Lane Kiffin's first spring practice at LSU begins March 24, six days from now, and almost nothing about the program that opens that practice will resemble the program that Kiffin inherited when he arrived in Baton Rouge.

Fifty-one new players are expected on the 2026 roster. Kiffin assembled what is widely regarded as the top-ranked transfer portal class in the country, headlined by quarterback Sam Leavitt from Arizona State, defensive end Princewill Umanmielen from Ole Miss, offensive tackle Jordan Seaton from Colorado, and safety Ty Benefield from Boise State. The volume of new personnel makes LSU's spring practice less an evaluation of returning contributors than a first look at whether a reconstructed roster has the cohesion to function as a team.

The most significant limitation entering the spring is Leavitt's recovery from foot surgery. Leavitt is not expected to participate in full-team drills and will have limited availability in individual and positional work. The spring evaluation at quarterback will produce incomplete information, which creates a genuine organizational question: how much spring knowledge can you accumulate about a system when the player the system is built around is not fully available?

Kiffin's offense at Ole Miss was designed for a specific kind of quarterback — one who processed quickly, operated in the short and intermediate zones, and generated production from manufactured touches and designed run concepts. Leavitt at Arizona State showed that profile in his best games in 2025. Whether LSU's spring is used primarily to develop a playbook for Leavitt's return, or whether the program evaluates backup options at the position in parallel, is a spring-program question Kiffin has not yet addressed publicly.

LSU's over/under win total for 2026 is set at 8.5, tied for the third-highest in the SEC. The program is being evaluated as one of the most improved teams in the conference entering the season, a projection that carries the assumption that Leavitt will be healthy and functional by August. Spring practice beginning March 24 will start to answer whether that assumption is on track.

---

Sources: "Biggest spring practice storylines: Lane Kiffin, LSU," CBS Sports | "LSU spring practice top questions," NOLA.com | "2026 SEC spring football preview," ESPN