Leavitt off SEC report, set to play at Ole Miss — SkimNews
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- Sam Leavitt was not listed on the SEC availability report for Saturday's game at Ole Miss, ending 48 hours of uncertainty over his status after he first appeared on the report Wednesday night.
- Lane Kiffin never publicly mentioned an injury, and Leavitt had finished the previous game against Louisiana Tech without appearing to be in pain, leaving the SEC puzzled when his name surfaced mid-week.
- Ole Miss staff told ESPN's Pete Thamel on Thursday morning they weren't convinced Leavitt's initial listing was sincere, hinting directly at gamesmanship by LSU.
- Leavitt's status moved to questionable by Thursday evening before he was cleared from the report entirely on Friday night.
- LSU linebacker TJ Dottery, the team's leading tackler, has remained questionable on the availability report all week.
- The SEC prohibits availability-report acts intended to hide or misrepresent a player's true status, with penalties ranging from $25,000 to $100,000 plus potential accountability measures for head coaches at commissioner Greg Sankey's discretion.
- Leavitt, widely regarded as the top transfer quarterback this offseason, has scored seven touchdowns (two passing, five rushing) in two games after transferring from Arizona State, where he was a two-year starter and Big 12 Freshman of the Year.
Why it matters: Ole Miss's public accusation that LSU's mid-week injury listing wasn't sincere — combined with Leavitt now being fully cleared — puts Kiffin directly in the SEC's enforcement crosshairs. With penalties up to $100,000 and potential head-coach accountability measures at commissioner Greg Sankey's discretion, Saturday's game becomes a live test of whether the conference enforces its own transparency rules on a marquee transfer quarterback.
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