Miami heads into national championship week with a trophy in reach and a quarterback hunt shifting into high gear. Arizona State transfer Sam Leavitt plans to visit South Florida this weekend, giving Mario Cristobal and Shannon Dawson a chance to sell the program’s potential next quarterback while the Hurricanes still prepare for Indiana.
Miami just eliminated Ole Miss, 31-27, in the College Football Playoff semifinal at the Fiesta Bowl, with Carson Beck punching in the winning score with 18 seconds to play. Beck has one game left in orange and green before turning the page toward the NFL, and the staff needs a ready-made starter to keep the championship window open.
Leavitt checks every box to trigger an all-hands recruiting weekend in Coral Gables. He led Arizona State to a Big 12 title in 2024 while throwing for 2,885 yards and 24 touchdowns to six interceptions. A foot injury later sidelined him in 2025 after seven games, but he still produced 1,628 passing yards with 10 touchdowns and three picks in that time. He has two seasons of eligibility remaining.
Leavitt visited LSU earlier this week and left without an agreement, with other interest from Tennessee and Kentucky as he works through options. Miami enters that race with a pitch no other team can match: a title-game stage, a proven transfer-QB track record, and an offense that let Beck throw for 3,581 yards and 29 touchdowns across 15 starts.
Leavitt would bring mobility and a willingness to attack downfield, traits that pair well with Dawson’s spacing and tempo. The Hurricanes can also point to a roster built for immediate contention, not a rebuild, and that should resonate with a quarterback shopping for a one-year ramp into a playoff run and the NFL.
Leavitt’s visit does not decide anything by itself, but it raises the stakes of an already frantic January. Miami fights for a sixth national title in nine days. This weekend, the program fights for its next quarterback.
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