By GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor
In the end, LSU coach Lane Kiffin and Arizona State quarterback Sam Leavitt – the No. 1 player overall and No. 1 quarterback in the Transfer Portal – settled on one another.
Leavitt (6-foot-2, 205 pounds), who is a dual threat, has committed to LSU after visiting Miami over the weekend and Tennessee and Kentucky last week around a visit to LSU. Kiffin had early interest in Leavitt, then wanted Washington quarterback Demond Williams Jr. as Leavitt was visiting LSU last Tuesday.
When Williams ended up staying at Washington on Thursday, Kiffin went back to Leavitt – rushing to fly to Knoxville, Tennessee, last Thursday during Leavitt’s visit with the Volunteers. But Leavitt by then was looking elsewhere, because Kiffin’s eye had turned to Williams and didn’t push for a Leavitt commitment.
Will LSU have a Rocky time getting QB Sam Leavitt away from Tennessee after targeted QB Demond Williams Jr. is now contractually staying with Washington?https://t.co/rwKtq3PAX8
— Glenn Guilbeau (@SportBeatTweet) January 9, 2026
Leavitt visited Miami over the weekend, and Kiffin worried that he may lose him. So, he hosted USC quarterback Husan Longstreet (ranked No. 6) on Saturday at LSU. But Miami didn’t push for a commitment, because it now wants Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson. Kiffin may still be interested in Longstreet with the addition of Leavitt. Longstreet would give Kiffin three quarterbacks in this portal class as he gained a commitment on Sunday from projected backup quarterback Landen Clark (ranked No. 75) of Elon.
Lane Kiffin is now on his 4th QB portal target in 9 Days of the Portal – USC’s Husan Longstreet after Arizona State’s Sam Leavitt, Washington’s Demond Williams Jr. – who is staying at Washington – and Cincinnati’s Brendan Sorsby – now at Texas Tech.https://t.co/dn9xunxPP9
— Glenn Guilbeau (@SportBeatTweet) January 11, 2026
So Leavitt and Kiffin are together at last.
And Kiffin is the Portal King once more after a slow start on the opening weekend of the portal window from Jan. 2-5 and some ups and downs throughout.
Shortly after Leavitt’s commitment, Kiffin’s class rose to No. 1 in the nation after a No. 4 ranking as of Sunday night. And On3.com jumped Kiffin’s class from the 16th spot on Sunday to No. 10 with Leavitt. LSU now has 27 commitments or signees for its portal class of 2026 with Leavitt coming in at No. 26.
Sources: Arizona State transfer quarterback Sam Leavitt is expected to sign with LSU. Leavitt’s pick comes after trips to Kentucky, Tennessee and Miami. He led ASU to the College Football Playoff in 2024 and has 4,652 career passing yards and 36 touchdowns. pic.twitter.com/sAol6XDodc
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) January 12, 2026
Leavitt completed 216 of 350 passes (61.7 percent) for 2,885 yards and 24 touchdowns with six interceptions for the No. 23 passing efficiency rating in the nation at 150.2 in the 2024 season when he led Arizona State to an 11-3 and No. 7 finish (7-2 Big 12) and Big 12 title before losing to Texas in double overtime, 39-31, in the College Football Playoff. He also rushed 110 times for 443 yards and five touchdowns.
“Sam’s good. Sam’s really good. I keep saying it,” Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham said late in the 2024 season. “Sam’s really good, and we should be really happy that we have Sam, and we have him for two to three more years. I mean, Sam’s going to play on Sundays. There’s zero doubt in my mind Sam’s an NFL player.”
But Leavitt injured ligaments in his right foot during the 2025 season. He tried to play on it before calling it a season after seven games and having Lisfranc surgery, which involves plates and/or screws realigning the foot and includes a six-month recovery. He is expected to miss spring practice at LSU.
In seven games in 2025, Leavitt completed 145 of 239 passes for 1,628 yards and 10 touchdowns with three interceptions. He rushed 73 times for 306 yards and five touchdowns.
Leavitt will be the second Arizona State starting quarterback to transfer to LSU in four years.
Jayden Daniels transferred to LSU in March of 2022, became the starter and and won the Heisman Trophy in the 2023 season before becoming the second player picked in the NFL Draft in 2024 and winning NFL Rookie of the Year.
Leavitt began his college career at Michigan State in 2023. He was red-shirted after completing 15 of 23 passes for 139 yards and two touchdowns and 67 yards on 13 carries in four games. He signed with Michigan State as the No. 18 quarterback in the nation and No. 2 prospect in Oregon in 2023 from West Linn High in West Linn, Oregon. He was the Gatorade Player of the Year in Oregon as a senior after throwing for 3,184 yards and 36 touchdowns at his third high school.
Leavitt considered following his family ties to BYU, where his father and brother played. After entering the portal from Michigan State following the 2023 season, his top schools were Arizona State and BYU.
“Really good player. He comes from a good family,” BYU coach Kalani Sitake said before playing Arizona State late in 2024. “He’s super athletic. He can run. He’s got an accurate arm. I think he’s got a great football IQ. He’s dangerous. He’s got a lot of football to play. I think he he saw some opportunities over there at ASU. And you look at him, he’s thriving in it.”
LSU TRANSFER PORTAL COMMITMENTS AND/OR SIGNEES (27) – No. 2 BY 247Sports, 10 By On3:
No. 1 Quarterback Sam Leavitt of Arizona State
No. 2 Safety Ty Benefield of Boise State
No. 9 Defensive Lineman Stephiylan Green of Clemson
No. 10 Wide Receiver Eugene “Tre” Wilson III of Florida
No. 11 Defensive Lineman Malik Blocton of Auburn
No. 14 Edge Jordan Ross of Tennessee
No. 22 Wide Receiver Jayce Brown of Kansas State
No. 25 Wide Receiver Tre Brown III of Old Dominion
No. 34 Tight End Malachi Thomas of Pittsburgh
No. 35 Wide Receiver Jackson Harris of Hawaii
No. 75 Quarterback Landen Clark of Elon
No. 79 Running Back Raycine Guillory of Utah
No. 129 Wide Receiver Tyree Holloway of West Florida
No. 174 Wide Receiver Josh Jackson of McNeese
Unranked Wide Receiver Roman Mothershed of Troy
Unranked Offensive Tackle Darrin Strey of Kentucky
Unranked Wide Receiver Winston Watkins of Ole Miss
Unranked Edge Achilles Woods of South Alabama
Unranked Center William Satterwhite of Tennessee
Unranked Safety Treylan James of Southern
Unranked Wide Receiver Malik Elzy of Illinois
Unranked Offensive Tackle Ja’Quan Sprinkle of North Carolina Central
Unranked Defensive Lineman Jaylen Brown of South Carolina
Unranked Running Back Rod Gainey Jr. of Charlotte
Unranked Punter Hayden Craig of Florida
Unranked Long Snapper Mack Mulhern of Florida
Unranked Kicker Scott Starzyk of Arkansas
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