Lane Kiffin's debut as LSU's new head coach kicked off Saturday night with a dramatic 51-10 rout of Clemson. Star transfer quarterback Sam Leavitt finished 16 of 28 for 230 yards, one touchdown, and one interception, adding a game-high 113 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns, tying with teammate RB Dilin Jones for the lead. LSU's defense, meanwhile, recorded 11 tackles for loss, four sacks, and a pick-six, holding Clemson to just 145 total yards on the night.
But while much of the attention went to Kiffin and LSU's performance on the field, another moment in the stands quickly went viral. The video board at Tiger Stadium displayed former LSU players now in the NFL, cycling through the list team by team. The crowd's reaction stayed positive until the Washington Commanders' turn came up, showing Jayden Daniels alongside K'Lavon Chaisson — at which point the cheers turned into loud boos.
More news: Lane Kiffin Breaks Silence on LSU’s Ex-NFL Players Bombshell Daniels is still remembered for his historic 2023 Heisman-winning season, when he threw for 3,812 yards and 40 touchdowns while adding 1,134 rushing yards and 10 more scores on the ground, posting an FBS record passer rating of 208.0. His combination of accuracy, big plays, and dual-threat production made him nearly impossible for defenses to game-plan against. Yet after he left for the NFL, LSU never officially retired his No. 5 jersey.
No player wore it either, until this year, when Kiffin gave it to sophomore cornerback DJ Pickett. More news: Miami’s Malachi Toney Makes Program History in Rout of Stanford More news: Bill Belichick’s Son Faces Alarming Allegations in Bombshell UNC Investigation Daniels wasn't happy about it. His camp said the family felt "profoundly disrespected," pointing out that Joe Burrow's No. 9 has remained untouched since his own Heisman season.
Daniels' lawyer even sent LSU a cease-and-desist letter, cutting off the school's rights to use his name, image, and likeness. It's turned into one of the stranger offseason storylines in college football — and clearly, it hasn't sat well with LSU fans either.
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