Former Arizona State Sun Devils quarterback has been praised by a football analyst and writer, Cody Nagel. The $4.5 million star quarterback also recently signed with the LSU Tigers under head coach Lane Kiffin.

Nagel, in an article about the 10 most "elusive" quarterbacks in college football, named new signing Sam Leavitt in third place.

"Sam Leavitt has a bit of that it factor that doesn't always show up in stats," Nagel wrote on August 2. "He is a natural fit for Lane Kiffin's offense at LSU, and there's a reason why Leavitt is among the highest-paid players in college football."

Nagel wrote this piece for CBS Sports. Leavitt's NIL valuation is $4.5 million, and he currently ranks fifth in college football for valuation, with the Miami Hurricanes quarterback Darian Mensah ranking first with a $6.5 million valuation.

 Leavitt performed decently in the last season before suffering a severe right midfoot Lisfranc injury requiring surgery. This limited his games to just seven for the season.

In those seven games, he threw for 1,628 yards and 10 touchdowns. He also completed 145 passes with a completion percentage of 60.7.

Furthermore, he gained 306 rushing yards and had five rushing touchdowns as well. Additionally, he also had three interceptions.

 Kiffin has an advantage, considering that Leavitt led the Sun Devils to a Big 12 Championship in December 2024, against the Iowa State Cyclones 45-19. He also played the quarterfinal in the Playoffs, losing 39-31 to the Texas Longhorns in double overtime.

Kiffin also spoke to the media recently, talking about Leavitt coming back from his injury.

LSU Tigers coach Lane Kiffin about the status of Sam Leavitt

As the fall camp for the LSU Tigers is set to begin on Wednesday, August 5, Kiffin has addressed the situation regarding Leavitt's ongoing recovery from his leg injury.

"Sam's doing great," Kiffin said, per John Eads of WAFB. "He's coming back from a foot injury. He's full strength. Now it's just about getting the timing down with everybody."

Kiffin further said how critical Leavitt is in the fall camp. He further added that he is in good shape and has been "grinding" to get back faster for the team.

Leavitt led the Sun Devils to a 5-2 record in the seven games that he played and started for them.

Once Leavitt returns to the playing field, it will be interesting to see how Kiffin uses him to his advantage.

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Written by

Dhruv Singh

Edited by

Zaid Quraishi