A Big Ten program could mess up the Tennessee Vols’ chances of landing Arizona State transfer QB Sam Leavitt
Arizona State transfer QB Sam Leavitt will visit Tennessee beginning on Wednesday
The Tennessee Vols will host Arizona State transfer quarterback Sam Leavitt on a visit beginning on Wednesday afternoon.
VolQuest broke the news of Leavitt’s planned “multi-day” visit on Tuesday night.
Leavitt instantly becomes a top transfer target for the Vols with the news that Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson — who was believed to be an option for Tennessee had he returned to college — is declaring for the 2026 NFL Draft.
Leavitt’s 2025 season was shortened by a foot injury, but he passed for 4,513 yards, 34 touchdowns, and nine interceptions in 20 games at Arizona State. He also rushed for 743 yards and 10 touchdowns.
The Oregon Ducks could get in the way of Tennessee landing Sam Leavitt
Leavitt is one of the highest-profile names still left on the transfer market — he’s probably Tennessee’s only shot at landing a top transfer quarterback.
The fact that Tennessee is getting Leavitt on campus after he visited LSU on Tuesday is a good sign for the Vols’ chances of landing the talented quarterback at this point.
But the Oregon Ducks could complicate things.
Leavitt is originally from Oregon, and some folks in the sport think he could be waiting to see if Ducks quarterback Dante Moore declares for the 2026 NFL Draft.
Moore is viewed as a potential top-five draft pick.
“The question is what does Sam Leavitt want?” said VolQuest’s Austin Price on Wednesday on WNML’s Josh and Swain. “You’ve got LSU looking like they may get the kid (Demond Williams Jr) from Washington now. Texas Tech obviously took (Brendan) Sorsby. I don’t see Leavitt going to Kentucky — I know he visited there first. [There’s] a lot of chatter out there that he may be holding off and waiting to see what Dante Moore does. [Leavitt] is originally from Oregon.”
If Moore is a top-five pick, it may be tough to pass up the NFL Draft (even though Moore is still just 20 years old with only 19 career starts). Then again, he could decide he doesn’t want to play for the Las Vegas Raiders or the New York Jets (the NFL teams with the first two picks in the draft).
Oregon plays Indiana on Friday night in the College Football Playoff semifinals. If the Ducks lose that game, a decision from Moore could come before the end of the weekend.
If Oregon wins, though, the Ducks won’t play again until the National Championship game on Jan. 19.
Leavitt could still wait on Moore’s decision if Oregon reaches the championship game, but he could choose to lock in a spot with another school instead of risking it.
And that may mean that Vols fans need to root for the Ducks to beat the Hoosiers this weekend if they want to see Leavitt in orange and white next fall.
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