By RON HIGGINS, Journal Sports
BATON ROUGE – Acclimation is as natural as breathing for new LSU junior starting quarterback Sam Leavitt.
Beginning as a high school freshman in 2019, the Oregon native is now attending his sixth school in the last eight years.
That’s three high schools (two in Oregon, one in Utah) and three colleges (Michigan State, Arizona State, LSU). The goal has remained the same at every stop.
Win. And prepare for an NFL career.
Despite some tedious moments in his latest transfer portal experience, he chose the program with two Heisman Trophy winning quarterbacks since 2019 (“I want to go somewhere I can be developed,” Leavitt said) and the school with the hottest offensive guru in college football.
And the reported $5 million, one-year contract for a QB with just 20 college starts and recovering from last Halloween’s Lisfranc right foot surgery was undoubtedly a clincher for Leavitt’s latest leap into the unknown.
“I’m from Oregon, so Louisiana kind of felt almost fake to me,” Leavitt said with a laugh on Monday as LSU began its second week of preseason practice. “I didn’t think it was a real place.”
Reality will slap Leavitt across the face when he steps into a sold-out 102,231-seat Tiger Stadium for the Sept. 5 season opener vs. Clemson in Lane Kiffin’s debut as LSU’s head coach.
Leavitt has never played in front of just more than 71,000 fans (in the 2024 College Football Playoff quarterfinal vs. Texas in Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium). But he’s finally healthy and eager to accept the challenge.
“I’m 100 percent right now, and I’ve been 100 percent for the past two months,” said Leavitt, who credited LSU head football trainer Dalis Boyette and his staff for his successful rebab.
“My health is one thing that I take very seriously. Whether it’s the food I eat, the way I sleep, the way I recover, it’s never a question for me. Ask everyone from everywhere I’ve been. That’s something that I prioritize in my life on a kind of an extreme level.”
Kiffin, whose offenses led the SEC in average yards per game in four of six seasons as Ole Miss’ head coach, is just now getting a look at Leavitt after he basically sat out spring practice.
“Sam’s had a great (first) week,” Kiffin said. “He had a great practice today (Monday), taking care of the ball, throwing the ball really accurate and on time. I’m extremely pleased with how he looks. Now that he’s healthy, he’s great. We’re really excited about it.”
It’s why Kiffin pursued Leavitt so doggedly in the transfer portal. Despite Leavitt missing the last five games last season after his surgery, Kiffin saw enough 2024 game film from Leavitt’s redshirt freshman ASU season when he accounted for 3,328 total offense yards and 29 touchdowns while starting 13 games in the Sun Devils’ 11-3 season.
Leavitt soaked in his recruiting visit to LSU.
“I just kind of fell in love with the place, fell in love with the vision,” Leavitt said. “At LSU, you walk around, and it’s a historic place. So many great players come out of here. It’s a situation where I don’t really see how anyone can pass it up.”
Yet, he almost did.
While Leavitt was on his recruiting visit, the news broke the Tigers planned to pursue Washington QB Demond Williams Jr. who said he was intending to enter the portal.
Leavitt wasn’t happy about that. He left the LSU visit without committing and flew to Tennessee for a visit. Kiffin flew to Knoxville to meet Leavitt.
“I’m extremely competitive, and I don’t really do well with `no’ — that just makes me more competitive when someone says `no’,” Kiffin said. “I sold him (Leavitt) how well people (quarterbacks) play in a short period of time with us. They don’t have to come and wait a year and learn. And with him projected to not be fully cleared in spring, I sold him at the last place (Ole Miss) look what the quarterback (Trinidad Chambliss, a late summer transfer) was able to do (guide the Rebels to the CFP semifinals) without a spring.”
Leavitt preferred not to reveal the details of Kiffin’s Hail Mary visit to Knoxville.
“I don’t really want to go too much into the portal process,” Leavitt said, “but he (Kiffin) definitely had some great tactics.”
Once he signed with LSU, Leavitt discovered a support team of trainers and strength coaches who helped him through his first couple of months in Baton Rouge.
“Just going through the process and keeping my head down, putting in the work and understanding that delayed gratification was a big thing for me,” Leavitt said. “How much can I put in the work without seeing just immediate results? Grind every single day.”
Leavitt understands what’s required to succeed.
His father Jarett was a BYU linebacker and his mother Josie was a Utah State soccer player. His older brother Dallin played safety for BYU and Utah State before a six-year NFL career as an undrafted free agent (four seasons with the Raiders, two with the Packers).
“I was probably in the ninth grade when my brother instilled film study in me,” Leavitt said. “I started to mentally learn the game. I learned to love the intricacies of the game.”
Now back practicing, Leavitt has impressed his Tigers’ teammates.
“He’s an unbelievable leader,” Boise State senior transfer free safety Ty Benefield said. “I love the confidence and swagger that he has, and just his big play ability to make things happen. I trust him tremendously.”
Returning starting senior center Braelin Moore noted while it was advantageous that LSU’s backup quarterbacks got all the snaps in the spring, the return of Leavitt is welcomed.
“Getting Sam back is just like a comfort blanket,” Moore said. “He’s been there before. He’s already played in the playoffs. He knows what it takes to win. Having a guy like that back there to really orchestrate everything is huge.”
In the meantime, Leavitt has learned that Louisiana is not a figment of his imagination. Rather, it’s like no other place he’s ever been on his nomadic athletic journey.
“The people are great in Louisiana,” Leavitt said. “Just walking down the street, the passion is pretty incredible. The way they love the state makes you want to be here even more. It’s just been a blessing being out here.”
Contact Ron at ronhigginsmedia@gmail.com