Lane Kiffin has spent much of August watching Sam Leavitt finally look like the quarterback Ole Miss recruited him to be.
That was the message from Kiffin on Thursday, when he spoke after practice and talked about what he’s learned from his new starter during fall camp. Leavitt, the No. 1 quarterback transfer from ASU, arrived after a portal-heavy offseason that brought a wave of new faces into Tiger Stadium.
For Kiffin, the biggest takeaway has come from seeing Leavitt healthy and moving freely at last. The quarterback spent spring limited while recovering from a season-ending ankle injury last year with the Sundevils, and that restriction kept him from showing the full version of his game.
"Going through spring where he couldn't really push off and move around, that's hard to throw........ as much as I disliked it at the time, kinda has been awesome because now you see all these things," said Kiffin.
That patience, awkward as it may have felt in the moment, has given the Tigers a clearer picture of what Leavitt can do. The flashes that showed up on film before have started showing up again in camp, and Kiffin said the staff is seeing the traits they expected to see all along.
"Now you see all these things, they're new. We'd seen them on film, and then they were gone, and then they came back," said Kiffin.
Leavitt has used camp to stack productive reps, get the ball out quickly to his tight end group and build chemistry with starting tight end Trey'Dez Green. He’s also getting more comfortable working through a crowded receiver room that includes transfers, another sign that the offense is starting to settle into place.
The quarterback’s confidence seems to be growing with each practice, and Kiffin made it clear he’s eager to see that carry over when the lights come on.
"I'm excited to see him play. I just want to get everyone else to make enough plays around him," said Kiffin.
With two weeks left before Leavitt and the offense get their big stage, the focus now shifts to building an identity that lets the new quarterback keep pushing toward the level everyone around him believes he can reach.
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Now Van Buren heads to a program under first-year head coach Brian Hartline with a clear opening and a fresh start. Its the latest turn in a young career that has already sent him from one SEC stop to another, and his next move will be watched closely by anyone still tracking how LSUs quarterback room and its recent departures continue to shape the wider college football picture. [Read more 🡒]
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LSU Is Chasing Another Unusual Lane Kiffin Roster Addition
Lane Kiffin is at it again, and this time LSU could be the destination for a pair of former Ole Miss players whose college futures unexpectedly reopened after brief NFL stops. Zxavian Harris and DaeQuan Wright were both waived by pro teams, and their status has put them back in the center of the eligibility conversation as the Tigers look to continue piecing together their roster for the season ahead.
The twist is that both players are part of a legal case that has given them a fifth year of college eligibility, creating a path back to the college game even after they moved on to the NFL. Kiffin has defended the pursuit, pointing to the court rulings that make them eligible to play, but the situation still adds another layer to LSUs roster-building as the Tigers track whether the move can actually come together. [Read more 🡒]