Whit Weeks Returning to LSU to Play for Lane Kiffin, Will Skip 2026 NFL Draft

Lane Kiffin is retaining one of LSU's top linebackers ahead of his first season as the program's head coach.

Whit Weeks is planning to return for a fourth college season rather than enter the 2026 NFL season, he announced Thursday on Instagram.

"College is too much fun to leave, and there is no better place in the country to be right now than Baton Rouge, Louisiana," Weeks wrote. "All I want to do is ball in the purple and gold. See you in September."

Weeks was ranked as the No. 57 overall player and No. 6 linebacker available in the 2026 class on the Bleacher Report Scouting Department's latest 2026 NFL draft big board.

Kiffin said last weekend in an appearance on LSU radio that the Tigers were putting a "big emphasis on keeping Whit Weeks," per Wilson Alexander of The Advocate.

"That's a big priority for us," Kiffin said, per Alexander.

Kiffin's daughter, Landry Kiffin, has been posting photos with Weeks on her Instagram since September.

Weeks also made LSU history last season when he joined his brothers, Zach and West Weeks, as the first trio of brothers to take the field at the same time for the Tigers.

The linebacker recorded 21 tackles, including two for loss, as well as a fumble recovery and half a sack in the first five games of his junior season at LSU.

His season was derailed, however, when he suffered a broken ankle during a Sept. 27 game against Ole Miss.

Weeks had previously injured the same ankle while playing in the Texas Bowl against Baylor in December 2024.

He played through his latest injury during an Oct. 11 game against South Carolina, then sat out four games before returning to play limited snaps against Western Kentucky and Oklahoma in November.

Weeks will now hope to bounce back from the injury, and potentially improve his NFL draft stock, with a healthy senior season in 2025.

Kiffin and the Tigers could meanwhile hope his return will help sway some transfers' decisions to join LSU when the portal opens Friday.