New LSU head coach Lane Kiffin has been busy building his first LSU roster with a host of transfer portal signings.
There have been 24 additions as of Tuesday morning across from a whopping 33 LSU players who have entered the portal to find a new program (see them all on WWL's tracker), but it's the 24th that has WWL's Bobby Hebert ready to commit to sky-high expectations in the 2026 season. That would be former Arizona State QB Sam Leavitt, the No. 1 ranked transfer player in this cycle, who will be taking the reins at the most important position.
“I think by getting him at quarterback, LSU should be in the playoffs," Hebert told Mike Detillier on SportsTalk. "You might say oh, if they get to 8-9 wins, no. … I think he’s that good, and he has some skins on the wall. He’s played in big games, he’s not overwhelmed."
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It would be the Tigers' first trip to the CFP field since winning it all in 2019, and the first time since the field expanded to a 12-team bracket in 2024. That ties in directly to what makes Hebert so bullish on Leavitt's presence, considering he's been in the CFP fire previously. He and now-Giants QB Cam Skattebo helped lead the Sun Devils against a heavily-favored Texas squad, with Arizona State losing in overtime.
Leavitt, an Oregon native who began his career at Michigan State, completed 61.3 of his passes for 4,513 yards and 34 touchdowns against just 9 interceptions during his two years with ASU, though his last season was limited to 7 games due to injury. He'll have two years of eligibility remaining with the Tigers, not unlike another former Arizona State QB who transferred to Baton Rouge in Jayden Daniels.
"When I’ve watched him play, he’s a difference-maker. … If he stays healthy, that’s going to be the key," Hebert continued.
If Kiffin's team was able to win its way into the CFP during Year 1 in Baton Rouge, it would buck the larger trend of Kiffin's career. He went 7-6 during his first and only season leading Tennessee, 8-5 during Year 1 with USC and 5-5 during a COVID-shortened Year 1 with Ole Miss in 2020. He did, however, lead a major turnaround at Florida Atlantic in 2017, going 11-3 with a team that had struggled to just three wins the prior year.
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The difference from those previous stints is the transfer portal and NIL funding, which allows for a much quicker rebuild when coaches join new programs.
"You’ve got to pay the right players," Hebert said, "because you look at it, everybody is playing the same game so the general manager right now, who’s in that board room or in that meeting room deciding who we gonna play, how are we going to divide up the money is as important as almost the head coach."