Lane Kiffin is back in Knoxville, and if the former Tennessee head coach wasn’t a big enough villain for Vols fans already, he came looking to steal a top transfer portal quarterback away from Josh Heupel.
Arizona State transfer Sam Leavitt left his visit to LSU without signing with the Tigers, as news that Demond Williams, whom Kiffin recruited to Ole Miss before he ended up at Washington with Jedd Fisch, entered the portal. Now, despite igniting a legal dispute with Washington over a revenue-sharing deal, it seems that Williams is heading back to Seattle. So, Kiffin wasn’t about to let Leavitt lock things in with the Vols.
Kiffin posted a picture of the Knoxville airport to social media on Friday, and late Friday night, Matt Moscano of LouisianaSports.net confirmed what everyone already suspected: Kiffin was there to crash Leavitt’s visit.
Kiffin was there to recruit Leavitt and crash his visit with the Volunteers. Another classless move in an offseason, and in-season, full of them from the man who ditched Ole Miss ahead of the College Football Playoff.
Lane Kiffin crashes Sam Leavitt’s Tennessee visit
Leavitt is still slated to visit Miami, rounding out his transfer portal recruitment. The two-year starter at Arizona State, who started his career at Michigan State, is ranked as the No. 2 QB in the transfer portal according to Saturday Blitz, behind Cincinnati transfer and Texas Tech commit Brendan Sorsby.
After last year’s shocking Nico Iamaleava departure, Heupel has been scrambling to lock down an SEC-caliber replacement. Joey Aguilar, with his impressive touch and deep ball accuracy, was passable in Tennessee’s QB-friendly offensive system, but he was far from a difference-maker.
The Vols do have 2025 four-star George MacIntyre on the roster as a potential Aguilar replacement, but he did not see time in the Music City Bowl loss to Illinois as Aguilar went 14-for-18 for 121 yards. With that loss, Tennessee finished the year without a win over a team that finished with a winning record. That’s led to sweeping changes on both sides of the ball, including hiring defensive coordinator Jim Knowles away from Penn State to replace Tim Banks, who also arrived in Knoxville as a former Penn State DC.
Tennessee doesn’t appear to be at the top of the pecking order for the portal’s top quarterbacks. Texas Tech outbid everyone for Sorsby, and Kiffin carries a bit more cache in Baton Rouge. However, his desperation could be a sign that Tennessee has a better chance of landing Leavitt than anyone, including Kiffin, expected.