LSU Spring Ends With the BEST Possible Sam Leavitt News

It's the Locked On Podcast Network.

0:02

Your team every day

0:05

Amazon presents Laura vs Fruit Flies.

0:10

Hide your bananas.

0:14

These winged demons came to your kitchen to do two things. Eat fruit and and they're all out of fruit. But thankfully Laura shopped on Amazon and saved on cleaning spray, countertop wipes and fly traps. Hey fruit flies. Your baby boom ends here. Save the everyday with Amazon.

0:16

That feeling when you check your bank account and your paycheck's days away. And of course your calendar's all good news With Chase Secure Banking, your direct deposit hits your bank account up to two days faster. So when your friends are like and your bills go, you have the peace your deposit deposit brings. And the best part, there's no monthly Service fee for 17 to 24 year olds thanks to Chase Secure Banking.

0:41

For Chase Secure Checking, only eligible direct deposits may be credited up to two business days early, depending on when the payer submits the transaction. Member FDIC

1:04

Lane Kiffin Recap Spring with a positive update on Sam Levitt. It's Locked on lsu. Here we go. You are Locked on lsu, your daily podcast on the LSU Tigers, part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Your team every day. Okay, let's get it. It is Locked on lsu. Your team every day. I'm your host Matt Moscona. Thanks so much for making us your first listen. LSU wrapped up spring on Saturday. Tuesday Lane Kiffin met with reporters and the biggest headline had to be Lane confirming what we reported here on Monday's episode, which is that Sam Levitt did in Fact participate in 7 on 7 during Saturday's scrimmage. It was the 15th and final practice of LSU Spring and Sam Levitt, who was doing some light throwing early in spring, handing off with the running backs then a few Mondays ago, but the halfway point of spring had the pins removed from his foot from the LIS Frank surgery and from that point on all we saw Sam Levitt do was wear tennis shoes and with a helmet, a jersey and stand by the offense and watch. Well, Lane confirmed that Sam Lovett did in Fact participate in 7 on 7 as we reported here and actually gave an update on how he did.

1:12

Sam did a good job. I mean he only played eight plays but through touchdown on his first play and a very deep ball that probably would have went for touchdown. So that felt good. But he's doing a great job. I just to want met with him this morning on some things and he's a really competitive, want to be great, want the team to be great. He's in a really good place that way and just still working through his foot and getting out there and being able to play with the guys more.

2:37

My biggest takeaway, aside from the fact that he threw a touchdown on his first play, is the fact that Sam Levitt was out there for the 15th and final spring practice. Don't miss this because the, the real question is, why would you risk it? Follow me here, okay? Like, LSU has gone all in on Sam Levitt, understanding he's coming here after this list frank injury that was going to limit him in spring. You're going to hear Lane say that again here, which we, if you're an everyday or you've heard him say that a couple times in these updates that we've given you, but you've been so patient. He had the pins removed a few weeks ago on a Monday. We've seen Sam Levitt just in tennis shoes and a helmet and jersey, watching, listening, not doing anything. We've not seen him throw a pass. We've not seen him do anything except stand there, watch, listen, absorb. So why on the final day of spring, why. Think, think of this. Why on the final day of spring would you let him go run 8 plays in a 7 on 7 and risk injury? Well, the answer is pretty easy. You wouldn't unless there wasn't a risk of injury or of a setback. Now it's football. And football is a collision sport and there's always risk. Now, in seven on seven, there's no risk because there's no pass rush. It's just the quarterback sitting back and throwing the football, reading the defense and the secondary and throwing. But they wouldn't have put Levitt in that spot if there was any chance whatsoever of him suffering a setback because they have too much invested in him financially for this whole, this whole Lane Kiffin, his whole staff, the entire program, athletic department, everything centers around, around Sam Levitt. I'm not over emphasizing this. I'm not trying to be hyperbolic. The reality is if this team with the $91 million coach and the $40 million roster is going to win a championship this year, which many think they can, because investment, right? Sam Levitt has to be healthy. So why would you risk it for eight plays on the final day of spring, you wouldn't. Which means there wasn't a risk. Which is awesome news. Meaning Sam Levitt is progressing. Now, that was the update, okay? That was the news. Quote, unquote news. The, the sound bite that every LSU fan should be ecstatic over and every LSU rival should be worried about is when Lane Kiffin was asked about Levitt and what he was able to learn just by watching in spring, not doing anything, but just by standing there and observing. And Lane Kiffin, as he has done so many times throughout this spring, whenever we've met with him, he might, he might, might answer your question. But really what Lane is going to do is use any opportunity when someone asks him a question to tangentially respond however he wants to say whatever he wants. And what Lane Kiffin said about Sam Levitt is something you got to hear.

