The transfer portal has plenty of QBs, but none better than Sam Leavitt right now. As a new head coach in Baton Rouge, Lane Kiffin is currently looking for his signal-caller. Shortly after Kiffin’s potential QB target, Demond Williams, returned to Washington, the head coach has now made an aggressive push to land the former ASU QB.

Reportedly, Leavitt was on a visit to Knoxville at Josh Heupel’s camp from Wednesday to Friday. The next on his schedule was Miami. But the LSU head coach and his contingent flew to Knoxville Friday night and met with Sam Leavitt, trying to persuade him to come to Baton Rouge.

According to On3, the Tigers had a fruitful discussion with the quarterback. Leavitt still flew to Miami and will now be visiting the ACC program this weekend. The Kiffin visit wasn’t secretive, and he made sure that the world knew about it. The LSU head coach posted Knoxville airport’s picture on his X account and later posted a picture from inside his jet.

LSU seems “all in” to land the sophomore quarterback, who is touted as a dark horse Heisman contender in 2026. The Baton Rouge program is even willing to increase its offer, which was previously reported to be around $4-5 million. We could see Leavitt earning somewhere around $6 million in 2026.

All this re-chasing seems surprising now considering Leavitt visited LSU earlier in the week and stayed with the program for at least 48 hours. During the visit, he attended an LSU basketball game with Lane Kiffin, sitting on the courtside. However, the Demond Williams saga reportedly changed Lane Kiffin’s focus.

Despite signing a deal with the Huskies, Williams moved to the portal with a ‘no contact’ tag. Jedd Fisch and his program didn’t take the news well and even threatened legal action. At the time, LSU was heavily linked with the QB. Multiple sources even reported that the program was willing to offer $6 million for the Huskies #2.

Although Williams took his decision back and will play for Washington next season, that still made Leavitt look at other programs. Tennessee quickly came calling after his visit to Kentucky, and now, national finalist Miami has extended an offer. With that dynamic, can LSU still land the 6’2″ and 205 lb QB?

Leavitt is the No. 1 overall player in the transfer portal and had a strong tenure with ASU. ASU’s #10 has accumulated a total of 4,652 passing yards plus 816 rushing yards in his collegiate career and led ASU to its first playoff run in 2024. In 2025, Leavitt passed for 1,628 yards and rushed for another 306. If not for his season-ending injury midway through the season, we could have seen the QB easily surpass the 3,000 mark. Nevertheless, the quality is still there, and LSU needs it desperately.

Why do LSU and Sam Leavitt fit together like a glove?

The Baton Rouge program has no returning scholarship signal-callers on its roster. Moreover, the program is seeking quick success with Lane Kiffin, and the head coach has already added 19 players from the transfer portal. Leavitt appears to be the final component, perfectly suited to LSU’s offensive scheme.

Kiffin has a history of success when paired with mobile quarterbacks such as Jaxson Dart and Trinidad Chambliss. Leavitt, with his exceptional dual-threat ability, excels in executing those spread formations, deep shots, intermediate routes, and extending plays with his legs. On3‘s J.D. PicKell has described the possibility to be a “beautiful football marriage.” But that marriage isn’t as easy as it sounds.

Miami’s NIL resources consistently match those of LSU. Never mind that the program now boasts arguably the most explosive offenses in the country. Therefore, Leavitt would find it difficult to turn down Miami. That said, writing off LSU is also illogical, and with Lane Kiffin personally recruiting the QB, he won’t leave any stone unturned to make Baton Rouge Leavitt’s next home.

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