Sam Leavitt’s 2025 season was cut short due to a season-ending foot injury in September. Despite this, he became the most sought-after quarterback in the offseason when he jumped in the transfer portal.
In the end, it was Lane Kiffin and the LSU Tigers who got hold of Leavitt’s services for the 2026 season, hoping the signal-caller would immediately turn them into national title contenders. Some, however, still worry about Leavitt’s health status going into the new campaign.
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Not to worry, Lane Kiffin said on Wednesday’s episode of “In the Bayou With Tyrann Mathieu”:
“Yeah, he’s doing well. You know he’s been out there now, pretty much full strength now, really good arm, really smart, I mean, he’s just in there grinding all the time and stuff. NFL mindset quarterback from a preparation standpoint.” (20:40)
Kiffin acknowledged that he would have to work through a lot of things with Leavitt over the summer and fall, and that the team would have to cram a lot of work into the next few months to make up for the time lost when he wasn’t at full strength.
In particular, he said this was due to having several new offensive pieces needing a lot of work to fit together.
Sam Leavitt among favorites to win the 2026 Heisman Trophy
The bookies seem confident that LSU’s new quarterback will have a good season in 2026. At least that’s what the odds for the Heisman Trophy seem to indicate, with the signal-caller having odds of +2200, according to Yahoo Sports. That is the 10th best at the moment.
Not that the preseason odds mean a whole lot, with Texas’ Arch Manning having had a commanding lead in the 2025 preseason odds. His first season as a starter ended up a disappointment, with the Longhorns missing the College Football Playoff.
Notre Dame’s CJ Carr is leading the odds for the Heisman, with odds of +750. Interestingly, despite his disappointing 2025 season, the oddsmakers still have Manning as the player with the second-best odds to win the Heisman, at +800
The rest of the top 10 is made up of the Miami Hurricanes’ Darian Mensah, Ole Miss’ Trinidad Chambliss, TCU’s Josh Hoover, Ohio State’s Julian Sayin, Oregon’s Dante Moore, Ohio State’s Jeremiah Smith (the only non-quarterback in the list) and Georgia’s Gunner Stockton.
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