Ryan Clark Believes This LSU Football Quarterback and Lane Kiffin Are Perfect Match

LSU Tigers quarterback Sam Leavitt continues navigating a pivotal offseason heading into the 2026 campaign after making the move from Arizona State last month.

Leavitt arrives in Baton Rouge after a strong two-year stint at Arizona State - throwing for 4,652 yards and 36 touchdowns with 11 interceptions where he also added 816 yards and 10 scores on the ground.

Once the coveted signal-caller entered the NCAA Transfer Portal, Leavitt quickly surged to the top as the No. 1 overall player in the market with the LSU Tigers, Tennessee Volunteers, and Miami Hurricanes battling for his services.

But a last second push from Lane Kiffin and Co. sealed the deal where he made things official with the program following a string of visits.

“I don’t know. I just know how I do things,” Kiffin said. "There’s a good and bad to it. I’m extremely competitive and I don’t really do well with no.

"So that just makes me more competitive when someone says no. So sometimes that happens in recruiting. They say no. But I think that’s my job. That’s my job to LSU.”

“I’m hired here to go sign the best players, regardless of whether that means I’ve got to go get on another plane or find a plane and show up somewhere, walk through Knoxville Airport to find the guy,” Kiffin continued. “That’s just kind of how I work and I like that because I think that wires in with Louisiana people, because I think that’s how they think. No jobs too small."

LSU Tigers Football: Benefield. — Courtesy of Ty Benefield's Instagram.

Now, since Leavitt's decision, former LSU Tiger Ryan Clark has weighed in on the decision where he believes he can be a perfect match for Kiffin.

“I don’t know. I think that’s going to be the expectation,” Clark said. “A little background about how I feel about the Sam Leavitt thing, it’s bittersweet to me. I’m torn. I’m a huge Kenny Dillingham fan (ASU coach). I would have been happy if we had hired him as our head coach at LSU.

“Sam Leavitt, not that this kid wouldn’t have been great anywhere, but in part, he is where he is because he went to play at ASU. I think he can really play.

"He’s talented, he’s really, really competitive and I think he made the right move. The level of talent they’ve put around him, he and Lane, that’s the key cog.”

All eyes remain on Kiffin and Co. heading into the 2026 campaign with College Football Playoff or bust mentality for the program in the Bayou State.

More LSU News:

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Paul Finebaum Reveals Bold Statement on LSU Football's Lane Kiffin Amid Major Move

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