Sam Leavitt Describes Journey To Winning ASU Quarterback Competition

so what was your reaction to be Pon starter yeah you know all sorts of emotions uh mostly Joy but um you know I kind of had that uh idea come along that was my goal this whole time but you know I definitely took a moment to you know just thank God for the opportunity and uh just feel appreciative of it you what did Kenny say or how did all yeah they actually texted me the night before so it wasn't in person I was by myself got a text um you know we had kind of like sprinkled around the the subject and kind of got a hint of it before so uh you know it wasn't a complete shock or anything but uh you know being by myself it just made me really be able to embrace the moment and uh you know like I said Thank God Sam when you transferred here how much did you believe that you would be the start of this B yeah you know I mean that's your that's uh coming out the portal that's your main intention you know finding a school where you know you feel like you're going to develop the best but also get a shot to you know play as a you know as your first year in the program so coming in here you know I thought I thought I was going to start 100% you know obviously uh got to beat out Jaden and uh then we brought Jeff in and you know Trenton's been here for a while so uh it's been a process for sure but uh you know I don't know if you really like put a percentage on it it's kind of always come into the situation thinking you're going to be the starter Marcus said when you came here for your recruitment meeting he met with you for 6 hours what do you remember about that day yeah yeah we sat in the office and you know just talk schematics and uh you know everything about quarterback play you know off the field mental you know how you carry yourself as a leader uh mechanics um you know footwork you know philosophies guys you train with and we actually talked as well when I first met him in person at uh at the dinner for like two hours about mechanics as well so you know he's a ball junkie just like me what do you think you learned the most of a camp so far knowing that that's coming to an end what do you think was your biggest moment of grow uh I mean just seeing the defense um constantly growing in you know footwork timing timing's massive uh understanding where your Outlets are and just seeing different looks and understanding you know in every single play when you get a certain look where you're going to go with the ball uh so just things along those lines Kenny's mentioned how you changed your leadership style from kind of spring to now what was part of that process for you did you to think about that a lot and how did that how did that mindset yeah you know we talked about it during spring uh it's hard to make such of a big adjustment in the moment uh coming in the spring you know I just wanted it so bad that you know I was just approaching people and myself you know I was treating myself uh you know too harshly and I was you know beat myself up and then I was taking out on the team as well uh you know so I realized um Kenny had a lot of talks with me and just you know he really really emphasized that and said that was one of the biggest uh transitions that Bo made come from Auburn to Oregon so you know I took that as a as a big role and I feel like I've done a way better job actually still room for improvement but how much do you hear about Bo just his Evolution 5 year college period and much do you study yeah you know me and me and Coach dillian talk about B buns you know he says I resemble him which which is amazing to hear um you know so I try to watch him play and uh just see how he how he operates you know the different type of uh checks and reads he makes in terms of protections is what really separates him and you know that's the level I'm trying to get to so uh just understanding you know starting off the game and you know taking what the defense gives you let the big plays open up that how important was that and what the quarterbacks that has develop you make a decision the ASU and where you believe yeah you know when you make your decision to come to ASU um you know you look at past history you know with quarterback success offensively and know everything with that so him being with Jordan Travis and B Nicks and elevating their game and being able to sit down with him and um understand what he did exactly to make him get there uh you know it's really appealing you have a couple nice long completions to receivers today how was that process to go it seems like it's been three SE uh like getting on the same PA with the receivers oh yeah I mean it's just reps like I always say you know I missed a couple earlier earlier in Camp and I really want to hit the def once that it's kind of been one of my bigger emphasis um you know cuz I've missed a few so coming out today and being over hit two for two today know I felt really good so I was having nothing how good has it been for you to have both Jeff and Triton in your room considering all the experience they have not only competing against them but kind of just learning them and developing your own Stu yeah you know Trenton's great and Jeff's great you know they've both been and played in a lot of games and situations and you know they both have a lot of wise words to tell me so just taking bits and pieces and uh you know understand what it takes to be a quarterback at this level um you know just constantly competing that's one of my favorite things to do in life you know so every aspect you know I'm always trying to beat them and whatever it is I mean you can you know conditioning if we're shooting Hoops uh for playing a board game you know I always want