Sam Leavitt's health identified as a reason for concern in Lane Kiffin's debut season at LSU

Excitement for the 2026 season in Baton Rouge began from the moment Lane Kiffin was hired. Since then, the buzz has only increased at LSU. Most believe Kiffin has an opportunity to put together something special in his first season in charge. But at the same time, some are pumping the brakes. One of those is the SEC Network’s Cole Cubelic.

“I think it has a chance to be really good,” Cubelic said of Kiffin’s first season via On3’s Crain & Cone. “I’m just not as confident as some people are that it’s going to be incredible Year One. It’s still new, it’s still different.”

Turns out, quarterback Sam Leavitt is a big reason why. Cubelic believes the Arizona State transfer’s health is a bigger deal than being nationally discussed.

Leavitt did not get much run for LSU during spring practice due to a foot injury. Games were missed during the 2025 season as a result of getting surgery. The Tigers still pursued Leavitt out of the NCAA transfer portal, wanting him to be the guy. Still, Cubelic currently has his doubts about the situation.

“I think the health of Sam Leavitt is something we should probably be paying more attention to and talking about,” Cubelic said. “For some reason, people are sort of bypassing that and swiping left at that. I don’t really get it because he didn’t compete much in spring; he had another surgery. This is an injury, in the past, for other people, that has been reoccurring to a certain extent. So, you have to have some question marks next to it going into the season.”

An update on where Leavitt stands in his recovery actually came from Kiffin within the past week. He spoke with On3’s Wilson Alexander, revealing when Leavitt will be fully cleared by doctors.

In a world where LSU needs to turn to somebody other than Leavitt at quarterback, Kiffin actually took two more guys in the transfer portal. Husan Longstreet was another big splash for LSU. Longstreet began his career at USC and is a former five-star prospect. He spent the spring competing with Landen Clark, who was previously at Elon.

But everyone is hoping Leavitt is out there for the season opener vs. Clemson on Sept. 5 inside Tiger Stadium. Plenty of eyeballs will be on the matchup. Even ESPN College GameDay will be there for the occasion. The countdown is certainly on.