The 2026 SEC Media Days in Tampa Bay wrapped up on Thursday, and the Tigers made sure they left their mark. LSU head coach Lane Kiffin took the main stage alongside linebackers Whit Weeks and TJ Dottery and tight end Trey’Dez Green, giving Tiger fans some insight on where the football program stands heading into the upcoming season. Kiffin covered everything from high expectations coming into Baton Rouge, building a new roster, and how LSU truly is “Just Different”.

Lane Kiffin spoke very highly of LSU and the opportunities that the brand gives to students, mentioning, “Now you have twelve players with Nike NIL deals, the first offensive lineman ever. No other school is above eight… It’s a big reason why we’re here.” He also highlighted the fact that he’s had more 5-star signees and commits at LSU than he’s had in the past six years COMBINED. That says a lot about why he left Ole Miss in the midst of their first ever college football playoff appearance together. Kiffin also acknowledged the high expectations coming in and is not afraid of them, stating “I embrace the expectations at LSU. They match how I think and that was part of coming there… part of that is what I’ve been around.” Lane is no stranger to success and is used to ten plus win seasons being the norm, especially during his time with Nick Saban at Alabama.

On the topic of the transfer portal and signing high school recruits, Lane Kiffin raved about their success. Although LSU has made big moves in the past seven months, Lane pointed out that we need to be realistic when it comes to the roster and making all the pieces work together. Is this roster filled with talent? Absolutely, but depth is also extremely important for winning championships. That’s exactly what Kiffin mentioned, stating “We put together a roster that can win now, but as I look at when you build a program, where it really will go to another level is how you build your depth, and that you can’t necessarily build the first year.” Kiffin is not trying to prepare LSU fans to be disappointed this season, but instead is giving a realistic outlook on what to expect in the future. Fans should be excited about what's to come in the next couple of years knowing that the head coach is building for the future and not just for one season.

One big name that came up on SEC media day was transfer QB Sam Leavitt. The redshirt junior quarterback is coming off a severe Lisfranc foot injury that he suffered last year at Arizona State and has been sidelined ever since. Some great news for Tiger fans came from head coach Lane Kiffin when he pointed out why Leavitt did not attend media days, sharing that “One of the reasons we didn’t bring him here today [was] so that he could stay to have a player practice this morning.” There have been many questions and concerns on the status of Sam Leavitt’s health, so Kiffin coming out with the update should definitely bring some relief to LSU football fans.

Kiffin also touched on a lighter topic which was his decision to step away from social media. He credited his son Knox for challenging him, saying Knox told him: “You’re on social media all the time, I bet you couldn’t get off.” That was all the motivation Kiffin needed to prove his son wrong. His absence from social media has been helpful with comparison and negativity in his life and it has been refreshing for him.

LSU linebacker Whit Weeks, a preseason All-American and one of the top returning linebackers in the country, could have entered the 2026 NFL Draft, but instead, he’s back for one more run in Death Valley, and he made it clear on Thursday that his focus is on the defense's identity. He’s looking to bring back a mentality to LSU that he feels has been lacking, stating “Defensively, I want to bring back that nasty mentality to an LSU defense.” For Whit, that mentality has been missing in his first three years here and he’s excited to bring that back to Tiger Stadium.

When asked about his relationship with Lane Kiffin being his coach and girlfriend’s father, Weeks detailed that it doesn’t affect their relationship. He says “It hasn’t affected my relationship with him at all. I know that when we go in that building everybody in our building has the same mindset and the same goals, and when you’re in that building you’re there for work. At the end of the day it is work… whenever we leave it’s cool, he’s my girlfriend’s dad.” It’s safe to say that Whit is focused on the goal and his head coach being his girlfriend’s father has been a positive thing for their relationship.

Trey’Dez Green, a junior tight end who grew up just 45 minutes from Tiger Stadium in Jackson, Louisiana, brought a different kind of energy to media day. He concentrated on the community and hospitality that LSU had for him before anyone knew who he was. He mentioned in an interview with 104.5 ESPN Matt Moscona that, “I didn’t commit to LSU for a coach. I committed to LSU because it’s home. I’ve been in middle school walking down the streets at an LSU game before anyone even knew who I was and people stopped me asking if I was hungry, calling me over to try gator. It’s just the hospitality and I was just like man, I wanna play here and be one of the greats that walked these halls at LSU.” Green also opened up about his view on Lane Kiffin and was confused as to why there’s so much negativity surrounding his name. He admitted he doesn’t follow social media closely enough to know how Kiffin is perceived outside of the building, but his own experience left no doubt: “Once I met coach Kiffin, I loved him. He’s been making everything fun. He’s amazing man, I don’t know what everybody else sees but he’s amazing.”

Incoming transfer linebacker TJ Dottery followed his head coach Lane Kiffin from Ole Miss to LSU and is looking forward to bringing the same energy he had at Ole Miss to Baton Rouge. The star linebacker led the SEC in tackles last season, making his debut with the Tigers very exciting. When asked about what brought him to LSU, TJ said it simply: “LSU itself. The rich history of defense and talented players they’ve had on both sides of the ball… I felt like that was an opportunity I could see myself being a part of.” It’s clear that Dottery wants to win and he believes LSU is the place that will give him the best chances. Fans have a lot to look forward to with TJ Dottery and Whit Weeks playing alongside each other and the two have great potential to become one of the more dangerous linebacker duos in the country.

With SEC Media Days now behind them, the Tigers will shift their attention to fall camp and the countdown to their season opener with Clemson on September 5th. Day three of SEC Media Days in Tampa offered a clear glimpse at the mindset driving this LSU program into 2026 and looked to be a great success for Lane Kiffin and company.

— Eric Palmer, TigerSources