Hines Ward Says Arizona State QB Reminds Him of Big Ben
Former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward, who’s now the wide receivers coach at Arizona State, recently gave the Sun Devils’ quarterback Sam Leavitt a ringing endorsement. He sees the same killer instinct in him that Ben Roethlisberger had in Pittsburgh during his Hall of Fame career.
“And a coach that’s on the sideline, I can tell you, when (there’s a) TV timeout, when we’re all on the sideline, Sam has that look in his eyes, like, ‘We will not be stopped. We’re going to score,'” Ward said of Leavitt. “He wants to score each and every time he touches a football. And he had that same look that Ben Roethlisberger had. Anytime I looked at Ben and his eyes, I just knew we were going to win the game because he had that look. He was not going to be denied of us winning. So I see a little bit of Ben in Sam in that aspect, just watching him and his approach, because he’s very competitive.”
“He wants to make every play instead of throwing it out of bounds,” Ward said. “Ben had that same struggle. He just wanted to make every play, he wanted to make sure he can try to do all that he can to make the play. Sam has those intangibles.”
Arizona State had an impressive 11-3 season in 2024. The Sun Devils appeared in the FBS Playoffs and gave the Texas Longhorns a fight, losing 39-31 in double overtime.
To go from 3-9 to 11-3 in one season says a lot about the tremendous work that head coach Kenny Dillingham has done at Arizona State. Ward has had a big impact in the turnaround of the program, as well.
In 2024, Leavitt completed 216 of 350 passes (61.7%) for 2,885 yards with 24 touchdowns, six interceptions, and a passer rating of 150.2. Leavitt was a redshirt freshman last year, so he still has three more years of eligibility. Leavitt could enter the NFL draft in 2026, however.
Heading into the 2025 season, Hines Ward is already seeing maturity growth from the young signal caller.
“He’s taking it to another level, being more of a vocal leader, understanding that this is his team, and he wants to lead by example,” Ward said. “He’s the first guy out there. If you mess up or you run the wrong route, he will get on you. That’s what you want. You want that commanding enforcement from your quarterback, understanding that this is the level that I expect everybody to be on. … I love it, and our guys are starting to respond to it.
“He has that killer look in him, that we will not fail with Sam being in that huddle. That’s what I love about him.”