump to the NFL despite his stock taking a dip from last season, when he helped ASU to a College Football Playoff berth.
Or, worst of all for Arizona State fans, he could be poached to an SEC or Big Ten school with significantly more NIL funding and a better-equipped roster to chase a national title.
A day after Sun Devil athletic director Graham Rossini expressed enough confidence that he said Leavitt’s decision will only be a bident-shaped fork in the road of staying at ASU or going to the NFL, head coach Kenny Dillingham was asked if he shared that confidence.
“Absolutely not. I wish,” Dillingham told Bickley & Marotta on Friday. “An athletic director’s job is to be overly positive. Absolutely not. In college football, it changes by the day. Absolutely not.
“We got a long way to go for me to be able to go on social media and be able to say, ‘Hey, we’re in a great place to go get anybody we want and do anything we want from a financial standpoint.’ I’m fighting as hard as I can for my players to get as much as they can. That’s my No. 1 priority is to fight for my players. I’m going to continue to do that. So absolutely not.”
If it makes Dillingham feel better, Leavitt’s connection to Tempe, his coaches and his teammates gives the Sun Devils a strong case to retain him if the NFL isn’t in the cards.
And Leavitt has shown plenty of signs that he’s not motivated by money — like when he gave all of his merchandise sales royalties to teammates.
What did AD Graham Rossini say about finding enough NIL cash to keep Sam Leavitt at ASU?
Rossini told Burns & Gambo on Thursday that he didn’t “see any concerns or limitations” for ASU to retain Leavitt from an NIL standpoint.
“He’s a college player in this environment where college players can earn, and we’ve been prepared to do whatever it takes to build a great team and will continue to do that,” Rossini added.
The athletic director said Arizona State’s focus is on rehabbing Leavitt for the rest of the year.
At some point, coaches will meet with the quarterback to talk out his future, “whether he’s in a Sun Devil uniform or playing on Sundays,” according to the AD.
“We have all the personnel conversations happen within our coaching staff,” Rossini said. “That’ll be something Coach will lead, and obviously, the offensive coordinator, rest of the coaches will be involved in. There may be a moment where I’ll get involved in this particular environment of college football. … We think (Leavitt has) got more in the tank here as a Sun Devil. He’s got the opportunity to play at the next level. They’ve got to make the right decision for his family.”
