As the college football carousel continues to turn, Tennessee appears to now be in the mix for former Arizona State quarterback and No. 1 overall transfer prospect Sam Leavitt. According to a report from 247Sports’ Chris Hummer, Leavitt arrived on Tennessee’s campus on Wednesday for a visit with head coach Josh Heupel and his staff.
Leavitt, a quarterback who led the Sun Devils to the College Football Playoffs in 2024, began his portal tour with a visit to Kentucky before a trip to LSU. Kentucky has moved on with the addition of former Notre Dame quarterback Kenny Minchey, but Leavitt was seen at the LSU Tigers’ basketball game courtside with Lane Kiffin on Tuesday night. Kiffin is still looking for his starting quarterback for his first season in Baton Rouge.
With Tennessee now in the mix, one prominent college football insider believes that the Vols have a legitimate chance to land Leavitt.
“Sam Leavitt’s been to Kentucky and LSU now. He’s going to go to Tennessee. I would tell you this. I think Sam Leavitt is still evaluating his options,” On3 Sports’ Pete Nakos said on Wednesday’s episode of Rivals’ Recruiting Show with Josh Newberg. “He obviously has not committed to LSU; that didn’t happen on the visit… I’ll tell you this, too. I think Tennessee has a legitimate chance to land Sam Leavitt.”
Nakos also mentions that Miami is a dark-horse contender for Leavitt and that it’s noteworthy to remember that Leavitt is an Oregon native. Still, though, there doesn’t seem to be a clear path for where the transfer quarterback ends up at this time.
“I’ll just say how it is,” Nakos said. “It’s extremely unclear where Sam Leavitt’s going to land right now. From speaking with some sources (Wednesday) morning, it sounds like the Tennessee visit may have always kind of been in the mix. Definitely wasn’t at the forefront of his recruitment, though. I think we’ve got to see how things play out.”
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Leavitt is a superstar quarterback with proven playoff potential. He’s ranked as the top overall transfer portal prospect by On3 Sports and 247Sports for a reason, after all. But there are things to monitor with Leavitt’s recruitment.
For those who didn’t keep a keen eye on Arizona State’s season in 2025, the Sun Devils obviously did not return to the College Football Playoffs. Part of that was because Leavitt suffered an injury during the season and did not play in any games past October. He reportedly suffered a foot injury in late September and missed a key game against Utah, but returned to the field for games against Texas Tech and Houston in October. Eventually, Leavitt went ahead and had season-ending foot surgery.
While playing in seven games in 2025, Leavitt racked up 1,628 passing yards on 60.7% passing with 10 passing touchdowns and three interceptions. He also added in 306 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns.
Leavitt’s injury has prompted specific medical conversations during his visits, according to Nakos.
“There have been some conversations when he gets to campus about his medical evaluations,” Nakos said. “He missed the back half of the season. It’s unclear if he’d be able to return for spring ball and how that could look.”
There’s a ton of moving parts with Leavitt’s recruitment, and as Nakos alluded to, it’s entirely unclear which direction he’ll go. But getting the star quarterback on campus is a huge move from Tennessee, which could pay dividends down the road. We’ll just have to wait and see how things shake out.
Tennessee has added three transfer portal players so far, with Kansas State safety Qua Moss, LSU offensive tackle Ory Williams, and Auburn cornerback Kayin Lee.
Stay tuned to Rocky Top Insider for more Tennessee football transfer portal coverage.
