Lane Kiffin being Lane Kiffin might have done Tennessee a massive favor for 2026 and beyond
Things have appeared to work out very well for the Vols in the short and long term at the quarterback position.
Tennessee’s attempts to figure out their quarterback situation after for 2026 after last season was a game of musical chairs of notable candidates. Among them was Sam Leavitt from Arizona State, who Tennessee brought to Knoxville for a visit.
Ultimately, Leavitt chose to go to Baton Rouge and play for Lane Kiffin and the LSU Tigers. And it was Kiffin’s unorthodox and aggressive move that helped land the former Sun Devils standout in the transfer portal. Kiffin came to Knoxville during Leavitt’s visit to persuade him to sign with the Tigers.
And how do things look eight-plus months later for both programs? Actually pretty rosy for the Vols so far, while Leavitt has not been exactly as advertised for the Tigers through the first three games.
LSU QB Sam Leavitt is struggling, while Tennessee QB Faizon Brandon is getting valuable freshman reps and producing
Leavitt has completed 61.3% of his passes for 732 yards with three touchdowns to five interceptions. He’s added 198 rushing yards and six rushing scores to help even out an unfavorable TD/INT passing ratio. But LSU’s offense has been inconsistent, as we saw the last two weeks in anemic first half performances against Louisiana Tech and Ole Miss.
Meanwhile, Tennessee has been able to give five-star true freshman QB Faizon Brandon a long runway to begin his college career and log valuable reps to begin his development ASAP. And so far Brandon has delivered, throwing for 552 yards at a 64.1% completion rate with six touchdowns and no picks. He’s added 137 rushing yards and three rushing scores as well.
I’m not saying that Leavitt is ultimately going to fizzle out and that LSU will fall out of the playoff picture this year. Tennessee will get their shot at Brandon and the Tigers in late November in Knoxville to help decide that.
But Leavitt hasn’t looked like he would give the boost to the Vols’ offense to be worth the money that Tennessee would have had to pay out to get him. Nor has he shown to be worth delaying Brandon gaining valuable experience that will help him and Tennessee for years to come.
The circumstances will even more greatly appear to favorable for Tennessee if Brandon can help lead the Vols over No. 1 Texas on Saturday in Knoxville.
