Sam Leavitt, the highly touted quarterback, faced a major decision in January 2026. Tennessee came knocking with a competitive NIL package hovering around the $5 million mark. But Leavitt chose LSU and Lane Kiffin instead. And Leavitt’s choice wasn’t about chasing the biggest paycheck. Because when you look at the coaching staff he’s about to work under in Baton Rouge, the decision starts making a whole lot of sense.​ Josh Pate broke down Leavitt’s strategy.

“Think about the guys he’s developed under,” the CFB analyst said. “So he’s gotten to play under Kenny Dillingham and Marcus Arroyo. Please don’t forget that name. And now he’s going to be playing under Lane Kiffin and Charlie Weiss Jr. down at LSU. So, by the time he goes to the NFL, he will have played for some pretty high-level quarterback development names.”

Lane Kiffin has built a reputation as one of college football’s premier quarterback developers. At Ole Miss, Kiffin transformed $17 million Jaxson Dart from a USC transfer into the first-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. Dart’s 2024 season under Kiffin was nothing short of spectacular. He had 4,279 passing yards, 29 touchdowns, and just six interceptions. He also earned first-team All-SEC honors. Dart could sling it downfield with precision and make plays with his legs. He rushed for 495 yards and three touchdowns that season. Sound familiar? That mirrors the skill set Sam Leavitt brings to the table.​

Kiffin’s OC, Charlie Weis Jr., who followed Kiffin from Oxford to Baton Rouge, deserves just as much credit for developing elite quarterbacks. During his four seasons at Ole Miss, Weis Jr. helped orchestrate one of the nation’s most explosive offenses. His play-calling gave quarterbacks like Dart and Trinidad Chambliss the freedom to be creative within a structured system that maximized their strengths. For Leavitt, the Kiffin-Weis offensive philosophy is a perfect match. 

But Leavitt’s QB development journey didn’t start at LSU. At Arizona State, he played under Kenny Dillingham and Marcus Arroyo, two coaches with serious credentials. Dillingham, the offensive coordinator at Auburn and Oregon, worked extensively with Bo Nix, helping transform him from an SEC freshman phenom into a Heisman Trophy finalist and a first-round NFL pick. Arroyo has coached standout NFL quarterbacks, including Justin Herbert and Josh McCown.

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For Leavitt, adding Kiffin and Weis to his coaching resume alongside Dillingham and Arroyo creates a QB development portfolio that few prospects can match. When he walks into NFL draft meetings in a couple of years, he’ll be able to point to a coaching tree filled with offensive minds who’ve sent quarterbacks to the league. That’s the master plan. And that’s why LSU outdid Tennessee’s NIL dollars.

The Knoxville airport move that reignited an old feud

The Sam Leavitt saga is the best example of Lane Kiffin doing what Lane Kiffin does best: winning at all costs and not caring whose feathers get ruffled along the way. When Tennessee thought they had a real shot at landing Leavitt after his extended visit to Knoxville wrapped up on January 9th, Kiffin hopped on a plane and flew straight into enemy territory. 

And he didn’t even try to be subtle about it. Late that Friday afternoon, Kiffin posted a photo of himself at McGhee Tyson Airport in Knoxville on X, essentially announcing to Tennessee that he was there to poach their quarterback target. Tennessee’s fan base is not a big fan of Kiffin due to their complicated history. And this was gasoline on a fire that had barely been extinguished.​

The whole sequence was peak Kiffin chaos. After the Demond Williams debacle fell apart, he pivoted back to Leavitt with the desperation of someone who knew LSU’s quarterback room was completely empty. So there he was, posting airport selfies in Knoxville like a villain, trying to convince Leavitt to skip his Miami visit and commit to the Tigers right then and there. Tennessee fans, who’d spent years softening on Kiffin and even enjoying his Twitter antics, suddenly remembered why they hated him in the first place. In the end, Leavitt got his quarterback whisperer, and Kiffin got his QB1. Tennessee just got trolled on their own turf.​