The Lane Kiffin era in Baton Rouge can officially begin now as the Tigers head coach has finally landed his quarterback as Arizona State star Sam Leavitt announced his commitment.
BREAKING: Arizona State transfer QB Sam Leavitt has committed to LSU, @PeteNakos and @Hayesfawcett3 report🐯https://t.co/U31NaOwnr0 pic.twitter.com/1tnilf3O5W
— On3 (@On3sports) January 12, 2026
Sam Leavitt ranked as the 2nd best QB in the Saturday Blitz Transfer Portal QB Rankings.
The entire situation was complicated by Demond Williams Jr jumping into the Transfer Portal and being tied to LSU, but in the end it's Sam Leavitt who will don the Purple and Gold.
When Lane Kiffin took the LSU job, one of his biggest tasks was landing the Tigers a starting quarterback for the 2026 season with Garrett Nussmeier off to the NFL and no clear successor on the roster. While LSU fans hoped that Lane Kiffin would bring Trinidad Chambliss with him or land Brendan Sorsby, who visited before picking Texas Tech, LSU fans have to be thrilled with the addition.
Sam Leavitt has everything LSU fans wanted from Garrett Nussmeier
While LSU fans loved Garrett Nussmeier, he also would drive them insane at times during his two seasons as the starter. The constant knock on Nussmeier was that he couldn't make plays with his legs while he would force throws when pressured leading to head scratching turnovers.
Sam Leavitt is a massive threat with his legs when healthy, rushing for 749 yards and 10 touchdowns in the last two seasons. In 2024 when both were healthy for the full season, Garrett Nussmeier had a turnover worthy play percentage of 4.9% while Sam Leavitt's was just 1.5%.
The Lane Kiffin offense is at it's best with a quarterback who can throw the deep ball and can extend plays with their legs. As a passer, Leavitt has graded out the highest when he's throwing downfield while he's shown flashes in the intermediate passing attack.
The biggest concern for LSU is going to be when Sam Leavitt will get on the field and start learning the Lane Kiffin offense. Leavitt's injury will likely lead to him missing Spring practice, and LSU can ill afford to start slow with a Week 1 matchup against Clemson.
Now that Sam Leavitt is on board, Lane Kiffin and his staff can attack the Transfer Portal to build out the rest of this roster. LSU has already added some new weapons in Tre Brown III, Tre Wilson, Jackson Harris, Raycine Guillory, and Malachi Thomas, but there's still plenty of holes left to fill.