Lane Kiffin fired off a cryptic message on social media amid the frenzied winter transfer portal. The LSU head coach hinted that today might finally be the day the program lands the quarterback they’ve desperately needed. After three weeks of aggressive recruiting and public charm offensives, Kiffin might finally be ready to announce his prize catch. 

Lane Kiffin dropped a cryptic tweet on Sunday that sent LSU fans into a frenzy, posting “Today is going to be so exciting @LSUfootball You have been waiting for exactly this,” alongside a quote about overcoming fear and building “a new home.”

The timing couldn’t be more loaded. Lane Kiffin has been in an all-out sprint to land a transfer portal quarterback for three weeks now, with Arizona State’s Sam Leavitt sitting atop his wish list as the No. 1-ranked QB available. But the chase hasn’t gone smoothly.

Leavitt visited Baton Rouge earlier this month and left without committing. Some concerns reportedly surfaced about a foot injury that could sideline him through spring practice and possibly into summer. Kiffin wasn’t about to let that kill the deal. When Leavitt headed to Tennessee for an official visit last Friday, Kiffin literally got on a plane to Knoxville to intercept him.

Miami has since emerged as the frontrunner for Leavitt, which makes today’s tease from Kiffin all the more intriguing. Is he hinting that LSU has finally closed the deal, or is this about a different quarterback entirely?​​

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The backup plan is already in Baton Rouge. USC’s Husan Longstreet, a former five-star recruit who threw for 103 yards and a touchdown behind Jayden Maiava, entered the portal on January 9 and immediately took an official visit to LSU. Longstreet was the nation’s No. 32 overall prospect and No. 4 quarterback in the 2025 recruiting class per 247Sports. He originally committed to Texas A&M before Lincoln Riley flipped him to USC late in the cycle. 

With Maiava returning to the Trojans, Longstreet saw the writing on the wall and jumped into the portal. LSU and Oregon quickly became the two primary contenders for his services. Kiffin has already hedged his bets by landing Landen Clark, a three-star FCS quarterback from Elon who’s ranked No. 1045 overall and No. 75 among portal QBs.

If Kiffin’s signalling that it’s Longstreet committing rather than Leavitt, it would still be a massive win for a program. They are desperate to fill the void under center. Though the four years of eligibility and developmental upside make it more of a long-term play than the immediate impact Leavitt would provide.​

Lane Kiffin eyes his former Ole Miss commit

While Kiffin scrambles to land an immediate starter through the transfer portal, he’s also got his eye on a longer-term prize that he helped cultivate back in Oxford. Four-star quarterback Keegan Croucher committed to Ole Miss in early October. He called Kiffin’s program “my home,” said the Rebels “made it clear I was their guy since day one.”

Fast forward three months, and Kiffin jumped to LSU instead of the Rebels. It leaves Croucher in the awkward position of being committed to a school his dream coach just abandoned. The 6-foot-4 signal-caller from Baylor School in Tennessee told On3’s Chad Simmons on Sunday that he’s still committed to Ole Miss under new coach Pete Golding. But he still plans to “check out some of my options in the coming months.” And LSU is right at the top of that list alongside Georgia, Kentucky, and Indiana. 

Croucher threw for 1,692 yards with 16 touchdowns and six interceptions as a junior at Cheshire Academy in Connecticut. Thereafter, he transferred to Baylor School. Kiffin had previously told Croucher during his Ole Miss recruitment that he was “their guy” and that the Rebels were “putting all the eggs into my basket.”

Now that Kiffin’s at LSU and the Tigers’ QB room has been gutted by transfers, bringing Croucher to Baton Rouge would solve both the immediate depth problem and the long-term succession plan.