Sam Leavitt: The Next Evolution of LSU's Quarterback Room.

Written By: Daunte Lee Jones

College Football, Film, & MMA Contributor

Sam Leavitt was starting quarterback for the Arizona State Sun Devil’s last year.

Sam Leavitt and Jordyn Tyson were a dynamic duo last year.

New Head Coach for LSU Lane Kiffin speaking to SEC Media.

Sam Leavitt in his new LSU threads.

Sam Leavitt throwing the ball in his season opener for LSU.

Sam Leavitt looks to follow the same path as great LSU quarterbacks that came before him, like Jayden Daniels and Joe Burrow. Most quarterbacks would fail to maximize this opportunity and lose confidence in themselves but for an athlete as resilient as Sam Leavitt this is a stepping-stone to greater opportunities.

Sam is not the first athlete in the Leavitt family to play collegiate football as his father Jared Leavitt, played linebacker for BYU while his brother Dallin also had a stint with the Cougars as well as Utah State and eventually joined the NFL. Sam’s fearless playstyle comes from his father who instilled toughness and physicality into his game before anything else. While his focus on studying film comes from his brother who taught him ninth grade to constantly watch game film. 

During his high school campaign, the quarterback would bounce around different schools around Oregon and Utah due to the ongoing covid 19 situation affecting teams’ decisions to participate. In his junior season he would be seen as a three star recruit and considered the number two overall recruit in his state. Many programs would show interest, but none would make a solid recruitment effort except for Washington State and Eric Morris.

They convinced Leavitt to verbally commit because of the similarity between his RPO heavy offense to the Cougar’s. But, after Leavitt’s senior year at West Linn High School would see him throw for 3200 passing yards and 36 passing touchdowns along with his stock rising to a four-star recruit, things would quickly change. Eric Morris would resign from Washington State to become the head coach for North Texas which would ripple to Sam, causing him to flip and commit to Michigan state.

Sam’s time at Michigan State was short and uneventful with little to none moments on the field. The most noteworthy moment from the season would be the firing of head coach Mel Tucker due to sexual misconduct allegations. At the end of the season seeing new head Jonathan Allen pursue quarterback Aiden Chiles in the transfer portal would cause him to make the amazing decision to enter himself in the transfer portal and commit to Arizona State. 

Success would quickly arrive for Leavitt as a Sun Devil with his first game being a 48-7 win over Wyoming. He’d carry this momentum to the end of the season with nearly 3000 passing yards, 443 rushing yards, and 29 total touchdowns. He’d even bring Arizona State to a Big 12 championship win as well as a spot in the college playoffs where in a tough brawl with Texas, they’d lose in double overtime 39–31.

A key factor to Leavitt’s improvement was his connection with both the two-time First-team All-Big 12 wide receiver Jordyn Tyson and the recently drafted Bo Nix who acted as mentor to Leavitt. In the following season an early injury on the year would linger with Sam until elimination from conference and playoff appearances would lead to the quarterback becoming decommissioned for the rest of the season. 

Leavitt would not only enter surgery for his foot the following offseason but the transfer portal as well. Reasons that field his decision are speculated to be a falling out with head coach Kenny Dillingham as well as his price for NIL payment not being met with the program. Sam has made the choice to pursue the 2026 season as a LSU tiger.

Now recovered from injury we will watch as his shifty rushing ability, strong arm, and fearlessness to take the big plays mesh with Lane Kiffin’s score early off explosive plays mindset. In fact, we have seen the tip of the iceberg of the duo’s potential against expected high caliber competition in Clemson who were brutalized by Leavitt who had a shocking 100 rushing yard performance to beat them 51-10.

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