As predicted Thursday, LSU quarterback Sam Leavitt has been bumped up to questionable on the latest Student‑Athlete Availability Report for Saturday’s highly anticipated matchup between No. 7 LSU and No. 8 Ole Miss.
Leavitt was listed as doubtful Wednesday night. By Thursday, he and starting linebacker TJ Dottery, the team’s leading tackler, were both upgraded to questionable.
The exact nature of Leavitt’s injury still isn’t clear. He didn’t look hurt during last weekend’s win over Louisiana Tech, and Lane Kiffin didn’t mention anything about his quarterback dealing with an injury during Monday’s news conference. He didn’t address it on his weekly radio show Thursday night, either.
The SEC will release two more reports before Saturday’s game, one Friday night and another 90 minutes before kickoff.
Under league policy, doubtful means a player is unlikely to play and carries a 25 percent chance of suiting up. Questionable means a 50 percent chance. The conference’s reporting policy also states that acts of gamesmanship “intended to hide a student-athlete’s true participation status for competitive or strategic reasons” are prohibited, as is conduct that could reasonably be construed as “misleading.”
There are still two reports to go. If Thursday’s predictions hold, Leavitt will show up as probable Friday night and as a game time decision on Saturday. So, yes, this appears to be a bit of gamesmanship by LSU. According to reports, the Ole Miss didn’t believe Leavitt’s appearance on the report was sincere. We’ll never know for certain, but should Leavitt’s status follow the path mentioned above, it’ll sure seem like there was some gamesmanship.
And with Kiffin never once mentioning a possible injury to his starting quarterback and conflicting reports of what specifically is injured, the door for punishment is starting to crack open.
Student-Athlete Availability Report
LSU Tigers
Out
- WR Phillip Wright III
- LB Jaiden Braker
- RB Raycine Guillory Jr.
Doubtful
- QB Sam Leavitt
Questionable
- LB TJ Dottery
Probable
- LB Tylen Singleton
- LB Davhon Keys
- OL Aliou Bah
Ole Miss Rebels
Out
- CB Victor Lincoln Jr.
- OL Emanuel Faulkner
Questionable
- OL Tommy Kinsler IV
Probable
- LB Keaton Thomas
- CB Cedrick Beavers
- RB Makhi Frazier
