Sam Leavitt’s Preseason All-SEC Snub Adds Fuel to LSU’s Biggest Storyline

LSU's quarterback situation continues to dominate headlines heading into the 2026 season, and this week gave fans more fuel to throw on the fire. When the preseason All-SEC teams were released, Sam Leavitt's name was nowhere to be found among the three quarterbacks selected.

The quarterbacks who did make the cut were Texas' Arch Manning, Ole Miss' Trinidad Chambliss and Georgia's Gunner Stockton. All three are returning starters and proven commodities.

For a player many consider LSU's most important offseason addition, getting left off all three teams only intensified questions that were already swirling around him.

What makes the exclusion even bigger is that Leavitt sits at No. 10 nationally in FanDuel's Heisman odds, giving him the third-best odds of any SEC player behind only Manning and Chambliss.

The absence from the All-SEC list arrived just days after Leavitt was left off LSU's roster for SEC Media Days. Combined, the two snubs have turned Leavitt's introduction to the SEC into the late summer's hot topic for the Tigers.

The Media Day Absence

Jul 23, 2026; Tampa, FL, USA; LSU Tigers head coach Lane Kiffin speaks to the press during SEC Football Kickoff Media Day at the Tampa Marriott. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

LSU chose not to bring Leavitt to the conference's preseason kickoff media event, instead sending linebackers Whit Weeks and T.J. Dottery along with tight end Trey'Dez Green to join Lane Kiffin in Tampa.

For a quarterback billed as the centerpiece of the offense, his absence from the podium raised eyebrows across the league, especially with the injury questions he's carrying into this offseason.

Leavitt, the highest-touted transfer from Arizona State, had missed most of LSU's spring practices while recovering from foot surgery and was only recently cleared for full participation in summer workouts.

Kiffin did explain that the program didn't want the injury to become the dominant storyline of his first public and media appearance.

The group LSU brought was strong, and Leavitt likely would have been the next player chosen if there had been room for a fourth. Still, plenty of observers viewed the decision as a missed chance to introduce one of the biggest questions in college football to them.

Kiffin Defends His Quarterback

Kiffin told reporters in Tampa he isn't worried about Leavitt's health anymore, saying his focus has shifted to Leavitt's transition into LSU's system and the value of in-game experience with new teammates. That suggests the coach sees the missing All-SEC nod as more about unfamiliarity than talent.

Kiffin pointed to Chambliss as a comparable case, noting Chambliss developed into a star without spring reps or first-team summer work. He simply made a pointed reminder that preseason snubs haven't stopped other SEC quarterbacks from having big years.

At the podium, Kiffin reiterated his confidence in Leavitt's recovery and stressed that the two still need time to grow together as player and coach.

Kiffin's message has been consistent since arriving at LSU: the doubts are about reps, not health.

Pushing Back on the Doubters

Arizona State quarterback Sam Leavitt (10) celebrates his touchdown run with teammate Jordyn Tyson (0) against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Mountain America Stadium in Tempe on Sept. 7, 2024. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Green offered his own endorsement of Leavitt from the podium Thursday, praising his competitiveness and leadership and calling him "a real quarterback" who wants to be first in everything.

That kind of buy-in is directly contrary to the outside perception being built around Leavitt's repetitively being overlooked.

Kiffin added that Leavitt has already been clocked at 21 mph since spring camp and has begun flashing in workouts. With LSU now just over 40 days from opening the season against Clemson, the Tigers have a short runway to prove the All-SEC omission was simply preseason chatter.

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