By GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor
It was going to be one of the last chances LSU transfer quarterback Landen Clark could move up the depth chart.
The redshirt sophomore from Elon University in Elon, North Carolina, had been third string since the spring behind highly recruited redshirt freshman Husan Longstreet, a transfer from USC who was No. 2 behind LSU projected starter Sam Leavitt.
“Landen Clark was the third string quarterback all spring and in camp,” LSU football sideline reporter Gordy Rush said on Tiger Rag Radio Tuesday night. “And he was running for his life during the last scrimmage.”
That was a closed scrimmage on Saturday, August 29 as they all were.
“I’m one of the few human beings who got a chance to see the scrimmage the week before the opener,” Rush said, “And Clark got crushed. But he was incredible. He made plays. He was throwing on the run. The guy has got some swagger to him.”
Clark (6-foot-0, 195 pounds) completed 155 of 277 passes for 2,321 yards and 18 touchdowns last season for Elon, which finished 6-6 overall and 4-4 in the Colonial Athletic Association last season. He also rushed 189 times for 614 yards and 11 touchdowns. He signed with LSU as a transfer last January as the No. 1,107 portal prospect and No. 64 quarterback, which was a better ranking than he got out of Radford High in Radford, Virginia. Because he was not ranked at all out of high school when he signed with Elon.
LSU fans in a sold-out, 102,321-seat Tiger Stadium will likely get to see a lot of Clark on Saturday night when No. 11 LSU (3-1, 1-1 Southeastern Conference) hosts 52-point underdog McNeese State (2-3, 1-2 Southland Conference) at 6:45 p.m. on the SEC Network.
With starting quarterback Sam Leavitt nursing a hamstring injury he suffered last week in the second quarter against Texas A&M, Clark might even start.
And that could mean that Longstreet (6-1, 195) could play a lot, too. He was the No. 99 portal prospect and No. 12 quarterback when he signed with LSU last January. When he signed with LSU before the 2025 season, he was the No. 32 prospect and No. 4 quarterback in the country from Corona Centennial High in Corona, California, and No. 3 prospect in his state.
Clark played well last week situationally for the hobbling Leavitt in the 35-6 win over Texas A&M. He rushed nine times for 41 yards with 4- and 2-yard touchdown runs. He was 0-for-5 passing, but there were two drops.
“Landen looked good,” LSU coach Lane Kiffin said. “Surprisingly, he was 0-for-5. So not a very good statistical game. But he did a good job. And really, he makes a great play where he throws to Dilin (Jones) in the end zone, and that should have been caught. And then Jayce (Brown) drops the ball that could have been caught. So, Landen’s done a really good job. Got a lot of confidence in Landen.”
On the season, Clark has completed 7 of 15 passes for 109 yards and a 30-yard touchdown with 16 rushes for 83 yards and three touchdowns. In the opener against Clemson, he hit 5 of 7 passes for 72 yards and rushed four times for 23 yards.
Longstreet has played only against Clemson, completing one pass in one attempt for 33 yards and rushing once for three yards.
“You want to see both play Saturday night,” Rush said. “To me, that’s what I’m looking forward to seeing the most in this game – both those guys playing football.”
Rush said that Leavitt should not play because of the hamstring injury.
Kiffin said on Monday that he was considering not playing Leavitt because of the hamstring. And there is a lot of rain in the forecast for Saturday night, which gives him more reason to protect Leavitt. Kiffin said he was going to be “extremely careful” with Leavitt’s injury.
“I’ve been going through that,” Kiffin said on Monday of the possibility of not playing Leavitt at all. “I don’t know where we’re going to end up on that.”
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