ESPN Releases Pre-Spring QB Rankings For All 68 Power 4 College Football Teams

Bill Connelly on ESPN released his pre-spring QB rankings for all 68 Power 4 college football teams last week.

Sitting at No. 14 in his rankings was new LSU quaterback Sam Leavitt.

Leavitt was the fifth SEC quarterback on Connelly's list behind Trinidad Chambliss, Arch Manning, Gunner Stockton, and Byrum Brown.

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14. Sam Leavitt, LSU Tigers

2025 stat line (Arizona State): 65.8 QBR, 1,628 passing yards, 10 TDs, three INTs, 60.7% completion rate, 11.2 yards per completion; 420 non-sack rushing yards, five TDs

To understand why Lane Kiffin was desperate to bring Leavitt to Baton Rouge, let's share a different stat line.

2024 stat line (Arizona State): 80.0 QBR, 2,885 passing yards, 24 TDs, six INTs, 61.7% completion rate, 13.4 yards per completion; 574 non-sack rushing yards, five TDs

Injuries derailed Leavitt's 2025 campaign, and he appeared to burn plenty of bridges on his way out of Tempe, but maybe that makes him a good fit with a bridge-burning head coach. Regardless, he's dynamite when healthy, and almost no one more consistently coaxes epic upside out of their QBs than Kiffin. It's easy to see this move working out beautifully for LSU.

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