FAU’s Lane Kiffin offered an 11-year-old quarterback with a name you might recognize

Lane Kiffin has never been shy about offering scholarships young quarterback prospects.

Back when he was at Southern California, the coach offered David Sills, then a 13-year-old quarterback, now an All-American wide receiver at West Virginia. On Tuesday, he took his youth scouting to another level. The Florida Atlantic coach revealed via Twitter that he’s offered an 11-year-old with a pretty impressive pedigree: Cole Leinart, the son of former Heisman Trophy winner Matt Leinart.

The prospect’s name initially surfaced on Twitter on Tuesday when The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman posted a video of Leinart throwing a 30-yard pass.

“Shocked that Lane Kiffin and FAU haven’t already offered him,” Feldman quipped.

Kiffin quickly dispelled any concerns.

“I did,” he wrote in a quote retweet. “Keep up with the news!!!”

Kiffin’s relationship with Leinart’s father traces back to their days at USC. Leinart played quarterback for the Trojans from 2001-2005 and won the Heisman in 2004. In Leinart’s final season, Kiffin took over as USC’s offensive coordinator and passing game coordinator. The coach was previously the Trojans’ tight ends coach in 2001 and their wide receivers coach from 2002-2004.

Kiffin has always been creative about filling his quarterback spot since he took over as the Owls’ coach in 2017. Current starting quarterback Chris Robison is a transfer from the Oklahoma Sooners. Backup quarterback De’Andre Johnson is a transfer from the Florida State Seminoles.

Kiffin thrives at making headlines in Boca Raton and he’s not slowing down.

This story was originally published October 17, 2018 at 10:41 AM.