When Husan Longstreet committed to LSU, he entered an already crowded QB room. Lane Kiffin first added former Elon QB Landen Clark, then locked in Sam Leavitt as the clear starter. Clark was fine with that plan, but the real issue is the future. Clark believes LSU promised him the next-man-up role once Leavitt goes pro, and that’s the exact future Longstreet envisioned when he committed.

“Obviously, they brought in Sam Leavitt, and they straight-up told me that, and I was completely okay with that,” Clark said on the LSU Tigers on TigerBait podcast. “The plan is that hopefully he has a good year, and I think he will. Sam’s a great player, especially in this system. But then hopefully he can go to the league, and then I can kind of step in for the next two years and be the quarterback for the LSU Tigers.”

On paper, everything appears to be a clean, well-thought-out plan. The problem? Husan Longstreet wants the same future. That’s essentially why Longstreet left USC in the first place. He and his family made it clear that he’s a competitor and wants to play. But he was fine being a backup if the long-term plan was honest and clearly laid out. At USC, he felt that transparency was missing, especially about the QB competition and future snaps.

LSU felt different. Longstreet built a strong relationship with Lane Kiffin and fully bought into Kiffin’s long-term vision, despite knowing Sam Leavitt was expected to start this season. The idea was simple: learn, develop, and be next in line. But LSU sold Landen Clark that same vision. With Leavitt likely heading to the NFL next year, most expect Longstreet to be first in line for the starting job. He’s a former five-star, a top-10 QB in the 2025 class, and still has four years of eligibility left.

Compared to Clark’s three-star profile, the upside gap is obvious. Scouts and coaches view Longstreet as a freak athlete with elite arm talent. He is basically tailor-made for Kiffin’s offense. Yes, Clark has more college reps and even won CAA Offensive Rookie of the Year at Elon. But the expectation is that Longstreet spends this season developing under Kiffin and takes over once Leavitt leaves.

He’s already flashed potential, too. Longstreet appeared in four games at USC, completing 13 of 15 passes for 103 yards and a touchdown. He even added 76 rushing yards and two more scores on the ground. People assumed LSU had lined up Longstreet as a backup plan in case Leavitt went elsewhere. Instead, LSU landed both, and now the QB room is officially a pressure cooker.

Landen Clark’s confidence knows no bounds

No matter what anyone says about Landen Clark, he definitely has a lot of grit to compete. However, sometimes that can go a bit overboard.

“When Landon got the call today, Landon literally said, ‘Coach, I’m the best one in the room. I want competition. I came to LSU because I know I’m going to compete,’” Clark’s QB developer, Baylin Trujillo, told Carter Bryant on January 14. “That’s what I’m saying. He’s built differently.”

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It’s honestly wild how much passion Landen Clark is showing, especially knowing Lane Kiffin was going all-in on Sam Leavitt from the start. Leavitt’s recruitment was intense. He visited LSU, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Miami, and Kiffin even flew to Knoxville to meet him personally before his Miami trip. The Knox pushed for one last time after Leavitt’s verbal commitment, but it was of no help. He officially signed with LSU on Monday night, January 12.

That alone made things uncomfortable for Clark. The QB battle was already fierce even before Husan Longstreet entered the picture. The résumé gap is too much to ignore. Leavitt started 13 games at Arizona State in 2024, led them to a Big 12 title and a CFP appearance, and won Big 12 Freshman of the Year. A former four-star and the No. 1 player in Oregon, he was the top transfer QB in this portal cycle. Clark, while productive at Elon, did it at the FCS level and came in as a three-star transfer.

LSU’s plan wasn’t subtle. With zero scholarship QBs on the roster, LSU brought in Leavitt to start immediately and added Clark mainly for depth, with the expectation he’d begin as a backup. Finally, Longstreet committed. Kiffin, OC Charlie Weis Jr., and the LSU staff stayed in constant contact with Longstreet after he entered the portal on January 8, pitching him a chance to compete for the No. 2 role.

Now the outlook is tough for Clark. If Leavitt wins the job, Longstreet’s five-star pedigree, upside, and fit in Kiffin’s system likely make him the primary backup and a future starter candidate. That, in turn, will leave Clark fighting to avoid sliding into the QB3 spot.