ASU head coach Kenny Dillingham announced on Thursday that redshirt freshman starting quarterback Sam Leavitt will not play against Cincinnati on Oct. 19, according to SunDevilSource.
Leavitt left the team's upset win over No. 16 Utah in the second quarter after taking a shot to the ribs. He didn't sit out for long, though, as he returned to take a knee to end the half. Leavitt finished the night completing 11 of his 18 passes for 154 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
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In his six starts this year, Leavitt has completed 90 of his 152 passes for 1,166 yards and eight touchdowns with four interceptions. He's tacked on 279 yards on the ground with 55 carries and four rushing touchdowns.
Senior quarterback Jeff Sims will take the reigns against Cincinnati after seeing some action against Utah. Sims completed one of his two passes for 13 yards and found the end zone once using his legs. Sims is an experienced quarterback, previously playing at Georgia Tech for three seasons and at Nebraska a season ago. In his time as a collegiate quarterback he's thrown for over 4,700 yards, scoring 31 touchdowns and throwing 29 interceptions.
Sims, like Leavitt, is a runner. He rushed for 1,166 yards in three seasons at Georgia Tech before rushing for 189 yards last season at Nebraska. Dillingham and the Sun Devils will rely on the experienced signal caller for their first road game since falling to Texas Tech on Sept. 21.
Dillingham said that Leavitt's recovery could last anywhere from 2-to-4 weeks. Following the Cincinnati game this upcoming weekend, the team will have a bye week before taking on Oklahoma State in early November.
This story is developing and may be updated.
Edited by Jack Barron, Sophia Braccio and Alexis Heichman.
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Daniel is a senior studying sports journalism. This is his first semester with The State Press. He has also worked at WCSN, OC Riptide, 1550 Sports and AZPreps365.