3:09

Yeah, he's taking it very seriously. It's a lot to learn within the system, and he really spends a lot of time up here. And that's not easy, you know, when you're not playing. You know, it's a little bit harder to stay locked in and go to walkthroughs and do all those things. But he's taking that very seriously. He's real serious about being great. Like I say all the time. We actually talked at length today about this. You know, if we're in the team room and I said to all the players who. How many of you love football? Every single one will raise their hand. Well, they don't. Some do. Most love what football gives them. Whether that's the money. I can wear the gear around, you know, I get the attention. I get social media. Very few of them really, like, love, love the game, like the work that's within it. And Sam is that. We talked about it like, he loves to work. He loves to go home at night and spend more time on football and things he can develop, not just physically, but mentally also.

6:19

That should be music to your ears if you're an LSU fan. Look, this is. Let me equate this in a way that everyone can understand, whether you, you're an LSU fan, you play football, love football, doesn't matter. This is just a human thing. All of us work somewhere. Some of us are media people, some of us are salespeople. Some of us work at grocery store or in retail or in sales, or you're a yoga instructor, or you're a doctor or an attorney, or you're an engineer. All of us work somewhere. We do something. And we all are motivated by different things. Some people are motivated by money, and that's okay. Some people are motivated by awards and accolades and recognition, and that's okay. Some people are motivated by the opportunity to have the freedom in their life to do what they want in their weekends. Meaning you work nine to five. But nobody bothered me after. After 5 o' clock on a Friday until Monday at 8am or 9am and I can go be in a few beer league softball teams. And I might not make a ton of money, but I'm pumped to do what I do because I love it. I'm happy. And that's okay. Like, it doesn't have to be the same for everybody. And you can be good at what you do with different motivations. Like, there can be good football players that don't love football. They love. It's what Lane Kiffin said. It's the idea. It's the money or the fame or the like. And football is a vehicle for them to get that. And that's okay, by the way, that that is okay. It's. It's true. You think about where you work, whatever it is you do, and everybody is motivated by something different to different levels.

7:18

And.

9:11

But in this instance with Sam Levitt, what Lane Kiffin is saying is in an organized team sport with the single most valuable position in an organized team sport, quarterback is the most important position in organized team sports. You have a guy on your team right now that isn't motivated by money or fame or notoriety or anything other than the fact that, as he said, he's serious about being great and he loves football. That reminds me a lot of Joe Burrow. I'm not saying Sam Levitt's going to be Joe Burrow. Please don't misunderstand me. Don't clip this and say Scone said he's going to be. I'm not saying that. What I'm saying is that's what motivated Burrow. Meaning if there was no money to be made, Joe Burrow would still be playing football because he loved football that much. He was that bought into being great at this thing. Now maybe Burrow's a better athlete. Better size, better arm. I don't know. We'll see. We'll watch. We'll go watch Sam Lovett play and we'll see how it looks. But a lot of it maps and it's important because while I think us on Long street and Landon Clark have illustrated some very important traits, namely the, the physical ability to run this offense, right? Throw the ball downfield and run the ball and make plays with your arm and your legs, what you need to have in a Lane Kiffin offense and also the ability to improve, right? Those guys were not very good three Saturdays ago when they combined for five interceptions and a lost fumble. The last two Saturdays they were really good offensively. So they've shown progression. They're players who haven't played a ton of football mean Husson Longstreet played in one game significantly at at Southern Cal last year as a freshman. Landon Clark played this past year at Elon, but still has a long way to go to be a really capable championship caliber starting quarterback at the SEC level. Sam Levit's there. He started at Michigan State, went to Arizona State, got Arizona State in the playoff, was the second year starter a season ago when he had the injury and played half the season. But he's been there. This is his fourth year in college. He's been a Power 4 starter for two years now. He's been to a college football playoff like he's he's got the skins on the wall, he's got the experience. He's ready to be the guy that can lead you where you want to go and you have a guy that is completely bought in. And apparently according to Lane Kiffin is also healing at a an accelerated rate. Which is great to see because if you are in fact going to achieve what you think you can with this roster, the prerequisite is Sam Levitt being healthy and great and it looks like he may well be on his way now. Lane Kiffin also recapped the scrimmage from Saturday and gave a general overview of this team and what they still need to work on. We'll get to that as we continue here. It's Locked in lsu. Your team. Every day. Workplace chaos. Deadlines stacking up, inbox overflowing, and the one position you have to fill is still sitting open when the pressure's on and you need the right hire. This is a job for Sponsored Jobs. Indeed Sponsor Jobs helps you reach the people who actually fit what you're looking for. Skills, experience, location. So you're not just hoping the right candidate stumbles across your post. And here's the stat that says it all in the minute. Since we've been talking, companies like yours have made 27 hires on Indeed. That's according to Indeed Data Worldwide. So if you're hiring, spend less time searching and more time interviewing candidates who check all your boxes with Indeed Sponsor Jobs. And listeners of Locked On LSU will get a $75 sponsored job credit to help get your job the premium status it deserves. Indeed.com podcast, just go to indee Indeed.com podcast right now and support Locked on LSU by saying you heard about Indeed Unlocked on LSU. That's Indeed.com podcast. Terms and conditions apply. Need to hire. This is a job for Indeed Sponsored Jobs and we're brought to you by FMOL Health Our lady of the Lake trust isn't given, it's earned. Winning a championship is hard. Defending one, well, that's even harder. LSU baseball knows what it takes. Discipline, teamwork and trust. FMOL Health Our lady of the Lake is LSU's championship health partner, providing Louisiana's best medical team to care for our state's best athletes. From injury prevention to recovery, strength to performance, the Lake helps keep Tigers ready to compete every game, every series, every postseason run. And that same level of championship care is here for you, too. Whether it's sports medicine, heart care, pediatrics or help getting back to your everyday routine, Our lady of the Lake cares for the champions across Louisiana. Trust the team that cares for the team you love. Our lady of the Lake and lsu together we roar. Learn more at O l o l rmc.com lsu gonna jump back into the show here in just a quick second, but I want to remind you, you can get locked on LSU AD free with the Everydayer Club plus Members Only Discord Access so join at the link in the show Notes so Lane Kiffin talked about Sam Levitt and I think that was the most important part of his media availability because Levitt is the most important part of what LSU will achieve. Well, Lane Kiffin did also recap the scrimmage from Saturday in Tiger Stadium.

