By ANDRE CHAMPAGNE, Tiger Rag Staff Reporter
LSU coach Lane Kiffin was headed into his third day of hosting national No. 1 Transfer Portal quarterback Sam Leavitt of Arizona State on Wednesday, but he may be jumping into the mix for sophomore quarterback Demond Williams Jr. of Washington as well.
Kiffin would like a commitment or a signature from Leavitt as soon as possible. If not, he may want Williams, though, he has some baggage.
LSU is expected to be a team to watch as a possibility with Washington QB transfer Demond Williams, sources tell me and @chris_hummer pic.twitter.com/zcjTYnPUon
— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) January 7, 2026
In a bizarre situation, Williams (5-foot-11, 190) entered the portal on Tuesday after he had just re-signed with the Huskies on January 2. According to Pete Thamel of ESPN, Williams entered the portal with a “do-not-contact tag,” which prevents schools from approaching him.
Multiple reports have stated Washington is preparing to pursue legal action to enforce Williams’ signed contract. Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports reports that Washington officials suspect another school contacted Williams after he re-signed with the Huskies, and Washington plans on submitting evidence of tampering to the NCAA.
Washington officials suspect that another school contacted Demond Williams after he signed and plan on submitting evidence of tampering. The university used a template Big Ten agreement – the same used by Wisconsin, which filed suit against Miami last summer over similar charges. https://t.co/0Cl8IAungr
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) January 7, 2026
Williams committed to Kiffin at Ole Miss on Dec. 30, 2022, when he was a junior at Basha High in Chandler, Arizona. He de-committed from Ole Miss on July 7, 2023, and committed to and enrolled at Arizona in January of 2024 as the No. 19 quarterback in the nation and No. 4 prospect in Arizona.
But when Arizona coach Jedd Fisch took the job at Washington to replace Kalen DeBoer, who replaced retiring Nick Saban at Alabama, Williams followed Fisch to Washington.
Williams became Washington’s starter in 2025 and finished 11th in the nation in efficiency at 161.0 on 246-of-354 passing for 3,065 yards and 25 touchdowns with eight interceptions. He also rushed for 611 yards and six TDs on 143 carries.
As for Leavitt, he and Kiffin went to the LSU basketball game against South Carolina on Tuesday night at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center along with linebacker Whit Weeks. Leavitt is expected to depart Baton Rouge on Wednesday to visit Tennessee.
NEW: Arizona State transfer QB Sam Leavitt is set to visit Tennessee this week, @AustinPriceless reports👀https://t.co/fC0hGOyF4z pic.twitter.com/zUIA3f1EHB
— On3 (@On3sports) January 7, 2026
As of Tuesday night, Williams was the No. 4-ranked quarterback in the portal by 247sports.com.
But legally, he may not be able to leave Washington.
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