Former Arizona State Sun Devils quarterback Sam Leavitt was one of the most highly sought-after prospects in the transfer portal in January.
LSU Tigers coach Lane Kiffin managed to lure Leavitt to Baton Rouge to headline his new team after leaving the Ole Miss Rebels last year.
Lane Kiffin Details Sam Leavitt Recruitment Process
While speaking to reporters, Kiffin revealed his pitch to Leavitt in January during the quarterback’s recruitment visit to Baton Rouge.
“I just think QB development is an easy thing to sell,” Kiffin said. “How well people play, how well people play in a short period of time with us. Not that they’d have to come and wait a year and learn and him projected to miss spring a lot and not be fully cleared for spring.”
Lane Kiffin on how he convinced Sam Leavitt to come to LSU:
“I just think QB development is an easy thing to sell… We kinda sold, hey, look just at the last place without a spring what the QB was able to do.” pic.twitter.com/IeMpxOgNAj
— The Next Round (@NextRoundLive) August 10, 2026
“We kinda sold, ‘Hey, look just at the last place without a spring what the QB was able to do.’ We brought in pieces around him and so I think it’s kind of an easy sell. And you’re playing here, you’re playing quarterback at LSU which has been a pretty good move the last 10 years.”
While visiting various campuses across the country, Leavitt attended an LSU game alongside Kiffin in Baton Rouge before traveling to Knoxville to visit coach Josh Heupel’s Tennessee Volunteers.
The charismatic Tigers coach reportedly intercepted Leavitt at McGhee Tyson Airport and convinced him to commit to LSU before visiting the Miami Hurricanes.
While speaking to reporters this week for the first time since committing to the Tigers, Leavitt revealed why he chose LSU over other programs recruiting him.
“Yeah, the portal process was pretty crazy. I didn’t expect it to go in that direction,” Leavitt said. “When I came out here, took my visit, just kind of fell in love with the place, fell in love with the vision, and just the whole situation. At LSU, you walk around and it’s a historic place, and there’s just been so many great players to come out of here.”
Leavitt’s 2025 season ended due to a Lisfranc injury to his right foot before he entered the transfer portal. A procedure to remove the surgical pins from his foot during spring training kept Leavitt out of action for an extended period.
The veteran quarterback started his career with the Michigan State Spartans, where he redshirted his freshman season before transferring to Arizona State. He led the Sun Devils to the Big 12 championship in 2024 and a College Football Playoff berth.
He has tallied 4,652 passing yards on a 61.4% completion percentage, 36 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions, while adding 816 rushing yards and 10 scores in his college football career.
During an injury-plagued season last year, Leavitt earned a PFN College QB Impact score of 79.7 after tallying 1,628 passing yards on a 60.7% completion percentage, 10 touchdowns and 3 interceptions, while adding 306 rushing yards and 5 scores.
