The Arizona State Sun Devils and the Arizona Wildcats are gearing up to make a significant impact in their inaugural season in the Big 12 in 2024. As is often the case in college football, a team’s success largely hinges on its quarterback situation.
Arizona Wildcats’ Quarterback Room
ESPN’s David Hale recently assessed the quarterback situations across college football, categorizing each team’s quarterback room into tiers. Arizona’s Noah Fifita and the Wildcats’ quarterback room landed in the second tier, alongside Miami and three Big 12 teams: Colorado, Kansas, and Utah.
According to Hale:
“Numbers-wise, you could make a compelling case for any of these starting quarterbacks to reside in our top tier. Frankly, you could flip this group with the one above, and it would only garner a few ugly looks. But if we’re jotting down our list of pros and cons, this group has perhaps one or two extra lines on the negative side of the ledger — items, it should be noted, almost entirely out of their control — that we can’t overlook.”
Hale noted that several quarterbacks in this tier face unique challenges: Fifita and Cam Ward have new head coaches, Jalon Daniels and Cam Rising are recovering from serious injuries, and Shadeur Sanders played behind a struggling offensive line.
Arizona State Sun Devils’ Quarterback Room
In contrast, Hale placed Arizona State’s quarterback room, featuring Jeff Sims, Trenton Bourguet, and Sam Leavitt, much lower, in tier 16. This tier also includes BYU, Northwestern, Rutgers, Stanford, and Washington. Hale’s assessment is based on Sims taking over as the starter, despite Leavitt leading the first team during spring practice before Sims committed.
Sims’ performance in the previous season at Nebraska saw him throwing for 282 yards, one touchdown, and six interceptions over five games. In fairness, Sims had shown better form during his time at Georgia Tech. Arizona State’s new coach, Kenny Dillingham, has a track record of developing quarterbacks like Jordan Travis and Bo Nix, and if he can unlock Sims’ potential, it could significantly bolster the Sun Devils’ prospects.
Noah Fifita’s 2023 Performance and 2024 Outlook
In 2023, Fifita threw for 2,869 yards and 25 touchdowns, completing 72.4% of his passes. The Wildcats finished with a 9-3 record in their final Pac-12 season, including a 38-24 victory over Oklahoma in the Alamo Bowl. Fifita will be playing under new head coach Brett Brennan in 2024, following Jedd Fisch’s departure to coach at Washington.
Arizona State’s Quarterback Situation for 2024
Sam Leavitt transferred from Michigan State, where he threw for 139 yards and two touchdowns in limited playing time in 2023. Jeff Sims transferred to ASU after a stint at Nebraska, where he struggled with six interceptions over five games. The Sun Devils had a turbulent 2023 season with three different starting quarterbacks. Trenton Bourguet, who started seven games, threw for 1,486 yards, one touchdown, and four interceptions. He is the only quarterback returning from the 2023 roster, with Jaden Rashada transferring to Georgia and Drew Pyne to Missouri.
ASU aims to improve their performance in 2024 after finishing with a 3-9 record in their final Pac-12 season.
As both Arizona teams transition into the Big 12, their quarterback situations will play a crucial role in determining their success in the new conference.
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