A former Michigan State quarterback is headed to a prominent SEC program this offseason.
After spending the last two seasons playing for Kenny Dillingham and Arizona State, even leading the Sun Devils to the College Football Playoff in 2024, Sam Leavitt entered the transfer portal following the regular season.
The move was a bit shocking because he proved that he could make the playoff at Arizona State, and when healthy, he’s a legit Heisman candidate.
However, he was “shopping around” near the end of the season which surprised many, and he was likely looking for a nice payday for his junior season — and he likely got one.
On Monday afternoon, Pete Thamel reported that Leavitt is expected to sign with LSU and new head coach Lane Kiffin. That’s right, a former Spartans is about to be Kiffin’s first QB1.
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
This move felt like it was coming ever since Leavitt took a trip to Baton Rouge and was seen hanging out with Kiffin at the LSU hoops game. The fit also feels perfect because Kiffin wanted a bigger program with higher expectations and a larger check and Leavitt is about to get the same thing. He felt like Arizona State wasn’t big enough for him, presumably.
Now, Leavitt joins Kiffin in what is sure to be the most-talked-about program this offseason.
Sam Leavitt: The story of what could’ve been
When Jonathan Smith was hired at Michigan State, Leavitt wasted no time entering the transfer portal, and the rumored reasoning behind the departure was that the new Spartan head coach never recruited him in high school despite coaching Oregon State which was in the same region.
He also probably didn’t want to have to compete with Smith’s own hand-picked quarterback, Aidan Chiles, who was following him to East Lansing.
In that first season after leaving Michigan State, Leavitt passed for nearly 2,900 yards and 24 touchdowns with just six picks while leading Arizona State to the playoff. He got off to a nice start in 2025, passing for 1,628 yards and 10 touchdowns in seven games before suffering a season-ending injury.
While I don’t think he would’ve led Michigan State to the playoff in 2024 or 2025, fans will always wonder what would’ve happened if he stayed in East Lansing.
The program may have looked a lot different today.