TEMPE — The defense Sam Leavitt has lined up across from in fall camp has presented a lot more chaos than what the Arizona State quarterback will see on game days, coach Kenny Dillingham said.
The defense returns 14 of the 17 players who logged at least 200 snaps last season, per ESPN’s Bill Connelly. That includes 10 of 11 starters, with nickel defensive back being the only spot that needed to be addressed.
“They’re a really fun defense to play against,” Leavitt said. “Talk about a group that’s played with each other for a year. Super smart, cerebral.”
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“I just get to play different like, you know, body mechanics, trying to sell different things, fake checks, everything to do with that, kind of see their positioning. We kind of go back and forth. They’ll get me on one rep, and they’ll fake it and do another thing the next rep. … It’s super fun to play against (that defense) every single day.”
The back-and-forth nature stood out on Tuesday, as practice included Keith Abney II jumping a route to intercept Leavitt in the end zone before a tough catch later by Jordyn Tyson that he tipped up to himself with Abney draped all over him.
The unit also dominated both of the Saturday scrimmages in camp, with an improved pass rush forcing Leavitt into quick decisions.
Defensive coordinator Brian Ward said it’s as good a group as he’s had in 20 years of coordinating.
“We disguise things really well,” Dillingham said. “And sometimes it’s easier when you prepare for a game, you shrink your playbook to 65 plays, 60 plays, you’re then seeing the same defense and the same formations.
“When we’re in practice, defense is installing. So you’re like, ‘Oh crap, this is new, this is new, this is new. What I just watched the last three weeks is new.’ So it’s actually harder … with this type of setting than it is in a game week when you’re live and you’ve prepared for all the looks.”
Offensively, improvements are expected to be “exponential” when facing a unit as good as ASU’s, offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo said.
“I mean, the step that a first-year quarterback takes to his second year is awesome,” Arroyo said. “To go against a really good defense probably illuminates a little bit more in regards to how much faster you get a guy to grow and how much more he gets to see coverage-wise, pressure-wise.
“He’s taking grasp of the offense more and more every day, the game’s going to slow down a little bit. … And we know Sam’s pretty (intentional) in regards to going to work.”
Sam Leavitt letting creativity flow in Arizona State fall camp
After Leavitt won the starting job during fall camp last season, Dillingham expressed displeasure in how Leavitt was pushing limits and trying things that first-time starters shouldn’t.
Think back to when Aaron Rodgers, who Leavitt has said he grew up watching and wanting to model, once said he throws 50-50 balls on purpose to see what his receivers can do.
Dillingham said Aug. 11 there has “100%” been more of that risk-taking from Leavitt this fall now that he has the runway to do it, and there’s often dialogue after.
“You want to take care of the ball in practice,” Dillingham said, noting at times there’s confusion as to when a play is blown dead. “I throw it to the route ’cause I thought you called me sacked ’cause I was, but then you didn’t, so it’s a pick-six.
“So I think that’s just the communication between me and him, making sure I know like, ‘You wouldn’t have thrown that, right? You were running.’ He goes, ‘Yeah, I was just practicing.’ There should be more of those plays in a practice than the game. I’ll say that.”
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