SAM LEAVITT 2026 PROFILE: LSU'S 2026 QUARTERBACK

Lonn Phillips Sullivan
3 hours ago
4 min read

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By LONN PHILLIPS SULLIVAN

When LSU earned a hard fought, sometimes dramatic, other times scandalous, equally improbable commitment from former Arizona State quarterback Sam Leavitt, the Tigers fanbase rejoiced and national talking heads ruminated on how Lane "The Portal King" Kiffin flipped a situation that turned desperate into a key, hyper crucial portal win & the nation's #1 ranked transfer portal class.

Signing the top rated quarterback out of the transfer portal is always a major win, but when you can marry a top dual threat signal caller alongside expert playcalling (Charlie Weis Jr), a quarterback's dream as your Head Coach (Lane Kiffin), and a hefty portal bounty continuing to add (solid to elite) portal talents at receiver, running back, and offensive line, blessed and fortified by LSU's maximum talent pool and seemingly boundless resources, you have the chance for something special in 2026...

Leavitt has had an interesting journey, from growing up in Oregon, also spending his sophomore year of high school in Salt Lake City, Utah as his family moved to be closer to Leavitt's father & brother at BYU, Sam attended three different high schools, Westview in Oregon, Utah's Pleasant Grove, and finally spending his senior year back home in Oregon at West Linn, bouncing back and forth due to these family moves.

Football was well entrenched in the family: his father Jared was a linebacker at BYU in the 90s & spent 2 years in Barcelona on a LDS mission, while his older brother Dallin also played at BYU before a 5 year NFL career with stops playing for the Raiders, Packers and Broncos; Because of the family's LDS Mormon background and history in Provo, Sam even considered attending BYU at one point.

All of the moving and shuffling didn't prevent Leavitt from reaching his ultimate powers in 2022, named Gatorade Player of the Year in Oregon following an epic senior campaign, notching 3,184 passing yards & 36 passing touchdowns on his resume.

Ever the restless football vagabond, never settling, Sam also spent time at a trio of colleges, starting off at Michigan State in 2023.

He redshirted his freshman season, only making 4 appearances for the Spartans, and headed West for Arizona State after one season, arriving at a school still needing a quarterback (after their last one found themselves a Heisman winner at LSU).

He became an established starter over 2 seasons at Arizona State, leading the program to a College Football Playoff appearance in 2024, while beating 4 top 20 teams en route to a Big XII Championship, where Leavitt & the Sun Devils went scorched earth on Iowa State, 45-19.

Arizona State's surprising 11-3 run ended after a single playoff game, falling in double overtime 39-31 in the Peach Bowl vs Texas, Leavitt passing for 222 yards & rushing for 60 in a solid display.

In 2025, Leavitt and Arizona State had massive ambitions, but a LisFranc ankle injury sidelined the starter after just 7 games, curtailing a season that was built on promise, Arizona State posting a 5-2 record when Leavitt went down.

Most of the recruiting drama during Leavitt's transfer portal sweepstakes revolved around the health of his ankle....would he be available for Spring???

No...

Would he be available for summer workouts???

Maybe...maybe not...

Because of the skepticism over his injury, Leavitt experienced the distinction of being both the #1 ranked QB in the portal, and also a transfer quarterback many programs were afraid to sign...including LSU at one point...

Following the debacle of Leavitt's final night on campus, Coach Kiffin pulled a 180 from a situation that almost slipped through his fingers; The Leavitt Saga became a high stakes drama of private jet trips by Kiffin to Knoxville in an attempt to smooth things over with Leavitt.

And due to both parties' mutual enthusiasm, tinged with a layer of desperation & deep-rooted concern, Leavitt came back to the table, ready to become a Tiger.

For Kiffin, the risk of his injury may have been a worry, yet it was never a point of departure. Kiffin's evaluations on Leavitt tell a bigger story...a widescreen cine-dome of transcendent, titilating possibility.

While only recording a pair of 300 yard games as a passer over his career, as his offenses scored 40+ points over 4 of his 24 collegiate appearances, not necessarily the most explosive numbers, Kiffin wanted Leavitt for his dual threat intangibles, scheme fit, and experience more than requiring or even expecting Leavitt to become a stat-stuffing juggernaut.

From our own film study, the West Coast-born QB's intangibles aren't hard to spot:

Toughness, from hanging in the pocket and taking vicious hits in order to deliver deep throws down field, as well as being able to rush the ball over the line from short yardage, taking a premium physical punishment.

His pocket instincts are dynamic, able to manipulate and explode into space with his legs or maneuver, re-platform and launch on target while evading or moving against pressure from all sides.

Leavitt is faster than you think....his speed isn't elite, but his instincts, vision, and anticipatory moves are next level at their apex, destroying opponents as he shoots gaps, takes advantage of yards of barren, empty space in front of him, chews up grass with the speed of a meth-crazed Les Miles, and routinely broke defenses due to his legs.

The major question there: Will his ankle injury limit Leavitt's explosive velocity as a lethal rushing threat?

Leavitt's arm is strong, capable of hitting deep shots on occasion, but his aerial pedigree is still not elite, however there is plentiful evidence of smooth operating brilliance in the intermediary, underneath, and screen game, all facets of Kiffin's offense.

For all the talk of his signing being a "gamble" or his arrival beginning on already shaky, even at times dramatic grounds, against the suffocating outside pressure (with microscopic attention fixated upon Leavitt's recovery & Kiffin's Public Enemy #1 status), there is obviously a profound faith both Head Coach and newly minted Quarterback have placed in one another.