9:12

I thought the offense was in really good rhythm for the second Saturday in a row, made a number of plays. The system was kind of working as far as tempo and spreading the ball around. You know, we we held after the first series a few defensive players, so that obviously helps in that situation. But I was very pleased with that. It was a good feeling coming out of we actually threw seven on seven first, which we normally wouldn't do. Just so Sam and really another number of other players, including Whit, were able to do that, that they wouldn't have been able to do team stuff. So that kind of felt good too, seeing everybody out there together.

15:06

If you're an everydayer or you were here with us for our scrimmage recap based on the notes that I was given. Again, media was not allowed to watch the final scrimmage, the 15th and final practice, but I did talk to a handful of people who were there. The notes I shared with you kind of align with what Lane was saying. There was the fact that it was another good offensive day in the 16 series that the offense ran. They scored seven touchdowns. They split reps with Long street and Landon Clark. If you recall, Harlan berry had a 55 yard run. Malik Elzy had four catches of 20 yards or more. So another good day for the offense. Now, Lane did qualify there that there were some possessions where they gave some starters some time off. Like, hey, just go sit down. And we saw that a lot, especially late in spring when it didn't make sense necessarily to take a guy like Prince William on me, Ellen, and make him go play a hundred defensive snaps or even 60 defensive snaps on a Saturday. Instead, let guys like Dylan Carpenter and some of those young edge rushers get some increased reps, Trenton Henderson to get their feet wet. You know, what you have in Prince William on me Ellen, get those young guys reps to, to get them coming along. So Lane Kiffin did also talk about what areas he feels, you know, still need improvement here in the remainder of spring.

15:51

Oh, there's a lot of those. I mean, we haven't even tackled yet, you know, so how well are we going to tackle on defense? How well are the backs all skill, but especially backs going to when they're getting tackled. We got some players coming back from injuries, so there's a lot. It was really good to have, but I still feel like we need fall camp and summer so much to get things to where we need them to be.

17:13

You know, I think maybe the, the and I talk about this in a brief minute because Lane Kiffin also was asked for just an an overview of spring and, and the answer was a long one. But I think what it provides is an interesting contrast to where the program is now with Lane Kiffing. Lane Kiffin taking over relative to where it was four years ago at the same time when Brian Kelly was taking over. And I do believe it is a pretty stark contrast because you hear Lane Kiffin there saying, where do you need to improve? And he's saying things like, well, we haven't even tackled yet. And it's, it's on field things. The, the film, familiarity with the offense and the tempo. And that is a dramatically different response than what Brian Kelly would have responded four years ago when he inherited which I think speaks to the possibilities that emerge in the 2026 season as opposed to 2022. Now, 2022, of course, LSU did beat Alabama. They won the west, went to Atlanta. Now, it didn't end great, right? I mean, they lost the regular season finale to A and M. They lost the, the SEC championship to Georgia. So there was some disappointment there at the end of the season, which made the record not look as great and maybe muted some of the accomplishments, but it was still a remarkably successful year considering what that coaching staff inherited and what they were able to achieve. But you're going to hear Lane Kiffin here in just a brief moment talk about the overview of the spring and I think I'm going to illustrate for you why it's such there. This program with Lane Kiffin right now where Brian Kelly left it is just light years ahead of where Brian Kelly inherited. This isn't a pro Brian Kelly thing. It's just to illustrate why I think it's realistic to expect success sooner under Lane Kiffin. I'll get to that here in just a second. It's locked on lsu, your team every day.

