LSU football head coach Lane Kiffin appeared before the media on Wednesday, marking his first LSU press conference since he was initially hired back in December. A lot has changed within the program since then, as the staff has seen significant turnover and the roster even moreso.
One of the most significant examples of roster turnover this offseason was at the quarterback position. LSU lost all three of its scholarship quarterbacks and needed to replace all three, a challenging test given the nature of college football in the transfer portal era.
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Kiffin and his staff did an excellent job, adding the portal’s No. 1 player, Sam Leavitt, the No. 7 quarterback, Husan Longstreet, and three-star Landen Clark.
Adding that depth was an essential part of the process, as Leavitt, the presumptive starter in 2026, had season-ending surgery to repair a “lingering foot injury” back in October.
Kiffin gave the media an update on the status of Leavitt’s rehab and explained what he’ll be able to do this spring during the press conference.
“Sam will be able to throw some and participate in 7-on-7 stuff in the spring, probably not the team stuff,” Kiffin said.
TEMPE, ARIZONA – OCTOBER 25: Sam Leavitt #10 of the Arizona State Sun Devils warms up before the NCAAF game at Mountain America Stadium on October 25, 2025 in Tempe, Arizona. The Cougars defeated the Sun Devils 24-16. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
Kiffin went on to explain why it felt so important to allocate significant resources to put talented depth behind Leavitt, given his injury situation.
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“It was also imperative to get quarterbacks because that’s going to be a lot of how your spring ball goes, which is your first time of your team feeling an offense,” Kiffin said. “Our offense is very much pushed and driven by the quarterback because of the tempo piece of it.”
What Kiffin means is that he and his staff needed to find high-caliber depth behind Leavitt, not only to plan for the future and provide in-season injury insurance but also to ensure the entire offense can use the spring practice window to get up to speed. Without depth behind Leavitt that Kiffin could feel comfortable with, he’d lack the most crucial piece for helping his players understand his system this spring.
This article originally appeared on LSU Wire: LSU football’s Lane Kiffin provides Sam Leavitt injury update
