No. 1 transfer portal QB ranked surprisingly low in early college football rankings

Just over a week has passed since the 2025 college football season reached its conclusion. A seven-month-long offseason stands between the beginning of the 2026 college football season and the College Football Playoff National Championship game.

With the 2025 season in the rearview mirror, media outlets have begun to make early predictions for how the 2026 season will play out. These predictions include College Football Playoff brackets, conference championship projections, and top 25 rankings.

J.D. PicKell of On3 assembled a list of the 10 best quarterbacks heading into the 2026 college football season on his show, "Hard Count." PicKell ranked new LSU starter Sam Leavitt as the No. 8 quarterback going into next season, a surprise considering Leavitt's No. 1 ranking at quarterback in the NCAA transfer portal cycle.

"If this feels low when it comes to Sam Leavitt, I hear what you're saying. The reason why I don't have him higher in these rankings as of right now, if we've learned anything from what this past year was, we want to see him healthy during spring practice," PicKell said.

"Sam Leavitt may or may not be ready to roll during spring ball; there's some ambiguity there. But if you watch the dude play, it's pretty obvious he's got the juice."

Leavitt is suiting up for his third different college football program following his decision to transfer to LSU. He began his college career at Michigan State under Mel Tucker in 2023, completing 15 of 23 pass attempts for 139 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. The Spartans fired Tucker with cause midseason, and Leavitt entered the transfer portal that offseason.

Arizona State was Leavitt's destination out of the transfer portal in 2024. He started every game for the Sun Devils that season, passing for 2,885 yards, 24 touchdowns and six interceptions and rushing for 443 yards and five more touchdowns. He guided Arizona State to its first Big 12 Championship victory and a College Football Playoff appearance.

Sam Leavitt throws a pass in Arizona State's football game against TCU. — Arizona State quarterback Sam Leavitt (10) throws a pass against TCU during a game at Mountain America Stadium in Tempe on Sept. 26, 2025. | Patrick Breen/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Leavitt's 2024 performance earned him Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year and All-Big 12 Second Team distinction. His 3,328 total yards of offense are the most in a single season by a freshman in Arizona State program history.

Injury limited Leavitt's 2025 season to just seven games. He threw for 1,628 yards, 10 touchdowns and three interceptions while rushing for another 306 yards and five touchdowns. Leavitt was the first of several Power Four quarterbacks to enter the NCAA transfer portal at the end of the 2025 regular season.