It's safe to say that Ward hopes his old team eventually drafts this QB
While his former team continues to search for Ben Roethlisberger's long-term successor, Pittsburgh Steelers legend Hines Ward recently compared an up-and-coming college quarterback to Big Ben, his quarterback during eight of his 14 seasons in Pittsburgh.
Ward, who is currently serving as Arizona State's receivers coach, recently said that Sun Devils quarterback Sam Leavitt reminds him of Roethlisberger, a two-time Super Bowl champion and future Hall of Famer. A sophomore transfer from Michigan State, Leavitt helped lead Arizona State to a Big 12 championship and a birth in the expanded College Football Playoff during his first year as the school's starting quarterback.
"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 recently 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."
Ward said that Leavitt is so competitive that he sometimes struggles to give up on a play. That was a challenge Roethlisberger also dealt with during his early years in Pittsburgh.
"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."
He's not as big as Roethlisberger, but the 6-foot-2, 200-pound Leavitt has a similar play style. While not a run-first QB, Leavitt is not afraid to take off downfield even if it means taking a lick from multiple defenders. Leavitt is also skilled at making throws on the run (something Roethlisberger routinely did early in his career) while giving his receivers chances to make plays.
Leavitt also has budding leadership skills that remind Ward of the Steelers' former quarterback.
"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."
While Ward would probably love it if they could, the Steelers can't draft Leavitt next month as he is a year away from being eligible for the draft. But if Pittsburgh is in a similar spot this time a year from now, it's safe to assume the franchise will at least take a look at a player that Ward speaks so highly of.
