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Lane Kiffin Threatens To Poach Florida’s Starting QB After Rejecting Gators Head Coaching Offer

#LSU Tigers
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Lane Kiffin reacts to DJ Lagway's transfer decision.

iStockphoto / © Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images / © Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images


Lane Kiffin is gearing up for his first season as the head football coach at LSU. He may be locking in on a potential starting quarterback.

The Tigers will lose Garrett Nussmeier to the NFL. His reserve, Michael Van Buren, will compete for the opening should he opt to stay in Baton Rouge.

With that said, there is a possibility the new coach will bring his own luggage with him. Kiffin had a pair of formidable passers on his Ole Miss roster in 2024.

Trinidad Chambliss won the starting role with strong play early in the season. He finished the year with 3,016 yards, 18 touchdowns, and just three interceptions while leading the team to the College Football Playoff.

Chambliss was able to unseat Simmons, who started the campaign under center before being forced to the sidelines with injury. One of those two passes may not be in Oxford next year.

Who will be Lane Kiffin’s QB?

There is noise surrounding Simmons.

“After not signing a high school quarterback the last two cycles, LSU is going to have to replenish this depth chart,” said Sam Spiegelman of Rivals.

“Whether it’s an Austin Simmons, obviously the young quarterback who started the season off for Lane Kiffin in Oxford, or elsewhere in the portal like guys with Louisiana ties, and guys that Lane Kiffin recruited at Ole Miss.”

Simmons flipped his high school commitment from Florida to Ole Miss in order to play for Kiffin. He very well could follow Kiffin to LSU.

There’s always the option of going elsewhere to find a portal player, too. The head coach’s recent social media activity has raised eyebrows.

DJ Lagway is leaving Florida.

The signal caller announced in a statement that he intends to enter the transfer portal. Lane Kiffin was one of the first to respond publicly.

Kiffin reposted an update on Lagway’s open recruitment. LSU has been mentioned as a team to keep an eye on, alongside other suitors like Baylor and Miami.

Lagway was once a five-star prospect. He’s shown incredible flashes at Florida having started as both a freshman and sophomore. He would represent a home run replacement for the Tigers under center.

Should Kiffin ultimately secure Lagway’s commitment, he’d add salt to the Gators‘ wounds after previously rejecting the program’s head coaching offer.

Florida is believed to have extended a mega-deal in hopes of filling its head coaching vacancy. Kiffin declined. He’ll instead be one of the nation’s highest paid leaders in Baton Rouge.

The Gators were unable to lure Kiffin to Gainesville. They might also be unable to keep DJ Lagway in town. In a worst-case scenario, the spurned program could be watching that duo join forces for an SEC rival.