After the Week 2 loss against Jeff Lebby’s Mississippi State, Kenny Dillingham and Arizona State were hell-bent on not losing another. Since then, they’ve won three games in a row, including a comeback victory against the former No. 24-ranked TCU football team. Just as the Sun Devils were hitting their stride, Sam Leavitt went down with a lower-body injury, reported earlier this week. With Leavitt sidelined ahead of their biggest challenge of the season, ASU AD Graham Rossini gave his opinion on backup Jeff Sims.
Leavitt allegedly suffered the injury in Week 4 against Baylor. Despite having a bye week, a full recovery may not have been possible. If the rumors are to be believed, then Leavitt put his health on the line and played through injury against TCU. However, Dillingham isn’t planning to take that kind of risk again. If things go south, it could derail their entire season. Dillingham made the best possible decision. He bet on backup Jeff Sims against Kyle Whittingham’s stout defense.
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On October 10th, Sun Devils AD Graham Rossini hopped onto the ‘Arizona Sports’ podcast/radio and opened up about Sims. “Disappointed that Sam won’t be in a position to go tomorrow. But this is where the depth of your roster really comes into play. And Jeff Sims, as you talked about, is talented at the high Division I level. While he hasn’t played a lot at ASU, he’s been an integral part of this team. This is a kid that could have gone to a lot of other places in the last transfer portal, he wanted to come back.” Looks like the chief has a lot of trust in the senior QB.
Jeff Sims started his career at Georgia Tech in 2020, where he started for 23 games, across his 3 seasons. He then entered the transfer portal and went to Nebraska. After failing to win the starting job there, the former Yellow Jacket QB transferred to the Sun Devils. Last season, he only saw major action in one game, where he threw for 155 yards while rushing for 53 yards in their 14-24 loss against Cincinnati.
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His best season was in 2021, when he threw for 1,468 yards for 12 touchdowns,. In 2025, Sims has made only one appearance against Texas State Bobcats, recording three rushes for 22 yards without any passing attempts. The question is, can he actually play against Utah’s defense? Through the first four games, the Utes’ defense has allowed only 14.6 points per game, ranking it 16th nationally.
Arizona State vs Utah Utes Injury Report
Arizona State is going into the game with a lot of injured players. Some big-time names won’t be suiting up at all, including defensive backs like Xavion Alford and Plas Johnson, defensive end Albert Smith III, wide receiver Noble Johnson, linebacker Zyrus Fiaseu, and offensive linemen Desean Bryant Jr., Ian Shewell, Doughless Teloma, and Brent Helton. Defensive linemen Zac Swanson and MyKeil Gardner are also out. Their running back Kyson Brown is listed as questionable, so he might or might not play. This is a big list. Utah does not have the same volume of injuries.
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Utah also has some players who won’t be playing in the game. These include safeties Rabbit Evans, Nate Ritchie, and Josh Sovereign, wide receiver Daidren Zipperer, tight end Hunter Andrews, defensive end Paul Fitzgerald, and offensive lineman Isaiah Garcia. Losing these players could make it harder for Utah, especially on the offensive and defensive lines.