Lane Kiffin Gives Fresh Sam Leavitt Injury Update After Nick Saban and Pete Golding Publicly Call Out His Antics

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For a few days, Sam Leavitt’s status looked like it might become the story before the story. But with Friday, most of the mystery disappeared. The LSU QB has been cleared for the highly anticipated showdown against Ole Miss at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.

CBS Sports’ Tom Fornelli shared the latest development Friday with a short message that read, “Sam Leavitt is risen (off the injury report)!”

That settles one uncertainty, because Sam Leavitt had spent most of the week moving in the opposite direction. He was initially listed as doubtful on Wednesday, prompting obvious questions about whether LSU would have its starting QB against the No. 9 Rebels. By Thursday, though, the Tigers had upgraded him to questionable. And now, he is off the report.

This is not just any regular season match on the calendar. With both teams sitting at 2-0 and ranked high in the top 10, a single win here sets up a smooth road to the SEC championship and a clear spot in the College Football Playoff.

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Losing a big rivalry game like this early in the year can ruin your postseason dreams real fast. That is why every small detail, especially who gets to start at quarterback, becomes a huge mental game for both sides.

The move is particularly interesting because two people with plenty of experience around Lane Kiffin had already questioned the original designation. Nick Saban did not dance around it when asked about Sam Leavitt’s sudden appearance on the injury report on The Pat McAfee Show.

“If I was a betting man, I would say there’s absolutely nothing wrong with Sam Leavitt,” he said. “I would be actually, psychologically telling the defensive players that this doesn’t matter. Sam Leavitt’s going to play; he’s going to be the best; we’ve got to stop him. Don’t lose your edge because you think he’s not going to play, and then he shows up and plays, and it’s a downer.”

Asked whether he was really that confident, Nick Saban gave a straight answer, saying, “100%.”

Pete Golding had his own reason for laughing at the situation. He spent three seasons working alongside Lane Kiffin at Ole Miss before eventually becoming the Rebels’ head coach. So he knows how the LSU head coach’s mind works.

“I got the text before the report went out from Lane,” he said on The Pat McAfee Show. “‘Hey, our quarterback’s out.’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, buddy, I bet he is. I’ve been around here a lot of Wednesdays with you, man, for three and a half years,’ I said. I think our first one we had 42 guys on the first-ever SEC injury report on a Wednesday, so I was like, ‘Yeah, man. See you Saturday.’”

There was some truth behind the joke, too. Ole Miss eventually listed 26 players on that particular injury report, with 14 marked probable while Lane Kiffin was running the ship.

The SEC has rules for these injury reports, though. Coaches can’t just put false information out there to mess with the other team. If the league thinks a report was misleading on purpose, there can be consequences. So if Sam Leavitt was never really in danger of missing the game, the whole thing could get a little more serious than simple Lane Kiffin gamesmanship. But the latest report has changed the conversation.

Sam Leavitt has reportedly been dealing with a sore throwing shoulder and was limited in practice earlier in the week. He did participate in LSU’s walkthrough Thursday, another sign that the doubtful designation might not tell the whole story. His availability is significant for a Tigers team sitting at 2-0.

The Arizona State transfer has thrown for 574 yards and two touchdowns through two games, completing 41 of 66 attempts. He has also thrown four interceptions. On the ground, though, Sam Leavitt has been a major part of the Tigers’ offense, rushing for 135 yards and five touchdowns on 23 carries. So now the question is no longer whether LSU will have him. It will be how healthy he actually is once the game starts.

And that is where Nick Saban’s warning could become particularly relevant. Ole Miss does not need to believe the injury report anymore. It needs to find out for itself.

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