17:38

If you want to make an impact, you set an example. You take the lead, you adapt with intention, and when you move with that kind of purpose, you drive a vehicle that does the same. The Range Rover Sport. With a design that's distinctly British. It blends power, poise and performance, delivering a drive that feels as refined as it is responsive. Defining modern luxury, the Range Rover Sport features the latest innovations in comfort and convenience from the air cabin purification system to active noise cancellation, creating a quieter, more controlled experience. Built with raw power and agility, the Range Rover Sport responds with precision. 7 terrain modes powered by terrain response 2 fine tunes performance to meet challenging roads ahead, choose from a range of powerful engines, including a plug in hybrid with an estimated range of 53 miles. Like you, the Range Rover Sport was designed to make an impact. Build your Range Rover sport@rangerover.com USSport that

19:53

feeling when you're trying to build your credit and it's like over and over again. Good news. Chase Credit Journey can help you with a personalized score improvement plan provided by Experian. So when you still need that credit built, you have the guidance you need. You can even get a Chase secure banking account with no monthly service fee if you're 17 to 24 years old. Hallelujah.

20:53

This tool is for education purposes and doesn't guarantee you'll reach your credit score goal. The score you receive uses VantageScore 3.0 model and may not be the model used by lenders member fdic.

21:15

Okay, as promised, this cut and to be very candid with you, okay, I don't like doing this, but I'm going to do it. This cut is a:40 and I'm going to play the whole thing for you from Lane Kiffin because I don't want any part of what he says to be missed. So I really want you to lock in here and listen if you would please, to this minute 40. Because there's three things really that on the backside of this clip we're going to come back and talk about that lane references here. But he was asked just his general overview of how he thought spring went and he gave a nearly two minute answer on this give a list.

21:29

You know, when we decided, you know, to take Sam, part of that was having to realize, okay, he was not going to for the most part be there in the spring, spring and that that would have you have a certain feeling about spring, you know, that he's not there. But understand it's, you know, about the long term and what that looks like. So I think that played into a little bit, you know, plus some other players not, not playing. And so I think when you add in him, the receiver witness, you know, you're going to add some pieces back in where you're going to feel different, you know, in the fall or even the summer. So. But I think the guys did a really good job buying in, working hard, really trying to the right things, very little distractions from guys. That probably is, you know, there's good and bad to everything. I think the no spring portal,

22:11

you

23:11

know, obviously is bad in your first year because you'd like to have it now that you've been here for a while to assess your roster and everything. But the good part is you don't have the problems that we've had that we had before, you know, and everybody getting calls from other places in the middle of spring ball already thinking about are they going to be here or they don't like their play time. So from that point that helped limit distractions. So I thought they did job a good, good job that way. I think we have a long ways to go with learning our systems inside and out and making sure that we're using players in the right spots and not just running our system because that's what our system was.

