(Tempe, AZ) The Sun Devil Football program will be featured at Big 12 Football Media Days as it returns to Texas for a two-day event taking place July 8 and 9.
Quarterback Sam Leavitt, defensive back X Alford, wide receiver Jordyn Tyson, defensive lineman C.J. Fite, offensive lineman Ben Coleman, and defensive lineman Clayton Smith will represent Arizona State along with head coach Kenny Dillingham. Sun Devil Football will attend the first portion of Big 12 Media Days on Tuesday, July 8 at The Star – the 91-acre campus of the Dallas Cowboys World Headquarters and practice facility – in Frisco, Texas.
Big 12 Football Media Days could be considered a turning point for last year’s Arizona State team, as they were picked to finish 16th out of 16 teams in the Preseason Big 12 Conference Media Poll. The league opted not to conduct a preseason poll this season. Eight of the teams will spend Tuesday previewing the 2025 season with local, regional and national media.
Both days of the event will be broadcast live in their entirety on ESPNU and ESPN+, with portions of the day broadcast live on ESPN2 for the first time ever. Additionally, the event will broadcast on Big 12 Studios from 8:30 AM – 1 PM MST. Head Coach Kenny Dillingham is scheduled to be on the main stage from 11:20-11:35 AM MST for his media availability, which can be viewed on ESPN+. Sun Devil Fans will have many reasons to be paying attention on Tuesday, July 8.
Sam Leavitt, Quarterback (IG | X)
Finished his first year in Tempe as the school record holder for total offense by a freshman with 3,328 yards and second in program history in passing yards by a freshman at 2,885.
The 3,328 total yards of offense are eighth in ASU single-season history regardless of class.
Named the Big 12 Freshman/Newcomer of the Year.
The nation’s second-highest graded freshman player (true or redshirt with 400 snaps) on either side of the football by PFF (88.9), behind only Ohio State receiver Jeremiah Smith (89.8).
His 88.9 grade for the season was the eighth-best among all FBS freshman quarterbacks in the PFF era since 2015 (min. 400 snaps played). Of the seven players ahead of him, six started an NFL game last season (Brock Purdy, Trevor Lawrence, Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, C.J. Stroud and Spencer Rattler).
His grade was higher than the freshman year grades of NFL starting quarterbacks Sam Darnold, Justin Herbert, Jalen Hurts, Daniel Jones, Jordan Love, Bo Nix and Jayden Daniels.
The grade was good for 12th among all FBS quarterbacks in 2024.
After having just three touchdown passes in his first four games, he finished with 21 over his final nine games played with just four interceptions.
Had eight passes for 50+ yards, most in Big 12 and tied for second most in the FBS for the season, only ASU player this century to have more in one season was Jayden Daniels in 2019.
Among players with at least 300 dropbacks, Leavitt tied for third in the FBS with just five turnover-worthy throws on the season, according to Pro Football Focus.
His six interceptions were tied for sixth-fewest in the FBS among those with at least 300 drop-backs.
Was one of just four with 20+ touchdowns (24) with six or fewer interceptions (six) AND turnover-worthy throws (5) (min. 300 drop-backs).
Only 20 of his passes were broken, good for the 20th-lowest total in the FBS. His four passes batted at the line of scrimmage at tied for 25th-lowest in the FBS (min. 300 dropbacks).
Leavitt showed his ability to keep his composure under pressure, with 708 passing yards while pressured – good for 19th nationally despite missing a game. His 7.8 yards per attempt while under pressure were 12th-best in the country. His 5 under pressure touchdowns were 20th.
His 74.8 NFL QBR while under pressure was 30th in the nation. He picked up a first down with his arm 41 times on 143 pressures – 13th-most in the FBS.
Set his receivers up for success, finding open players and hitting dudes in stride to the tune of 58.6 percent of his total yardage coming after the catch – good for third nationally.
Rushed for 435 yards on 51 scrambles, good for the second-most among quarterbacks in the FBS.
Picked up a first down or touchdown on 47.1 percent of those QB scrambles, good for 11th among FBS quarterbacks (min 25 scrambles).
Had the nation’s sixth-best rushing grade when scrambling at 76.4. His 79.1 overall rushing grade was 18th among FBS quarterbacks.
First ASU quarterback to have six games in a season with three or more touchdown passes (6) since Mike Berocovici in 2015 (6). The six games were tied for second-most this century behind only Andrew Walter’s seven in 2004. The last Big 12 freshman to have that many performances in a season was Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford in 2007 (eight).
Thrice earned Big 12 Newcomer of the Week and also earned the Shaun Alexander National Freshman of the Week honor following the K-State contest.
First Sun Devil to post three consecutive games with three touchdown passes and no picks since Jayden Daniels did it three times in 2019.
He had his first career 300+ yard game on the road against Oklahoma State, finishing 20-of-29 for 304 yards and three touchdowns with no picks.
Named the Big 12 Newcomer of the Week following his four-touchdown effort against Kansas, including the game-winner with less than a minute remaining. The four touchdowns were the most for any quarterback in the country in Week 6 as he was the highest-graded quarterback in the Big 12 for the week by PFF and ninth best in the FBS (89.4).
Leavitt’s 258 passing yards in his starting debut against Wyoming were the third-most by a Sun Devil making his debut since 1996, behind only Joey Yellen (292 in 2019) and Jayden Daniels (284 in 2019)
X Alford, Defensive Back (IG | X)
Dubbed himself the @100YardLandlord across his social media platforms and has made sure to become eponymous with the title this season as ASU’s last line of defense in the secondary.
Played the 4th-most snaps in coverage in the Big 12 this season (354), allowing just seven receptions, the 2nd-fewest among Big 12 players (min. 250 coverage snaps) and 7th-fewest in the FBS.
