The NCAA recruiting dead period officially dropped the curtain on June 22, which means Lane Kiffin woke up Tuesday morning with nowhere to put all that energy. And brother, there was a lot of energy.

In the roughly six weeks since Kiffin arrived in Baton Rouge with his sunglasses and his chaos energy fully charged, the man somehow fit in: a Vanity Fair profile that caused a minor national incident, an apology tour, a $40-million-roster confession from the coach he replaced, nine Class of 2027 commitments in ten days, and the literal resurrection of Ed Orgeron as a recruiting weapon. All before the dead period muzzled everyone.

Let's start with the Vanity Fair thing, because it was spectacular. Kiffin sat down for a four-hour interview and, among other things, explained that recruiting Black players to Mississippi was difficult because of the state's history — a comment that had Ole Miss fans absolutely livid and the college football internet running in circles for a week. He apologized the next day on On3, saying "it wasn't calculated," which may be the least surprising sentence ever spoken about Lane Kiffin. Ole Miss fans heard betrayal. LSU fans heard confirmation. And everyone else got a week of content.

Then Brian Kelly — the man Kiffin replaced, the man LSU paid $53 million to go away — went on a morning radio show and helpfully confirmed that the Tigers are spending north of $40 million on their actual roster this year. "Over $40, I'll tell you that," Kelly said, apparently unconcerned with the irony of a fired coach narrating the dynasty being built on his grave. The Tigers also committed $91 million to Kiffin over seven years. At some point someone in Baton Rouge is going to have to start selling cars to pay for all this, but that is Future Louisiana's problem.

Meanwhile, anonymous coaches across the country were talking to The Athletic. One Big 12 assistant said Kiffin "should" win a title at LSU given the resources — but "got the feeling he won't." The money quote: "He can be his own worst enemy and has a hard time staying out of his own way. That part ain't changed." A Big Ten assistant piled on: "He will find a way to stir up drama." These coaches are not wrong, and they are also apparently unaware that 'stirring up drama' is the man's brand and his competitive advantage simultaneously.

Because here's the thing: while everyone was dunking on Kiffin, his staff was putting together what 247Sports called a recruiting 'heater.' Five-star edge KJ Green committed on June 7 and set off a chain reaction — nine commitments in the next ten days, including another five-star pass rusher in Chris Whitehead and a flip from a Houston Cougars commit. Green told Geaux247 he "saw a different side of Lane Kiffin" he'd never seen before. Perhaps that side is Lane Kiffin desperately trying to finish his class before the dead period started.

Kiffin also brought back Ed Orgeron as a 'special assistant to recruiting,' a title that sounds made up but appears to be working. Coach O was out on the recruiting trail in June doing his signature thing — being an enormous, enthusiastic Louisiana man who loves football with his entire body — and recruits reportedly loved it.

So here we are on June 23. Dead period, Day 2. The phones are quiet. The visits are over. Kiffin is presumably sitting in Baton Rouge waiting for July 31, when he can start the whole thing over again. If his first six weeks are any indication, that will go just fine and also horribly. Probably both, simultaneously, live on social media.