State of Arizona starting quarterback Sam Leavitt left Friday night’s game against Utah with an apparent injury on his right side and a throwing arm after a hard hit in the 2nd quarter. He was replaced by backup Jeff Sims.

After spending a commercial break, Leavitt got up and walked away under his own power. He seemed to be in a lot of pain and discomfort.

The two teams were tied, 6-6, at the time of Leavitt’s injury, with Arizona State driving into the red zone. Leavitt was 6 of 10 for 99 yards and a touchdown and an interception at the time of his injury.

After Sims came in, the Sun Devils ran a series of wild plays involving the star running back Cam Skattbo taking the photos, including a fourth down conversion. On a goal-to-go look, Sims took a shotgun snap and ran right, scoring a two-yard touchdown run to give Arizona State a 13-6 lead.

Leavitt was taken to the locker room and appeared to be holding his right side, according to ESPN sideline reporter Paul Carcaterra.

Leavitt came in on Friday night leading the 4-1 Sun Devils from under center. He had completed 59% of his passes for 1,012 yards and seven touchdowns with three interceptions and also brought a running threat: 257 yards and four more touchdowns. The hit that injured Leavitt came on a scramble.

Both Leavitt and Sims transferred to Arizona State and come from Big Ten schools with varying levels of experience. Leavitt started his career drawing at State of Michigan left high school in the 2023 signing class and left for the Sun Devils after a year in East Lansing.

Sims came to Tempe after playing there for a season Nebraskawho started the season as the starter before being replaced. Sims started his college career at Georgia Tech.

In five games with the Huskers last season, two of which were starts, Sims threw for 282 yards, one touchdown and six interceptions while completing 59.6% of his throws. Sims was slightly better on the ground with 189 yards and a touchdown on 42 carries.

However, turnovers were a problem for the quarterback. The six interceptions were called, but also four fumbles. Nebraska lost all four and Sims was part of 10 turnovers all season.