When it comes to drawing the attention and securing the best proven transfer portal talent, there is perhaps no better coach in the country than Lane Kiffin. The transfer portal is where Kiffin has thrived and helped put Ole Miss in the national conversation. Along with his reputation as being one of the top offensive coaches in the country, Kiffin has already lived up to his reputation in just his first offseason at LSU.
It did not take long for Kiffin and his staff to make an impact as they not only solidified the number one transfer portal class in the nation, but perhaps one of the best transfer portal classes of all time. In all, LSU has picked up 42 players from the one transfer portal window including three of the top five players in the portal along the way.
This class is headlined by the number one overall quarterback in the portal in Sam Leavitt. Coming from Arizona State, Leavitt was the most highly coveted player when he entered his name in the portal. The 6’2, 205 pound dual threat quarterback’s 2025 season was impacted because of a foot injury, but he still was effective whenever he did play by throwing for 1,628 yards and 10 touchdowns while running for 306 yards and five more touchdowns. While the 2024 Sun Devils may be remembered most for Cam Skattebo, it was Leavitt that quarterbacked the team to a Big 12 Championship and a College Football Playoff berth. He finished with 2,885 passing yards and 24 touchdowns that season. The last time the Tigers got a quarterback from Arizona State worked out in getting Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels and now, pair a talented quarterback like Leavitt with Lane Kiffin and then, you have the potential to make a lot of things happen.
Kiffin also got two more quarterbacks that both have potential to be the heir apparent to Leavitt in USC transfer Hayden Longstreet, who is a former five star quarterback and number four quarterback in the 2025 class, and Elton transfer Landen Clark, who has a high ceiling after showing flashes last year as a freshman throwing for 2,321 yards and 18 touchdowns while rushing for another 614 yards and 11 touchdowns. All three quarterbacks are dual threat options that fit perfectly in what Kiffin and offensive coordinator Charlie Weiss Jr. want in their offense.
Along with Leavitt, Kiffin picked up two more players that are the number one players at their position in the portal. First, there is the number one overall offensive tackle Jordan Seaton. The 6’5, 330 pound offensive tackle from Colorado chose the Tigers over the Oregon Ducks. Seaton was the highest graded true freshman last year in pass protection according to Pro Football Focus in 2024 and because of that was named a freshman All-American. After following his breakout freshman year with a standout 2nd Team All-Big 12 season in 2025, Seaton now comes to Baton Rouge to give a huge boost to an offensive line that struggled mightily last season as their new left tackle.
The other number one player at their position is actually one of Kiffin’s former players at Ole Miss in EDGE Princewill Umanmielen, who is the number one defensive end in the portal and number five overall player. At 6’2, 245 pounds, Umanmielen was a key contributor to the Rebels’ College Football Playoff Semifinal run by having 45 tackles, 12 TFLs, 8 sacks, 2 PBUs, and an interception.
Along with the three headliners in Leavitt, Seaton, and Umanmielen, the Tigers also have six more players that rank in the Top 100 in Longstreet, Boise State S Ty Benefield, Florida WR Tre Wilson, Tennessee EDGE Jordan Ross, Ole Miss OL Devin Harper, and Kansas State WR Jayce Brown.
Kiffin especially reloaded at the wide receiver position getting ten wideouts including Tre Wilson, Jayce Brown, Winston Watkins Jr. (Ole Miss), Jackson Harris (Hawaii), Tre Brown III (Old Dominion), Malik Elzy (Illinois), Josh Jackson (McNeese State), Tyrese Holloway (West Florida), Roman Mothershed (Troy), and Mason Dossett (Baylor).
Along with Seaton, the Tigers arguably have their right tackle as well in Ole Miss transfer Devin Harper. The offensive line is perhaps the biggest question mark heading into this offseason and that unit received players like Sean Thompkins (Baylor), Darrin Strey (Kentucky), JaKolby Jones (Co-LinCC), Ja’Quan Sprinkle (NC Central), William Satterwhite (Tennessee), Ja’Mard Jones (Nicholls State), and Aliou Bah (Maryland).
Pairing with Trey’Dez Green, two more tight ends from Power Four programs like Malachi Thomas (Pittsburgh) and Zach Grace (Oregon) join the roster. The running back position got big news with both Harlem Berry and Caden Durham announcing that they will return back to the team in 2026 and the coaching staff continued to add depth to that room by acquiring four DI transfers in Raycine Guillory Jr. (Utah), Rod Gainey Jr. (Charlotte), Dilin Jones (Wisconsin), and Stacy Gage (UCF).
It was not just offensively that the Tigers added a lot of talent, but they arguably had an even more impressive outing on the defensive side of the football. Up front, the Tigers potentially have a deadly 1-2 punch with Umanmielen on one end and former five star Jordan Ross from Tennessee on the other end. Proven DI talent also arrives to add depth to the defensive line in Malik Blocton (Auburn), Achillies Woods (South Alabama), and Jaylen Brown (South Carolina).
The linebacking core is a massive strength returning both Whit Weeks and Davhon Keys. Then, add former Ole Miss LB TJ Dottery, who is the SEC’s leading tackler, and then, you maybe have the best linebacking group in the conference. Tight End Zach Grace’s younger brother Theo Grace (North Dakota) also adds depth to the position from the portal.
Last year, the secondary turned out to be the most improved position group on the entire team and they continue to bolster that this year by returning DJ Pickett, PJ Woodland, and Tamarcus Cooley to name a few. Boise State’s Ty Benefield was a great pickup at the STAR position after already being one of the leading tacklers in the country last season. Treylan James (Southern) and highly talented safety Faheem Delane (Ohio State) round up the defensive backfield.
Finally, on special teams, the Tigers have their placekicker in Scott Starzyk from Arkansas while adding punter Hayden Craig and long snapper Mack Mulhern both from Florida. With a roster that was thinning out because of the transfer portal, a lot of credit has to go to Kiffin and his new coaching staff to not only turn this into a competitive roster, but a roster on paper that is capable of making a College Football Playoff run. The biggest question will be how much this new look roster can gel and if they can do that, the Tigers could make a lot of noise quickly in the Lane Kiffin era.
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