Opponents chose to throw his way on just 4.2 percent of coverage snaps, the 4th-lowest total among all FBS players. His 14 targets on the year were 8th-lowest in the FBS.
Allowed just 76 yards in coverage last season – 8th-lowest among all FBS players and second in the Big 12.
Allowed just 0.21 yards per coverage snap last season, lowest in the Big 12 and 4th in the FBS.
Forced an incompletion 35.7 percent of the time when targeted, the best tally among all FBS players.
The nation’s 27th-highest graded safety on overall defense (80.5) and 21st-highest graded safety in coverage (85.8)
ASU’s last line of defense, Alford has been sure-handed as well with the nation’s 37th-best tackling grade among all players (86.6), tops in the Big 12 and 13th among FBS safeties.
Was credited with just four missed tackles last year, tied for 16th-fewest among FBS safeties (min. 400 snaps) with a 6.8 missed tackle percentage that is 13th among FBS safeties.
Member of the Pat Tillman Leadership Council.
Jordyn Tyson, Wide Receiver (IG | X)
One of only two receivers to land on the Walter Camp Preseason All-American Second Team.
A Third-Team All-America selection in 2024 by the Associated Press.
Had a breakout season in 2024, with 75 catches for 1,101 yards and 10 touchdowns before getting injured in the second half of the Nov. 30 Arizona game and missing the postseason.
Earned Big 12 Offensive Newcomer of the Year.
Had five games of 100-yards receiving including 12 catches for 176 yards and two touchdowns at No. 16 Kansas State on Nov. 16.
In the first six games, he totaled 25 catches for 369 yards and four touchdowns. In the second six games he had 50 receptions for 732 yards and six scores.
He caught eight touchdowns in six-game stretch 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.
His ten touchdowns tied him for sixth all-time in Sun Devil history, one of just 11 Sun Devils total to reach double digits in a season, and the most since Jaelen Strong had 10 in 2014.
The 176 receiving yards against KSU were the most since Brandon Aiyuk put up 196 on Washington State back on Oct. 12, 2019. It was the most receiving yards in a road game since Devin Lucien had 200 yards at California on Nov. 28, 2015.
Four of his touchdown receptions were in the final five minutes of a half (two in the first half and two in the second half).
Three of his seven touchdown catches came in the fourth quarter of games – which was tied for fourth among FBS receivers when his season ended. His 12 third down receiving conversions were tied for 17th in the FBS through the month of November.
Tyson has emphasized wide receiver coach Hines Ward’s “No Block, No Rock” mantra as he was fifth among FBS receivers with 298 run-blocking snaps until his season was cut short.
C.J. Fite, Defensive Lineman (IG | X)
Played and started in all 14 games during Arizona State’s run to the College Football Playoff.
A member of the Pat Tillman Leadership Council.
Cemented himself as one of the premier interior defensive lineman in the conference.
Finished the season with 30 tackles, four tackles for loss, and two sacks.
Managed to remain productive despite garnering a majority of the attention from opposing blocking schemes.
A matchup problem for Big 12 offensive lineman and a big factor in Arizona State’s impressive run defense.
Had at least one tackle in 12 of 14 games, including 3+ tackles on five occasions.
Recovered a fumble and returned it for what proved to be the game-winning touchdown in the 30-23 victory over Mississippi State.
Enjoyed one of the best performances by a defensive tackle in program history when he finished with eight tackles, two tackles for loss, and a sack against Texas Tech.
Came through with a crucial sack in the close win over UCF, one of his three tackles on the night.
Collected a pair of tackles in Arizona State’s Big 12 Championship victory in his home state of Texas.
Recorded a tackle for loss in the Peach Bowl matchup with Texas.
Speak of the Devils Podcast Sitdown Series: Defensive tackle C.J. Fite
Ben Coleman, Offensive Lineman (IG | X)
One of the conference’s top returning lineman
Key leadership piece offering a plethora of experience at the Division I level
Finished 16th among all FBS players with just four pressures credited by PFF this season (min. 250 pass block snaps). His 1.2 pressure allowed percentage on 325 pass block snaps was 17th in the FBS.
Coleman was not credited with allowing a sack last season.
His 89.6 pass blocking grade was 6th among all FBS players and 4th among guards (min. 250 pass blocks).
Has paved the way for ASU’s revamped offense, anchoring a line that was essential to a balanced attack.
Road grader for ASU’s All-Everything running back and Heisman candidate, Cam Skattebo.
Had not played a college football game in 646 days prior to his exceptional season.
Completed his second Master’s degree in the Spring of 2025
Clayton Smith, Defensive Lineman (IG | X)
Played in all 14 games during Arizona State’s run to the College Football Playoff.
Earned 12 starts at defensive end.
Established himself as one of the premier pass rushers in the conference.
Will be his second Big 12 Media Day, also attending the 2024 edition.
Finished the season with 33 tackles, six tackles for loss, and 4.5 sacks.
Managed to remain productive despite consistently facing double teams.
A disruptive presence all year, forcing a fumble, recovering a fumble, and breaking up four passes.
Had at least one tackle in 13 of 14 games, including 3+ tackles on six occasions.
Forced a fumble in the win over Mississippi State that was returned by C.J. Fite for a touchdown.
Came through with four tackles and 0.5 sack in the Peach Bowl vs. Texas.
Started out the season with one sack in four of the first five contests.
Contributed in many ways in Arizona State’s Big 12 Championship victory, collecting two tackles and a tackle for loss while adding two pass breakups.
Press Release courtesy of Sun Devil Athletics – Connor Smith
Click on Logo
