LSU football deemed transfer portal winner by top CFB writer

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When LSU football hired Lane Kiffin as its next head coach, there were a few qualities they knew he would bring to Baton Rouge right away. Chief among them is his recruiting prowess. Kiffin has held the title of college football’s “Portal King” for several years now, and he continued to live up to that moniker during his first offseason as a Tiger.

Kiffin and his staff signed 40 transfers from the portal, headlined by the addition of three of On3’s top five highest-rated transfers: former Arizona State quarterback Sam Leavitt, former Colorado offensive tackle Jordan Seaton, and former Ole Miss edge rusher Princewill Umanmielen.

LSU’s portal haul earned some recognition from On3’s Pete Nakos in his article published Wednesday morning, where he compiled his list of the biggest transfer portal winners from this offseason.

Umanmielen, Leavitt, and Seaton are known commodities, holding the top spot relative to their position on nearly every major recruiting site. What Nakos especially appreciated, however, was a few of Kiffin’s more under-the-radar signings. Here’s what he had to say about some of the Tigers' lesser-known transfers:

“Kiffin completely restructured the wide receiver room, bringing in Eugene Wilson III (Florida), Jayce Brown (Kansas State), Tre’ Brown III (Old Dominion) and Winston Watkins (Ole Miss). He also added depth and young talent to the quarterback room behind Leavitt, notably former five-star recruit Husan Longstreet, who has four years of eligibility remaining, transferring in from USC. Ohio State’s Faheem Delane and Boise State’s Ty Benefield are notable additions in the secondary.”

Calling the players Nakos mentioned “depth” might be misleading, since everyone listed except Longstreet is expected to be a major contributor in 2026. But the fact that Nakos can get past the Tigers’ top three transfers and still be talking about top-100 players from the portal shows the quality of the job Kiffin did this offseason.

Even after LSU hired Kiffin, it was hard to see a world in which the Tigers could field a roster capable of competing for a national championship in 2026. Those doubts are now gone. This team can — and should — be in the playoffs next December.

This article originally appeared on LSU Wire: LSU football deemed transfer portal winner by top CFB writer

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