LSU Spring Ends With the BEST Possible Sam Leavitt News

0:00It's the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. What's up everybody? This is Ross Jackson, one of the hosts of the Lockdown Podcast Network, and if you haven't heard yet, we started a club and we would love for you to join. It's called the Everydayer Club, and one of the things that you get as a member is an ad-free version of the podcast that you're listening to right now. It works with whatever podcast app you already use, same episodes every day, just no ad. There's also a member's only group chat for fans of your team, plus a lot more. You can check it out by tapping the Everydayer Club link in the show notes. Lane Kiff and Recap Spring with a positive update on Sam Levin, it's Lockdown LSU, here we go. You are Lockdown LSU, your daily podcast on the LSU Tigers, part of the Lockdown Podcast

1:01Network, your team every day. Okay, let's get it, it is Lockdown LSU, your team every day. I'm your host, Matt Muscona, thanks so much for making us your first listen. LSU wrapped up Spring on Saturday, Tuesday, Lane Kiff and Met with Reporters, and the biggest headline had to be Lane confirming what we reported here on Monday's episode, which is that Sam Levin did in fact participate in Seven on Seven during Saturday's scrimmage. It was the 15th and final practice of LSU Spring and Sam Levin, who was doing some light throwing early in spring, handing off with the running backs, then a few Mondays ago, but the Happily Point of Spring had the pins removed from his foot, from the list Frank surgery, and from that point on, all we saw Sam Levin do was wear tennis shoes with a helmet of Jersey and stand by the offense and watch. Well, Lane confirmed that Sam Levin did in fact participate in Seven on Seven as we reported

2:05here and actually gave him an update on how he did. 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 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 he's just still working through his foot and then getting out there and being able to play with the guys more. My biggest takeaway, aside from the fact that he threw a Touchdown on his first play, is the fact that Sam Levin was out there for the 15th and final spring practice, don't miss this, because the real question is, why would you risk it? If I let me hear, okay, the LSU has gone all in on Sam Levin, understanding he's coming here after this list, Frank injury, that was going to limit him in spring, you're going

3:07to hear Lane say that again here, which we, if you're in every day or you've heard him say that a couple of 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 Levin 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 eight plays in a seven on seven 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 at seven on seven, there's no risk because there's no pass rush. It's just the quarterback sitting back and throwing the football, reigning defense and the secondary and throwing, but they wouldn't have put Levin in that spot.

4:09If there was any chance whatsoever of him suffering a setback because they have too much invested in him financially for this whole, this whole that Lane Kippen, his whole staff, the entire program athletic department, everything centers around, around Sam Levin, I'm not overemphasizing 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 of the investment, right? Sam Levin 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 Levin 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 Kippen was asked

5:12about Levin and what he was able to learn just by watching in spring, not doing anything, but just by standing there and observing and Lane Kippen, 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 Kippen said about Sam Levin is something you got to hear. 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 that's not easy, you know, when you're not playing, you know, it's a little bit harder, you know, to stay locked in and go to walkthroughs and do all those things, but he's taking that very seriously, he's, he's real serious about being great. Like I say all the time, there's, we actually talked at length today about this.

6:14You 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 talk about it. 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. But 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 sales people, some of us work at a grocery

7:18store 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 five o'clock on a Friday until Monday at 8 a.m. or 9 a.m. 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. You can be good at what you do with different motivations. Like there can be good football players that don't love football.

8:21They 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 them. And that's okay, by the way, that that is okay. It's you think about where you work, whatever it is you do and everybody is motivated by something different to different levels. 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.

9:22Don't clip this and say, Skone said he's going to be burrow. 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 burrows a better athlete, better size, better arm. I don't know. We'll see. We'll go watch Sam Levitt play and we'll see how it looks. But a lot of it maps and it's important because while I think who's on Long Street and Landon Clark have illustrated some very important traits, namely the physical ability to run this offense, right? Throw the ball down field 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. Those guys were not very good three Saturdays ago when they combined for five interceptions in a lost fumble.

10:22The last two Saturdays, they were really good offensively. So they've shown progression. Their players who haven't played a ton of football and who's on Long Street played in one game significantly at that Southern Cal last year as a freshman. Landon Clark played this past year at Elon, but still is a long way to go to be a really capable championship caliber starting quarterback at the SEC level. Sam Levitt's there. He started Michigan State, went to Arizona State, got Arizona State to play off, was the second year starter of season to go 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 for starter for two years now. He's been to college football playoff. 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 an accelerated rate, which is great to see because if you are in fact

11:26going 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 at the Lockdown LSU, your team every day. Your place chaos deadline stacking up in box overflowing and the one position you have to fill is still sitting open when the pressure is on and you need the right hire. This is a job for sponsor jobs indeed sponsor jobs helps you reach the people will 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 a minute. As we've been talking, companies like yours have made 27 hires on indeed that's according

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13:27team to care for our state's best athletes from injury prevention to recovery, strength to performance. The lake helps keep tires ready to compete every game, every series, every postseason run and that same level of championship care is here for you to 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 ololrmc.com slash LSU. Good to jump back into the show here in just a quick second, but on our mind you can get locked on LSU, add free with the every day or 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.

