Sam Leavitt
Two years ago Sam Leavitt dragged Arizona State to a Big 12 title and the Playoff as a redshirt freshman. Then injuries stole his 2025. Now he's the first quarterback of the Lane Kiffin era at LSU.
Buzz vs Tape
Attention percentile: 87th · Production percentile: 51st
He's mentioned more than 87% of qualified QBs this season, but his production sits in just the 51st percentile — a gap of 36 points between volume and tape.
Also worth knowing:
The story
Leavitt's college career has been a spike and a setback. As a redshirt freshman in 2024 he was the engine of one of the sport's best turnaround stories, leading Arizona State to a Big 12 championship and a Playoff berth. His 2025 never got going -- a broken stretch of seven games before injuries ended it.
So he hit the portal as its top quarterback and chose the highest-pressure landing spot available: Baton Rouge, as the first starter of Lane Kiffin's LSU. The fit is the story -- a mobile, gunslinging passer handed the keys to an offense built by one of the sport's sharpest play-callers, on a roster expected to return to the Playoff in Year 1.
The forward question is health and fit: a full, healthy season of the 2024 version of Leavitt makes LSU a contender and Kiffin's debut a hit. Anything less, and a new era opens with a familiar question at quarterback.
Career Arc
Trophy Case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-CONFERENCE
All-Conf mention (2025)
All-Big 12
Coaching Lineage · 2023–2025
1 coachPlayed his entire career under Kenny Dillingham.
2025 snapshot
Season context · Team result + system
Splits & context
Supporting Cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Kenny Dillingham
Awards
Player Standing · 17 rungs
Tier 3 · RecognizedR09 · All-Conference HM / 2nd team
All-Conference HM / 2nd team. Conference recognition has started.
Trophy Case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-CONFERENCE
All-Conf mention (2025)
All-Big 12
Career stats
| Season | Team | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Arizona State | 145 | 239 | 60.7% | 1,628 | 6.8 | 10 | 3 | 129.2 | -- | -- |
| 2024 | Arizona State | 216 | 350 | 61.7% | 2,885 | 8.2 | 24 | 6 | 150.2 | -- | -- |
| 2023 | Michigan State | 15 | 23 | 65.2% | 139 | 6.0 | 2 | 2 | 127.3 | -- | -- |
| Career | 376 | 612 | 61.4% | 4,652 | 7.6 | 36 | 11 | 141.1 | -- | -- |
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Arizona State | 73 | 306 | 4.2 | 5 | -- |
| 2024 | Arizona State | 110 | 443 | 4.0 | 5 | -- |
| 2023 | Michigan State | 13 | 67 | 5.2 | 0 | -- |
| Career | 196 | 816 | 4.2 | 10 | -- |
Signature game
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 8 · 2025
W 26–22
vs Texas Tech
319 yds · 1 TD · 0 INT · QBR 70.6 · 3 rush yds (12 car)
A wire-to-wire battle — won by 4 at home.
How he plays
Play style
Leavitt is a dual-threat whose legs are the headline -- and the 2025 numbers say so emphatically. In an injury-shortened season his passing graded middling (28th percentile in completion, 41st in efficiency), but as a runner he was elite: top-3% in the country in rushing success rate and yards per carry, 90th percentile in explosive runs. He's a problem the instant the pocket moves. The fit at LSU is the whole story: Lane Kiffin builds explosive, quarterback-friendly attacks, and Leavitt's mobility adds a dimension Kiffin's recent passers haven't had -- if the arm catches up to the legs. The caveats are health and consistency as a thrower, and 2026 is his first year in a new system. Click early and it's the SEC's most fun offense; if the passing stays middling, defenses make him a runner and find the ceiling.
Our classifier reads him the same way: extends plays with his feet until something opens up.
2026 Outlook
Arizona State
2026 Depth chart
Returning starter
Quarterback · Arizona State · editorial
Returning around him
- 70% of 2024 offensive production back (Solid continuity)
- 4 Arizona State players drafted to NFL
- Transfer portal: +3 net (24 in / 21 out)
2026 Award watch
- Davey O'Brien
- Heisman Watch
- Maxwell Watch
Arizona State · Last season: 8-5 (AP #24) · Talent rank #33 · 2026 recruiting class #40
Perception vs tape
Leavitt's college career has been a spike and a setback. As a redshirt freshman in 2024 he was the engine of one of the sport's best turnaround stories, leading Arizona State to a Big 12 championship and a Playoff berth.
Read the story →DNA match
Player DNA
Scrambler
Makes plays with feet when the pocket collapses. Efficiency still on the rise.
His 2025 production profile sits closest to Conner Harrell’s 2025 season.
Differs from Conner on
Through 3 college seasons, his career arc tracks closest to Jaren Hall’s path through BYU.
Ian Book
Matches Jaren on
As a junior, his production profile tracks closest to Conner Harrell's junior season at Charlotte (2025).
Differs from Conner on
Player DNA
Players who play like Sam Leavitt
Heisman trajectory
Heisman futures · sportsbook market
#10 in market · 6 books
Heisman Trajectory · 2025
Peak #45
Peaked at #45 this season.
Development
Development Trajectory · passing yards
2023–2025+1071%
Up 1071% from first season to most-recent.