Sam Leavitt's status has been one of the most worrying topics for LSU fans since he sustained a foot injury last season. Head coach Lane Kiffin put everyone's mind at ease on that Thursday, however.
It appears Leavitt is making quick progress, enough to be a true practice participant sooner rather than later. That is something he has not been able to do with LSU to this point.
“He’s gonna be able to do full summer stuff,” Kiffin told the media. “ I don’t know what the exact date is, but yes, he’s going to be able to do full stuff in the summer.”
NEW: LSU QB Sam Leavitt is expected to be fully cleared from a foot injury this summer, Lane Kiffin tells @whalexander_🐯
— On3 (@On3) May 7, 2026
Leavitt is on track to participate without limitations when the Tigers begin preseason camp.
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LSU QB Sam Leavitt continues to recover from his foot injury
Leavitt's foot injury, which he sustained at Arizona State, was no minor thing. That goes without saying, considering how long the signal-caller has remained sidelined. It's a Lisfranc injury, to be exact. It's a painful condition that tends to linger and requires a substantial recovery time. Leavitt is finally bouncing back in a palpable way from it, though, recently resuming running activities after he had the pins removed from his foot.
While this development and Kiffin's comments are both strong reasons for optimism, how Leavitt's recovery progresses will be something Tiger fans hold their breath for. After all, when a quarterback isn't fully healthy, mechanics, accuracy, and everything else suffers. LSU's success on offense will rely heavily on what condition Leavitt is in and how it affects his performance if he is not at 100 percent capacity by Week 1.
Former Arizona State QB Sam Leavitt projects as one of Lane Kiffin's best transfer portal additions ever
Kiffin could not have outdone himself any more than he did by bringing Leavitt to Baton Rouge. And that's a quite literal statement, considering Leavitt was the No. 1-ranked player available in the portal at the time Kiffin acquired him.
Injury aside, Leavitt brings tremendous upside as a quarterback and quickly took himself from an underdog to one of the most highly-touted passers in the nation with what he accomplished at the helm of the Sun Devils.
He saw action in 20 games for the team, completing 61.3 percent of his passing attempts for 4,513 yards with 34 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He was off to a hot campaign that garnered national recognition in 2025, connecting on just under 61 percent of his passing attempts for 1,628 yards with 10 touchdowns and three interceptions before it was halted by the foot injury.
Because of that, Leavitt's progress was stopped dead in its tracks after seven games in 2025. But now, he's got a chance to bounce back with an SEC team of a higher echelon than Arizona State comes close to, with a strong supporting cast and an offensive mastermind as a head coach to help propel him.
If Leavitt picks up where he left off and is at full capacity, not only does he have the chance to evolve into a top future NFL Draft prospect, but LSU has the chance to be a real national championship contender in 2026.
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