LSU fans are excited about Sam Leavitt as the Tigers' starting quarterback next season. So, what is LSU getting in Leavitt, who led Arizona State to a Big 12 Championship and a berth in the College Football Playoff in 2024?
“He’s definitely a quarterback who has the ‘X’ factor. Guys have it, or they don’t have it. And he has always had, from the day he arrived on campus, a knack for delivering in the clutch,” Michelle Gardner said.
Gardner covers Arizona State for the Arizona Republic and was on the beat for that magical 2024 season when the Sun Devils came out of nowhere to win the Big 12 title after winning just three games in 2023.
Arizona State went 11-3 in 2024 and won several close games, where Leavitt played well down the stretch.
Leavitt had 286 all-purpose yards in a come-from-behind 31-28 win over Texas State.
Leavitt threw a touchdown pass with 16-seconds left to beat Kansas 35-31 in the Big 12 opener to cap off a four-touchdown performance.
Leavitt also threw a late fourth-quarter touchdown to beat UCF 35 to 31 in a game that featured five lead changes.
In the Big 12 championship game, Leavitt accounted for four touchdowns as the Sun Devils routed Iowa State 45-19.
Leavitt also won a championship in high school. He won the 6A title at West Linn High School on his way to being named the Gatorade Oregon Football Player of the Year.
As a senior, he threw 3.184 yards and 36 touchdowns, while rushing for 693 yards and 8 TDs.
Leavitt signed with Michigan State coming out of high school. The four-star prospect only played in four games as a freshman for the Spartans. 2023 was a miserable season for MSU as they fired head football coach Mel Tucker over sexual harassment allegations and contract breaches.
Leavitt found a new home at Arizona State, which had just hired Kenny Dillingham.
Leavitt set a school record for total offense with 3,328 yards in 2024. His Pro Football Focus score was the eighth highest among all FBS freshman quarterbacks.
He threw 21 touchdown passes over his final nine games and threw just six interceptions.
In 2025, despite a foot injury, Leavitt played well in wins over TCU and Texas Tech. In the game against the Red Raiders, Leavitt threw for 319 yards. He only played in one more game before undergoing season-ending Lisfranc foot surgery.
Leavitt is known as a student of the game.
“He’s going to put in the dark hours, when you’re not on the field. Are you studying film? What are you doing off the field? And he’s one of those guys that’s going to put in all the hours and do everything absolutely in his power,” Gardner said
LSU fans hope history repeats itself. Jayden Daniels also transferred from Arizona State to LSU and ended up winning the Heisman in 2023. Daniels rushed for 1,000 yards that season, and Gardner said Leavitt is also dangerous with his legs.
Related
LSU portal tracker coverage is brought to you by First American Bank: The Spirit of First American - a banking tradition since 1910!
“Usually, there was at least one play a game where you were going, ‘How did he just do that?’ How he got out of some tackler. He’d run for a first down,” Gardner said.
Because Leavitt is still recovering from surgery, he will not participate in spring football, but he has shown during his football career to adapt quickly. He played at three different high schools during his four-year prep career.
But football is in his blood. His father, Jared Leavitt, played football at BYU. His brother, Dallin, played at Utah State and BYU and played four seasons in the NFL as a safety for the Raiders and finished his career at Green Bay.