LSU’s starting quarterback Sam Leavitt was completely cleared to play against Ole Miss, appearing nowhere on the injury report on September 18. This is a crazy turnaround for the Tigers’ signal-caller, who was listed as doubtful just two days earlier for their SEC opener. Talk about a dramatic shift!
From Doubtful To Full Go: What Even Happened?
Seriously, what a whirlwind for Leavitt and the LSU faithful. On Wednesday, September 16, Leavitt was officially listed as doubtful for Saturday’s top-10 showdown. Then, a day later, he got upgraded to questionable. And boom, by September 18, he was off the injury report entirely. Nobody’s exactly sure how or when Leavitt picked up any kind of injury between their Week 2 game against Louisiana Tech on September 12 and that initial report. He even spoke to reporters after the Bulldogs game and didn’t give any hints he was hurt.
But here’s the kicker: Leavitt has a history with injuries. Last season, while he was still at Arizona State, a season-ending right foot injury took him out for the final month of the regular season and needed surgery. Recovering from that same foot surgery kept him out of most of LSU’s spring practice in March and April. He finally got cleared for football activities right before summer workouts. So yeah, every little twitch is gonna make you hold your breath a bit more.
Leavitt’s Up-And-Down Start & The Backup Situation
So far this season, Leavitt has had a bit of a mixed bag. In Week 1 against Clemson, he led LSU to a win, going 16-of-28 passing for 230 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He also ran for 113 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries, which is huge! But Week 2 against Louisiana Tech? Not quite as clean. He threw for a respectable 344 yards, completing 25 of 38 passes for another touchdown, but he also turned the ball over three times and got sacked five times, with only 22 rushing yards on 11 carries (though he did add three rushing touchdowns). That’s gotta be cleaned up, especially going into SEC play.
If, for some reason, Leavitt had stayed injured, LSU would be looking at Elon transfer Landen Clark or Southern California transfer Husan Longstreet. Clark has actually seen more snaps as backup this season, while Longstreet didn’t even play in the Louisiana Tech game. So, it’s pretty clear who LSU wants under center for this massive game.
This Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. ET, it’s LSU vs. Ole Miss, and it’s a top-10 showdown that kicks off SEC play. All eyes are gonna be on Leavitt as he tries to keep this team rolling, shake off that Week 2 funk, and prove he’s fully ready after that bizarre week of injury reports.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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