BATON ROUGE, La. — Quarterback Sam Leavitt makes his decision to transfer to LSU sound like something out of a dream.
“You know, I’m from Oregon. So, Louisiana kind of felt almost fake to me in a way. I didn’t think it was a real place,” Leavitt said with a grin that assured listeners his comments weren’t meant to be taken literally.
“But after being out here, you know, I just love the trees, and I’ve always wanted to be in the South,” Leavitt continued. “The humidity obviously was something I had to get used to, but I love it now. I love the way it makes my skin feel, you know? Everything like that. So, it’s been amazing.”
Certainly, Leavitt would appear to be in for an experience bordering on surreal.
The 21-year-old, former Arizona State star will be at the center of one of the biggest stories in college football in 2026: LSU’s first season under lightning-rod coach Lane Kiffin, a designer of prolific offenses whose notoriety only grew after his unusual, late-season decision to join the Tigers just as his former team, Mississippi, was about to enter the 2025 College Football Playoff.
Leavitt not only will operate Kiffin’s cutting-edge offense under the SEC spotlight, but play home games in 102,000-seat Tiger Stadium, one of the most famous and raucous sporting venues anywhere.
Leavitt already has enjoyed offseason experiences - and luxuries - rivaling those of starting NFL QBs. An LSU booster, attorney Gordon McKernan, supplied Leavitt with a private jet last month so he could take receivers and tight ends on a training and bonding trip to Dallas, where they stayed together in a rental home.
“Something I’ve always wanted to do: Hop on a pj with the guys and go train,” Leavitt said. “It really created a tighter bond with us and I was just really grateful to be able to do that with them.”
What remains to be seen is whether Leavitt can stay healthy - and win.
Leavitt took first-team snaps in practice drills on Monday and began his first media interviews since joining the Tigers by offering assurances that his 2025 right foot injury is no longer a matter of concern.
“I’ve been 100% for the past few months,” said Leavitt, who has not played in a game since late October and missed most of spring practice. “I really don’t think about it out on the field at all.”
Leavitt went on to describe himself as something of a health nut.
“My health is one thing that I take very seriously, whether it’s the food I eat, the way I sleep, the way I recover,” he said. “That’s kind of something that I prioritize in my life, I think to kind of an extreme level. So yeah, I’m ready to go.”
Kiffin concurred, declaring that Leavitt was coming off “a great week” of practice in which Leavitt was “taking care of the ball, throwing really accurate and on time.”
“We’re really excited about him,” Kiffin added.
Leavitt, who began his college career at Michigan State in 2023, was one of the stars of Arizona State’s 2024 CFP team that won the Big 12 before losing to Texas in overtime in the national quarterfinals at the Peach Bowl.
Leavitt passed for 2,885 yards and 24 touchdowns against just six interceptions that season. He also rushed for five scores.
Last season, however, Leavitt played through foot pain before he ultimately was sidelined in late-October by a Lisfranc injury that required two surgeries and months of recovery.
“It was definitely more challenging within the first four or five months,” Leavitt recalled. “Keeping my head down and putting in the work and understanding that delayed gratification was a big thing for me - you know, how much can I put in the work without seeing just immediate results?”
During that recovery, Kiffin persuaded Leavitt to include Baton Rouge in his college visits while he was in the transfer portal.
“It’s kind of an easy sell,” Kiffin said, alluding to recent Heisman Trophy-winning QBs Joe Burrow and Jayden Daniels. “You’re playing quarterback at LSU, which has been a pretty good move the last 10 years.”
Leavitt said he didn’t want to go into detail about how he was recruited out of the transfer portal, but did say that Kiffin “definitely did some great tactics.”
“I didn’t expect it to go in that direction,” Leavitt said of committing to LSU. “Then when I came out here, took my visit, just kind of fell in love with the place, fell in love with the vision.
“And LSU, you walk around and it’s a historic place,” Leavitt said. “Just been so many great players to come out of here. … I don’t really see how anyone can pass it up.”
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