Mississippi State football: Three players to know from Arizona State

Mississippi State football heads west this week for late night action with Arizona State, and ASU might be better than most were expecting.

After being picked to finish last in the Big 12 in the preseason, the Sun Devils got off to an impressive start with a 48-7 win over Wyoming. They looked like they were better coached, more talented, and had more cohesion than last year's team. So who are their key players that State fans should be familiar with on Saturday night?

Quarterback Sam Leavitt can make plays with his legs

Based off his week 1 performance, Arizona State seems to have found their answer at quarterback. Sam Leavitt, who transferred from Michigan State, had a solid week 1 performance completing 14 of his passes on 23 attempts for 258 yards and two touchdowns. Leavitt's scrambling ability also adds another weapon for the Sun Devils' offense. He rushed for 47 yards on 8 carries with his longest run going for 21 yards. He's given their fan base optimism, and it will be an interesting matchup watching him attempt to make plays with his legs versus State's linebackers.

Cam Skattebo leads a veteran stable of running backs for ASU

Senior running back Cam Skattebo is another offensive player that State fans need to watch for. Entering the season, Skattebo had rushed for 2,675 yards and accounted for 22 rushing touchdowns and 5 receiving touchdowns in his career. In their game versus Wyoming, he only rushed for 49 yards on 11 carries, but that was because Arizona State was using a running back by committee approach. They had five players rush the ball at least five times, but Skattebo was the only player to carry the ball over ten times. His stats might not be as impressive this year, but with a deeper running back room Skattebo can rest and be more fresh late in the ball game.

Keyshaun Elliot is their anchor in the middle of their defense

After recording 111 tackles in his sophomore season, Elliot was poised to be one of the leaders on the defense for Arizona State this season. He picked up right where he left off last season by recording seven tackles while also intercepting the quarterback once. He is more of the typical box-to-box linebackers who is good at stopping the run in-between the tackles. He will be one of the focal points for Lebby on how to scheme around him. Expect Lebby to look to get the ball in space and beyond the hash marks to take Elliot out of his game on Saturday.