BATON ROUGE - LSU head coach Lane Kiffin says the Tigers are ramping up the physicality this week as they prepare for their first scrimmage of fall camp.

The team is putting on full pads this week, giving the coaching staff its first opportunity to evaluate the Tigers in more live-contact situations.

"We have got to tackle, which we avoided a lot in the spring," Kiffin said. "Just trying to get things done and stay healthy, and you know you have to at some point because we got to make sure that we're ready."

Kiffin said the Tigers can't afford to ease into the season when they open against Clemson, one of the top programs in the country.

"Especially with our schedule set up, you have an extremely hard opener, one of the best programs in the country," Kiffin said. "You don't really have a progression to try to maybe treat that game a little bit differently, you know, where you can start tackling in the game more and maybe be a little bit rusty. We can't afford that in this opener."

LSU will get its first chance to put that increased physicality on display Saturday, when the Tigers hold their first scrimmage.

"This will be a week in pads where we see them tackle on Saturday, and also see them go against tackling."

Kiffin also provided an encouraging update on starting quarterback Sam Leavitt, who is now practicing fully after recovering from offseason foot surgery.

"Sam's had a great week. Had a great practice today, taking care of the ball, really throwing the ball really accurately and on time, and I am extremely pleased with his week and how he looks," Kiffin said.

Kiffin acknowledged that his expectations for Leavitt earlier in camp may have been unrealistic while the quarterback was still limited by his recovery.

"We have high standards on how we want things and what we want them to look like, and it was probably unrealistic what I was expecting him to look like when you can't move, and he's just throwing without really having his weight to be able to push into," Kiffin said.

Now that Leavitt is healthy and moving around again, Kiffin said the quarterback has taken another step forward.

"So now that he's healthy, he said he's had a great week. We're really excited about him."

LSU will open the 2026 season at home against Clemson on Sept. 5 at 6:30 p.m. The game will be played in Tiger Stadium and will air on WBRZ.