Sam Leavitt Gives Fresh Update on Season-Ending Injury He Suffered at ASU
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Sam Leavitt’s story at LSU didn’t begin with hype or spring dominance. He’s still recovering from an injury he suffered at Arizona State last season. And this is serious because the Tigers’ 2026 ceiling starts with his right foot. That’s why there’s still a question mark on Lane Kiffin’s offense for 2026, at least on the QB side. But on Monday, a positive rehab update dropped on his Instagram.
Leavitt originally hurt his foot against Baylor last September. He bravely played through the pain for a few weeks before being forced to undergo season-ending surgery in late October.
“Small step back for a bigger one forward!! Let’s GEAUX!!” Sam Leavitt posted on his IG story, sharing a picture of his bandaged right foot. “Got the pins out of my foot from initial surgery, lol, did not get injured again.”
It may be a small update, but it’s a meaningful one, especially when you have thousands of fans worried about the progress. Getting those pins removed is like a checkpoint, as it shows that the recovery is advancing. Still, this doesn’t mean LSU is in the clear because the real test hasn’t even started.
Spring practice is different from real football. Those non-contact drills and controlled reps help, but it’s not SEC football where DEs won’t ease up because you’re coming off a football surgery. In contrast, that might even become a weak point that opponents could exploit. Sam Leavitt moving around in the spring was encouraging, but Lisfranc injuries tend to linger. They test explosiveness and challenge-cutting ability, which are the main traits that define the QB’s game.
So while the pins are out, the real evaluation hasn’t even begun. And there’s urgency in this because LSU didn’t bring in Lane Kiffin to be average. Likewise, the head coach didn’t bring in Sam Leavitt to struggle. The Tigers’ offense last season was terrible, as they averaged 22.8 points per game and 5.2 yards per play. That’s why the offensive genius, aka transfer portal king, is in Baton Rouge.
At Ole Miss, Lane Kiffin’s units thrived. When he left Oxford, he already had more than 37,000 total yards. Now, he’s bringing that sustained output to LSU along with his right-hand man, Charlie Weis Jr., and has already doubled down on tempo, flexibility, and QB mobility. That’s why Sam Leavitt, the headliner of LSU’s portal haul, is here now.
Lane Kiffin knows what he can do with a healthy Sam Leavitt. In just seven starts last season, Leavitt proved his efficiency, throwing for 1,628 yards and 10 touchdowns against only three interceptions while leading his team to a 5-2 record. More importantly for Kiffin’s scheme, he’s a legitimate running threat, adding 306 yards and five scores on the ground. And you know how Kiffin emphasizes the run game.
Can Sam Leavitt justify Lane Kiffin’s QB choice?
Lane Kiffin’s offense depends on mobile QBs. So his choice of QBs is usually those who have the ability to extend plays, stress defenses, and benefit from broken pockets. Sam Leavitt is the perfect guy for that. Across his career, he recorded 4,652 yards and 816 yards for passing and rushing, respectively. At ASU, he led the Sun Devils to a 16-4 record as a starter, including an 11-2 run and a CFP berth in 2024.
From what he’s running at LSU, this season is going to focus heavily on the run game, and players are already seeing the changes, including RB Harlem Berry.
“This is definitely a different type of offensive scheme,” he said of Lane Kiffin’s offense. “A lot of different things I’m seeing and just being able to get us out the backfield more in routes and in space is something we’ve seen a lot, and I’m loving it.”
Still, LSU is an “expansion team” right now, as Lane Kiffin puts it. And even with all the pieces and schemes intact, the success of their offense is still going to depend heavily on the health of Sam Leavitt. The reality Tigers fans have to deal with is that a dual-threat QB with a compromised foot isn’t a dual-threat QB, but a question mark. But well, the pins are out, and progress is showing, so we’ll see how it goes.
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