Tiger QBs, offense ascending as spring closes

By Hunt Palmer

Sam Leavitt‘s January commitment to LSU altered Lane Kiffin’s first spring in Baton Rouge.

Kiffin knew that day he and offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr. would be installing an offense without its trigger man. That has played out over the last month.

Highly heralded USC transfer Husan Longstreet and Elon underdog Landen Clark have taken all the reps with the first team. Leavitt has watched. But he’s not just an innocent bystander. He’s involved.

“It’s hard to mentally lock in when you’re not practicing,” Kiffin said. “You know, you see when we hold Ty (Benefield out of) periods how great he does over there coaching other players and locked in. Sam’s got to do that the whole day long, and he does a really good job of that because it’s more than just what you guys see. It’s meetings, it’s walkthroughs in the morning. So, really pleased with him that he’s doing.”

The transfer portal is a speed dating process. Players and coaches have to get to know each other quickly. In another era, those recruiting relationships were built over two to three years. Now, it’s a week.

Kiffin has been impressed with Leavitt’s ability to do all that he can right now which is use his mind while his surgically repaired foot heals.

“Sam’s really smart, really good approach to the game.,” Kiffin said. “He fits really well with us that way. He’s really elite thinking and processing. So, it’ll be great when he’s fully cleared to be back out there, but he does a really good job because that’s not easy.”

Longstreet and Clark were tossed into the deep in this spring. They had to learn the Kiffin offense with new personnel and face a defense with significant continuity under Blake Baker.

It was a bumpy start. A week after a five-turnover day in Tiger Stadium, the offense scored 10 touchdowns on Saturday.

“Very pleased really in the last week about the progression of the offense and again just everybody feeling each other out, players, coaches, new coaches, everything together,” Kiffin said. “It was very concerning early on offensively. I think you guys could probably tell that in my responses, and so it’s been really good. We’re headed the right direction, but there’s still a ton of work to do.”

The bulk of that progression has come from the quarterbacks.

Longstreet was firing darts all over Tiger Stadium on Saturday. He also ran for a score. Clark cashed in on his fair share of big plays and never put the ball in harm’s way.

“The quarterbacks really had a good week of improvement, and then again (Tuesday) with the lack of turnovers interception wise,” Kiffin said. “Two Saturdays ago was not very good, as we know. The whole goal is to come up here to show them, to teach them, and for improvement in it. And those guys played a lot better Saturday, and they practiced better (Tuesday) and that Thursday. So, that that’s been really good because it was concerning.”

Ultimately, the real games are more than four months away.

LSU still has a summer of conditioning and an entire fall camp to prepare for the season. Leavitt is on pace to return to football activities later in the summer. Last year Trinidad Chambliss didn’t arrive at Ole Miss until after spring football. Kiffin and Weis helped mold him into a star in a small period of time.

With that perspective, there’s reason for optimism for the 2026 Tiger offense and quarterbacks. Kiffin knew what he signed up for when he took Leavitt’s commitment.

“This probably was the way it would go as far as offense being behind, you know, with quarterback out,” Kiffin said. “That being the new system being in place where defense had been here.”