23:11

Okay, so Lane Kiffin said a lot there. He talked about, he started by saying, effectively, we knew when we took Sam we were going to feel a certain way about the offense, effectively saying, look, we knew Sam Levitt wasn't going to play in the spring, so our offense was not going to be very good and we had to be okay with that as offensive coaches. Kiffin's an offensive coach. He brought Weiss with him. They weren't going to be very good offensively because they didn't have Sam Levitt. So less than your expectations. Well, they actually kind of got better offensively as spring went along. Now, he also said it'll be better because you'll, you know, in the summer you'll have Levitt the wide receiver and Wit. Okay, so those guys are going to get healthy. Well, Levitt Witt are obvious. The wide receiver is a little less obvious. The one guy, the one wide receiver who was injured and didn't participate in spring is Trey Brown, the wide receiver from Old Dominion. Now, I have pointed out very clearly that I think there are four receivers who have taken the lion's share of the reps. With the ones, it's Winnie Watkins. It's Jace Brown, the receiver from Kansas State, who's the top receiver transfer out of this portal class to lsu. Winnie Watkins, Jace Brown, Malik Elzy, who we've told you has had a really nice camp, and then Jackson Harris from Hawaii. Those four seem to have elite. Well, Trey Wilson is someone I'm very high on from Florida. Roman mothershed is 6:5. Philip Wright can fly from Destrehan. But the one guy who didn't participate was Trey Wilson, the Old Dominion transfer. Maybe Lane Kiffin, like, circle that one. Lane Kiffin might have just tipped his hand to say he's really high on. On Trey Brown, the receiver from Old Dominion. Now, he also talked about there being little distraction this spring. He talked about the portal and wanting a spring portal window, but then said, look, we still got to learn the system. And, you know, it's about putting players in the right spot, not changing our. And changing our offensive at the players that are making the players fit our offense. Anyway, all that to say four years ago when Brian Kelly came in, in that first spring of 2022, I remember they had, he. He had this sort of infamous quote about Keisha Booty, who, remember at the time was the superstar. And he was asked about K Sean and Brian Kelly said, well, I know his name, effectively saying they hadn't communicated very much. And Keisha had a long way to go in maturing and developing. Well, I remember Brian Kelly implemented a system that was this accountability card system where every day the players got little note cards that they had to fill out. What time they woke up, did they go to class, what did they eat that day? And it was all about accountability to try to institute or reinstitute the right culture. Look, LSU won a championship in 2019, but there are some things that are very obvious if you follow this program, even if you don't or don't remember, because it feels like revisionist history at this point. It's been six years. But the culture around LSU football and in football operations became very toxic at the end of the Ogeron era for a lot of reasons. In, in the COVID era, the there, there was the George Floyd situation, the players marching there, there was, there was a lot. We don't need to really get it all. Just suffice to say Brian Kelly inherited a bad situation culturally and that first spring was about just getting guys to be accountable and making good habits. It wasn't even about football, it was just about good habits. Lane Kiffin's telling you this spring has been about guys learning the system and putting players in the right spot. There's been very little distraction. I think all of that actually lends itself to say that there is good culture around LSU football and not something that typically when you're making a coaching change needs to be overhauled, guys. Because usually if you're making a coaching change it's because things went badly and so guys need to learn how to be positive and how to win and have good habits and all that stuff. I think LSU by and large had that. This last year at LSU was unfortunate. Garrett Nussmeier got hurt, he had some key injuries, maybe some bad assistant coaching hires and it blew up. It's not a total tear down rebuild for Lane Kiffin, which is another reason to believe you should have grand expectations in year one because of the investment of the coaching staff, the talent and a pretty solid foundation that was already built and retaining your defensive staff on the side of the ball where you were top 30 defense a year ago. So yeah, I do think they are light years ahead in this coaching change to where they were four years ago when Brian Kelly replaced Ed Ogeron. Spring is over. We got tons more to talk about as we unpack Spring. We're gonna do it here every day on Locked on lsu. Hey thanks for tuning in. Remember you can subscribe and follow the podcast to get the latest episodes. And if you never miss an episode, the Everyday or Club is built for you. So go to the link in the show notes. You can get ad free Episodes plus members only, Discord Access and so much more. And be sure to subscribe on your favorite podcast app Radis. Leave a review if you're on YouTube, smash the like button, subscribe to the channel. Hit the bell so you're notified whenever we post a new video. And let a friend know if they love the Tigers. We got you here every single day for Locked on lsu. It's your team every day.

23:51

That feeling when you're trying to build your credit and it's like over and over again. Good News Chase Credit Journey can help you with a personalized score improvement plan provided by Experian so when you still need that credit built you have the guidance you need. You can even get a Chase Secure banking account with no monthly service fee if you're 17 to 24 years old. Hallelujah.

29:41

This tool is for education purposes and doesn't guarantee you'll reach your credit score goal. The score you receive uses VantageScore 3.0 model and may not be the model used by lenders member fdic. Out on the road, it helps to have a partner like the Love's Rewards app. Download Love's Rewards today and save 10 cents on every gallon of gas and up to 25 cents on every gallon of auto diesel. Loves Rewards, Save and earn at every turn.

30:03

Terms apply.

30:23

Not available in all states. Hey everyone, this is Ross Jackson, one of the hosts of the Locked On Podcast network. If your group chat's been a little quiet lately, I want to invite you to come and join ours. If you sign up for the Everyday Ear Club, you get access to the members only group chats for your favorite teams, plus national chats for every sport. Personally, I love watching folks talk a little smack in the NFC South Trash talk chat. You also get an ad free version of your favorite Locked on show and a whole lot more. You can check it out by tapping the Everydayer Club link in the show notes.

30:24