14:31Well, Lane Kiffin did also recap the scrimmage from Saturday in Tiger State. I thought the offense wasn't 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. 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 be able to do team stuff. So that kind of felt good to see everybody out there together. If you're an everydayer or you're 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

15:33a handful of people who were there. The notes I shared with you kind of a line with what Lane was saying there is 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 Longstreet and Landon Clark. If you recall, a Harlem Berry at a 55 yard run, Malik Elzi had four catches of 20 yards or more. 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 Willumon, Miguel, and it make him go play 100 defensive snaps or even 60 defensive snaps on a Saturday instead let guys like Dylan Carpenter and some of those young ed rushers get some increased reps. Trenton Henderson. To get their feet wet, you know what you have in Prince Willumon, Miguel, and get those young guys reps to get them coming along.

16:35So Lane Kiven did also talk about what areas he feels still need improvement here in the remainder of spring. What is a lot of those? I mean, we haven't even tackled yet. So how well are we going to tackle on defense? How well are the backs all skilled, but especially backs going to win they're getting tackled? We've 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 in summer so much to get things to where we need them to be. You know, I think maybe the, I'm talking about this in a brief minute because Lane Kiven also was asked for just an overview of spring. 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 Kiven taking over relative to where it was four

17:41years 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 Kiven there, Sanca, where do you need to improve? And he's saying things like, well, we haven't even tackled yet. And it's on field things, the, the 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 radio season finale day and they lost the, the SCC 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.

18:41But 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 Kiven 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 Kiven 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 Kiven. Now get to that here in just a second, it's locked on LSU, your team every day. Okay, as promised, this cut, and I'll be very candid with you, okay, I don't like doing this, but I'm going to do it. This cut is a minute and 40 seconds and I'll play the whole thing for you from Lane Kiven

19:43because 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 a general overview of how he thought spring went and he gave a nearly two minute answer on this. Give us. You know, when we decided 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 and that that would 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 playing. And so I think when you add in him, the receiver with, you know, you're going to add some pieces

20:46back 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 write things very little distractions from guys. That probably is, you know, there's good and bad to everything. I think the no spring portal, you know, obviously is, 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 and 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 a 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

21:49that's what our system was. Okay, so Lane Kiven 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, Kivens and offensive coaches, you brought rice with him. There 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 Whit, okay, so those guys are going to get healthy. So Levitt, Whit or 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

22:50trade 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 share of the reps with the ones. It's when he walkins, it's Jason Brown, the receiver from Kansas State who is the top receiver transfer out of his portal class to LSU. Winnie Watkins, Jason 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, Gray Wilson is someone I'm very high on from Florida, Roman mother shed is six five, Phillip Wright can fly from Deschterhan. But the one guy who didn't participate was Gray 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 trade brown, the receiver from Old Dominion. Now he also talked about there being a little distraction this spring.

23:52He talked about the portal and wanting a spring portal window. But then said, look, we've got to learn the system and it's about putting players in the right spot and not changing our and changing our offense for the players that I'm 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 had this sort of infamous quote about K Sean booty. Remember the time was the superstar and he was asked about K Sean and Brian Kelly said, well, I know his name effectively saying they had communicated very much and K Sean had a long way to go and 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

24:53they woke up. Did they go to class? What do they eat that day? And it was all about accountability to try to institute a re-institute the right culture. Look, LSU won a championship in 2019, but there are some things that are very obvious if you follow this program, and 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 OZRON era for a lot of reasons. In the COVID era, there was the George Floyd situation, the players marching. 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.

25:54I think if I'm 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 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, she was unfortunate. Garrett and us, Margot heard, yet some key injuries, maybe some bad assistant coaching hires in a 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 there are light years ahead in this coaching change to where they

26:58were four years ago when Brian Kelly replaced Ed Oshron. Spring is over. We got tons more to talk about as we unpack spring. We're going to 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 every day or club is built for you. To 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, Radist, Leaver Review. If you're on YouTube, smash the like button, subscribe to the channel, hit the bell, share your notified whenever we post a new video, and let a friend know if they love the tigers. We got you every single day for locked on LSU. It's your team every day.