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LSU football signed the top-ranked quarterback in the transfer portal. Lane Kiffin and staff went out and got former Arizona State passer Sam Leavitt to lead the Tigers' offense in Kiffin's first year. Leavitt, like any premium QB, didn't come cheap. LSU spent a pretty penny for Leavitt's services.
Leavitt comes to LSU after two years at Arizona State. In 2024, Leavitt was a key piece on a College Football Playoff offense. In 2025, Leavitt took a step back as ASU lost momentum and Leavitt dealt with an injury. LSU is expecting Leavitt to be healthy this year and, in turn, get the 2024 version.
Kiffin and LSU offensive coordinator Charlie Weis have a strong record with QBs. Last year, Ole Miss QB Trinidad Chambliss emerged as one of the best players in the country after transferring from a D-II school. Leavitt's talent, paired with Kiffin's offense, has led to sky-high expectations for LSU's offense in 2026.
Today, we'll take a stab at projecting Leavitt's stat line. The transfer portal QB has Heisman Trophy upside in this offense.
Sam Leavitt — Stats prediction for the LSU football QB in 2026
QB · LSU · 2026 Projection
Sam Leavitt
Passing
3,100Pass Yds
63.5%Comp (217/341)
9.1Yds / Att
23Pass TD
6INT
Rushing
490Rush Yds
96Carries (5.1 ypc)
6Rush TD
Any passing yards total over 3,000 would be a career high for Leavitt. In 2024, he threw for 2,885 yards in Arizona State's run-first attack. If he's healthy and stays healthy, I think he posts a new best. The Kiffin offense is prolific. It runs a lot of plays and racks up a lot of yards. Chambliss threw the ball 448 times in 2025. Yes, he had extra games on the playoff run, but remember, he wasn't the starter early in the year.
The 9.1 projected yards per attempt is aggressive, but I think Kiffin and Weis will aim to push the ball down the field. LSU has the playmakers to do it. In 2024, Ole Miss QB Jaxson Dart led the SEC with 10.7 yards per attempt. There's precedent for Kiffin QBs posting guady YPA numbers.
I went with 23 touchdowns. That would put Leavitt near the top of the SEC, but likely wouldn't lead the conference. Even if LSU is putting up a ton of points, I expect the run game to handle the dirty work in the red zone.
As for Leavitt on the ground, this is the biggest question mark as he returns from the foot injury. Leavitt was a dynamic athlete at Arizona State, and if he's ready to go, LSU won't hesitate to get the QB run game going.
I'm high on Leavitt entering 2026. All the reports regarding his recovery have been positive. Lane Kiffin knows quarterbacks, and LSU wouldn't have spent what it did on Leavitt if the Tigers didn't believe he had star potential in Baton Rouge. I'm not projecting Leavitt to win the Heisman, but I think he puts up big numbers and is an All-SEC quarterback.
This article originally appeared on LSU Wire: LSU Football Predictions – Sam Leavitt's stat line in Kiffin's offense
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