Although the Tigers lost 34 players to the portal in the wake of Brian Kelly’s firing in November, Lane Kiffin worked his magic and signed the top-ranked 2026 transfer portal class. However, his actions didn’t stop there, as the new LSU head coach made several coaching staff changes, including additions from his former Ole Miss staff. With that, Kiffin has made it clear it’s now up to the staff and the players to do their jobs.

“If you go get a staff and pay them what you do, you expect a lot,” Kiffin said during his first press conference on Wednesday. “(It’s) no different than these players that are sitting here. We pay a player a lot, and we have a lot of expectations for them. They need to produce.”

That reported $40 million makes LSU’s investment in bringing in talent visible. Now, only winning can justify it, and that will come through player production. Similarly, his $13 million salary comes with massive expectations, and Kiffin knows the bar is set high.

Perhaps that’s why Lane Kiffin completely reshaped LSU’s roster this offseason with a star-studded transfer haul. It starts at quarterback with Sam Leavitt from ASU. The haul also includes edge rusher Princewill Umanmielen from Ole Miss and an anchor for the line in Colorado transfer Jordan Seaton. Even so, while there’s no debating what the “Portal King” delivered, the Tigers’ coach is not flying high.

“Where that puts us now is we have a really talented roster,” said Kiffin. “Does that mean we’re gonna win games? Not necessarily. Does that mean we’re gonna be a great team? No. We have a lot of work to do.”

That mindset shows Kiffin is here to build a title-winning roster, with his ultimate focus on capturing a national championship. While he hasn’t won one yet as a head coach, he knows what it takes and what it feels like to win it. As an assistant at USC and an OC at Alabama, he has three national title rings. Now, as a head coach, he appears to be on the right path, emphasizing that LSU has an organized approach.

“I just felt that there was a really good plan here in place and an alignment from the top down about how the resources were here and then the plan of how they could be structured within those contracts in order to sign the players,” mentioned Kiffin.

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That belief that LSU knows exactly what it’s doing may help the coach fully buy in after his 2026 class was ranked 12th by On3, with an average NIL value of $164K. But whatever the rankings say, the final result is decided by wins. That’s where Kiffin’s quarterback room could face questions, as quarterback Sam Leavitt, who missed the final four games of ASU’s regular season as well as the Sun Bowl, isn’t fully healthy.

Lane Kiffin’s crucial update on his QB

As spring ball approaches, the spotlight is firmly on Leavitt’s health. While the ASU transfer’s 2025 season ended early due to injury, Kiffin confirmed Leavitt’s participation.

“Sam will be able to throw some and participate in 7-on-7 stuff in the spring, probably not the team stuff,” said Kiffin.

It appears LSU is protecting its top-ranked portal QB for the long haul. While Leavitt’s dual-threat skill set is expected to be the engine of Kiffin’s offense, the staff wants him fully ready for fall, not limping through spring. That plan seems calculated, as Kiffin also landed former USC 5-star Husan Longstreet and former Elon QB Landen Clark.

“The other two quarterbacks are talented players. I’m proud of [GM Billy Glasscock] and our assistant coaches to do that at the quarterback position. It says a lot about the players to come to the same place. A lot of players want to go somewhere where they’re guaranteed to start,” added Lane Kiffin.

With Leavitt’s 4,500-plus passing yards and 34 passing TDs arriving in town, LSU is gearing up fast. Now the QB room is loaded and shows no lack of depth. Add in the return of star RB Caden Durham and weapons like Eugene Wilson III and Jayce Brown, and the momentum is obvious.