QB Sam Leavitt hurt, Jeff Sims to start for Arizona State vs. Cincinnati

Arizona State quarterback Sam Leavitt will miss Saturday's road game against Cincinnati due to injured ribs, coach Kenny Dillingham said Wednesday.

Jeff Sims will start for Arizona State against the Bearcats.

Leavitt injured his ribs in the second quarter of last Friday's 27-19 victory over Utah but returned a short time later and finished out the game.

Dillingham said Leavitt could miss multiple games. The Sun Devils (5-1, 2-1 Big 12) have a bye next week.

"I could give you a timeline but it's not real," the Arizona State coach said. "It could be two weeks, it could be four weeks. Hopefully the sooner the better. ... We're going to get through this week and then the bye week, half the bye week, and reassess it as it goes."

Sims is a former starter at Georgia Tech (23 starts) and Nebraska (two) who transferred to Arizona State following last season. Leavitt beat Sims out for the Sun Devils' starting gig in fall camp.

"We brought him in to compete to start," Dillingham said of Sims. "Sam's a really good player, Sam beat him out but it was close, Jeff had a good camp. And now Jeff, who has started a ton of games, gets to go start again. To me, there's not much drama."

Sims has passed for 4,759 career yards, 31 touchdowns and 29 interceptions in 32 games (25 starts) for Georgia Tech (2020-22), Nebraska (2023) and Arizona State. He has completed 1 of 2 passes for 13 yards in two appearances this season and also rushed for a touchdown against Utah when Leavitt briefly left the contest.

Leavitt, a transfer from Michigan State, has passed for 1,166 yards, eight touchdowns and four interceptions in six games this season.

--Field Level Media