Tyson, Leavitt Secure Multiple Player of the Week Honors

TEMPE - Sun Devil Football quarterback Sam Leavitt and wide receiver Jordyn Tyson were once again recognized for outstanding performances on Saturday.

In Arizona State's 24-14 road win over No. 16 Kansas State, the Sun Devil wide receiver-quarterback combination made significant contributions. Leavitt and Tyson teamed up to lead the offense, connecting on two more touchdowns to help ASU move to 8-2 on the year and secure their first College Football Playoff ranking since 2014. Thanks to their efforts, Leavitt and Tyson earned several prominent national distinctions. 

Jordyn Tyson is the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week as well as an honorable mention selection for the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award Player of the Week, which recognizes the top performing offensive player with ties to the state of Texas. Sam Leavitt earned Big 12 Newcomer of the Week honors for the second straight week and third time overall. Leavitt was also one of eight quarterbacks selected as a Davey O'Brien Great 8 Quarterback of the Week. Last but not least, Leavitt secured Shaun Alexander National Freshman of the Week honors, only the second Sun Devil to accomplish the feat.

ASU has now compiled 10 National Player of the Week honors during the 2024 season. In the Kenny Dillingham era, a Sun Devil has now won a conference player of the week award 14 times. ASU leads the Big 12 with ten conference player of the week selections this season. For the fourth time in 2024, Arizona State was responsible for two of the four weekly award recipients in the league.

Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week - Jordyn Tyson
Sun Devil Football wide receiver Jordyn Tyson was named the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week. It is the fifth time a Sun Devil has won the award this year. Running back Cam Skattebo has accounted for four of them. Arizona State is responsible for the most Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week selections of any team in the league.

Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award Player of the Week (Honorable Mention) - Jordyn Tyson
For the second straight week and third time this season, Jordyn Tyson lands on the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award Player of the Week Honor Roll. The distinction is given to the top performing offensive players with ties to the state of Texas.

Career Day
Sun Devil wide receiver Jordyn Tyson put on a show in Arizona State's 24-14 road win over No. 16 Kansas State. He finished with 12 catches for 176 yards and two touchdowns, proving to clearly be the best player on the field. Tyson was unguardable on his way to reaching a career-high in both catches and yards. 

Premier Production
Tyson is the first Sun Devil to catch two touchdowns in two straight games since Frank Darby had back-to-back two-score games at UCLA (10/26/19) and vs. USC (11/9/19). His 176 receiving yards are the most since Brandon Aiyuk put up 196 on Washington State back on Oct. 12, 2019. It is the most receiving yards in a road game since Devin Lucien had 200 yards at California on Nov. 28, 2015. 

He had the second-most receiver yards in the FBS for the week and the most in the Power Four - just five yards shy of Kyle Williams at Washington State. Tyson led the Big 12 in just about every receiving metric for the week.  The two receiving touchdowns were tied for fifth among FBS wide receivers. His eight first downs/touchdowns receiving were tied for second in the FBS and first among Power Four receivers.

Elevated his Game
Tyson now has eight touchdowns in the last six games and 624 yards (104.0 yards per game) on 44 catches in that span. In the first four games, he had 14 catches for 209 yards with one touchdown.

Finding the Endzone
Tyson now has nine receiving touchdowns, the most since N'Keal Harry had nine in 2018. His next touchdown would tie him for sixth all-time in Sun Devil Football history and mark him one of just 11 Sun Devils total to reach double digits in a single season. It would be the most since Jaelen Strong had 10 in 2014.

Report Card
PFF awarded Tyson the sixth-best overall offensive grade for any wide receiver in the FBS and the second highest-grade for a Power Four receiver (84.5). His 4.68 yards per receiving route run were fifth in the FBS and his 75 yards after the catch were sixth.

Big 12 Newcomer Player of the Week - Sam Leavitt
For the second straight week and third time this season, Sam Leavitt has won Big 12 Newcomer of the Week honors. He has received the award more than any other Big 12 player this season. 

Davey O'Brien Great 8 Quarterback of the Week - Sam Leavitt
The Davey O'Brien Foundation announced the players named to the Davey O'Brien Great 8 for Week 12. For the first time, Sam Leavitt earns the distinction recognizing him as one of the eight best quarterbacks in college football last week.

Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Week - Sam Leavitt
Each week during the 2024 season, the Maxwell Football Club recognizes an outstanding performance by a college freshman with the Shaun Alexander Freshman Player of the Week award. This week, Sun Devil quarterback Sam Leavitt was the recipient. He is only the second Sun Devil to win the award since it was instituted back in 2018.