to win so uh just constantly competing with them and uh trying to one out them about late what drives you so yeah what drives me um I don't know I guess my why is just this all I've known my family is a football family and it's kind of just what I've done since a young age my brother instilled it in me and so did my dad uh so it's just you know taking it day by day and every single day me and my brother live by aato just you know how great do you want to be that's a question so I have that on my mirror when I wake up um you know I ask myself that question and you know coming out to practice in this weather and uh you know you're hot out and you got to get the juic is going and you're tired so uh you know every single day just pushing yourself to the Max and you know asking yourself how great you want to be you know it's as great as you're going to make yourself so so Sam since the spring you got really two major additions and tight end Shan made toer and wi receiver at Malik be playing looks like those guys really hit the ground running in Fall Camp um how much have they really elevated this offense just from the spring yeah you know it's a it's a really good addition to have them both and I've connect connect with them on a bunch of balls and you know they're they're really smart players and have a good feel for the game so they picked it up really quick you know it's been a huge addition and you know we're going to see a lot of it this season Sam how do you answer that question when you ask yourself in the morning how do I answer it uh well it's just it's not like you have an answer how great do you want to be you know so I guess my actions are my answer um throughout the entire day you know what I eat you know uh how much I sleep you know do I do everything I need to do the night before in the film meetings you know and then uh how I carry myself to my teammates so that you know they can uh do the same thing as well and make the team the best when you get that text from Kenny is there a side of relief to take a breath is there time to take a breath now oh yeah I mean you know you got to you got to enjoy the moment for sure um you know I probably sat there for you know a few minutes and just really soaked it in and you know just put my put my phone down and sat there on the on the ground just looking at the ceiling and really you know indulge in the moment um but you know going forward that was the ultimate plan so if anything gives me you know more juice you know now I'm the guy now I got to hold myself to that standard now I got to keep that because you know you only you stay at this if you perform so um just got to keep going and you know keep getting better on that mirror where did that come from that idea to have how great can you be on your mirror uh well me and my brother have just kind of lived lived by that our whole lives he he always said it for Me growing up every single time you know before before a workout when I was tired if I didn't want to stretch and stuff like that you know I didn't want to eat that extra meal to gain the way I needed to gain um so I don't know if it was an idea by anybody I just had a I have a whiteboard and I had another note on my fridge um you know just saying people counted you out prove them wrong um so I just I just saw the marker and wanted to write on my rear on my mirror so nobody gave me the idea I just kind of thought of it Sam I got a I got over here a little late what it me for you to be yeah I mean you know means a whole lot uh just just proves you know the work that I've put in has um has really meant something and you know you sit in the office late at night and while you're stretching you really ask yourself why why are you doing what you do you know because you want to see results so when results are given and you know it's been a long time since um I mean maybe not a long time but one year since I've been named a starter since my Senior High School uh so I've just been so hungry for it and uh yeah it's just why do you do it the r freshman and being how prepared do you feel to take the field and uh I mean just compared to last year I feel 10 times better it's it's night and day now throwing the football um you know seeing the defense you know protections I'm always going to keep working that's something that you know I feel like is going to separate me this season and I'm just going to constantly keep drilling it uh but in terms of preparedness you know I don't know if I could ask for much more other than another year under my belt which you know I can't make uh I don't have a time machine so can't do that but uh you know I'm really ready to go and feel like we have a good team this year takes a lot of work to power for starting quarterback what are some of the things that you really love about playing the quarterback position just being in control um since a young age I feel like I've always wanted to have the ball in my hands whether that's in football or basketball you know I always want to take the last shot um and Hoops for the gamewinner so um you know I just kind of carried over and you know I'm a pretty controlling person in general personality wise so uh just that aspect of it and then uh you know you live and die by the sword so you know you're you're all the success or you're all the failure um and I love that that's what I play it for um I don't I don't do this for any of the fame or anything like that so I just I love being out on the field and having the ball in my hands and being able to make a play and you know he the crowd Roar and you know have our team go crazy and everything like that so it's pretty special when you're able to make those [Music] plays we all sitting like the mayor