TEMPE — Arizona State quarterback Sam Leavitt was much better than many expected Saturday as the redshirt freshman made his first start at the college level.

Head coach Kenny Dillingham is confident the transfer has what it takes to succeed at this level, but even he was surprised by Leavitt’s performance in a 48-7 win over Wyoming.

“I thought there would be more freeze moments,” Dillingham said. “There were just a few where he went to the sideline and was like, ‘What do I do?’ Not a lot of those moments.”

He completed 14 of 22 attempts for 258 yards and two touchdowns in three quarters.

“There’s always going to be things you want to get back, but overall we went into the next drive really well,” Leavitt said. “We weren’t focused on the last drive, which I think was a big factor in our success today.”

He said he had encouraged his teammates after halftime and didn’t want them to let off the gas pedal when they were leading 27-0.

Leavitt showed he had more experience than he had and evaded pressure to make good plays, including an impromptu throw to Chamon Metayer, who took the tight end to the house.

Chamon Mateyer adds another TD to the score! 👊 @ASUVoetbal photo.twitter.com/4SrgMkSpkD

— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) September 1, 2024

On the same drive, Leavitt used his legs to convert two third downs, finishing with 47 yards on the ground while showing an indifference to sliding tackles, which Dillingham says is not part of the conversation because Leavitt is not good at them.

“It’s a little bit of an awkward thing to do if you’re not good at it and we’ve practiced it a little bit, but it’s just not comfortable for him,” Dillingham said. “So he just has to learn how to dive-slide forward to protect himself a little bit, but I think it would be doing him a disservice to try to slide and slam his feet into the ground.

“But I definitely don’t want him to be hit that often.”

Arizona State employed an “everybody eats” approach to the passing game, with seven players catching passes before a receiver had 50 yards.

Leavitt’s ability to keep the offense on track kept him in position to make the easy plays. Only three of the 11 third downs he faced were 3rd-and-longs.

The Sun Devils also found success with screen plays, such as Kyson Brown going 68 yards for Leavitt’s second touchdown.

MOM, THERE GOES THAT MAN 😈 @KysonBrown11 TAKE IT HOME 🔱

📺 FS1
📱 https://t.co/YDxGTNeZJO#ForksUp /// #ActivateTheValley photo.twitter.com/Ys6QiECAiy

— Sun Devil Football (@ASUFootball) September 1, 2024

Dillingham had had enough of the game after three quarters and Jeff Sims played the rest of the game.

“That kid played an unbelievable game and I’m looking forward to the future with him,” Dillingham said. “That’s what’s really exciting, that kid has four more years to play here. And I think this program is going to grow and grow with him, and that’s super exciting.”