Sam I Am
Sun Devil quarterback Sam Leavitt was sensational in Arizona State's 24-14 road victory over No. 16 Kansas State. Leavitt completed 21-of-34 passes (62%) for 275 yards and three touchdowns, operating the Sun Devil offense at an extremely efficient level. He added 42 rushing yards on five carries, converting a pair first downs with his legs.

Spreading it Around
Leavitt and Jordyn Tyson were in sync all game, as the wide receiver had 172 of the yards. That didn't mean Leavitt didn't get others involved, as running  back Cam Skattebo had four catches and tight end Chamon Metayer accounted for a touchdown reception.

First Half Takeover
All three of Leavitt's touchdown passes were in the first half, as he was a big reason why ASU built a 21-0 lead. He became the first quarterback to throw for three touchdowns in the first half since Jayden Daniels did it vs. UCLA on October 26, 2019.

Going Streaking
Leavitt now has three touchdown tosses in three consecutive games and four of his last five starts.

Efficient Effort
He now boasts a 17-4 touchdown-interception ratio this season and has not thrown a pick in his last three games. He was one of just six quarterbacks in the country with three touchdown passes and no interceptions for the week. The three touchdowns were tied for seventh-most in the FBS. Leavitt's 116.3 NFL QBR rating was 10th in the country and fourth among Power Five quarterbacks.

Leav-ITT Factor
Arizona State is 8-1 in games Sam Leavitt starts this season. They are averaging 32.7 points in those games, compared to the 14 points put up by the offense in the one game he missed.

Report Card
PFF had Leavitt as the highest graded overall offensive player in the Big 12 for the week at 87.2. It was the 28th-highest grade of any FBS offensive player for the week and 15th among all quarterbacks (5th among Power Four QBs). He was the fifth-highest graded freshman offensive player in the country for the week.

National Players of the Week in 2024 (10)
Week 12
Jordyn Tyson - Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award Player of the Week (Honorable Mention)
Sam Leavitt - Shawn Alexander Freshman of the Week
Sam Leavitt - Davey O'Brien Great 8 Quarterback of the Week
Week 11
Jordyn Tyson - Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award Player of the Week (Honorable Mention)
Week 10
Cam Skattebo - Doak Walker Running Back of the Week
Week 7
Cam Skattebo - Doak Walker Running Back of the Week
Caleb McCullough - Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player
Week 6
Jordyn Tyson - Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award Player of the Week (Honorable Mention)
Week 2
Cam Skattebo - Doak Walker Running Back of the Week
Cam Skattebo - Associated Press Offensive Player of the Week
 
Conference Players of the Week under Coach Dillingham (14)
After having four total conference player of the week selections in the 12-team Pac-12 last year, Arizona State already has ten in the 16-team Big 12 so far this season. That is the highest total of any team in the league.

Big 12 Era
2024 (10)
Jordyn Tyson (O), Nov. 18
Sam Leavitt (Newcomer), Nov. 18
Martell Hughes (ST), Nov. 11
Sam Leavitt (Newcomer), Nov. 11
Cam Skattebo (O), Nov. 4
Caleb McCullough (D), Oct. 14
Cam Skattebo (O), Oct. 14
Sam Leavitt (Newcomer), Oct. 7
Cam Skattebo (Co-O), Oct. 7
Cam Skattebo (O), Sept. 9

Pac-12 Era
2023 (4)
Dashaun Mallory (DL), Nov. 13
Leif Fautanu (OL), Oct. 30
B.J. Green (DL), Oct. 30
Dario Longhetto, Oct. 30

The ASU Victory...
-- Gives ASU eight wins in its first 10 games for the first time since the team finished the 2013 season with a 10-2 regular season record.
-- Means the Sun Devils are now guaranteed to finish at least .500 in road games (excluding the shortened 2020 season) for the first time since 2014 (4-2).
-- Kept the Sun Devils within a game of second in the Big 12 standings and moved them to 5-2 through seven games in conference play for the first time since 2014 (also 5-2). --- Handed K-State its first loss at home this season (was 4-0) and just its fourth in the last three seasons (was 15-3).

Quotables
Sam Leavitt on his connection with Jordyn Tyson
"It is a product of all the work we have put in. We have spent a lot of time before and after practice working on timing and getting on the same page. He is an incredible receiver and it has been exciting to build that connection with him. Both of us are motivated to continue getting better as well."

Coach Dillingham on Sam Leavitt's performance:
"He executed the gameplan effectively and did not get rattled by the environment. I was proud of the way he came out focused and ready to play. That set the tone for the rest of the team. His leadership continues to improve and the guys are watching him ball out, which has gained him tremendous respect in the locker room."