The college football regular season has come to a close, so before the College Football Playoff gets underway, all eyes are now on the transfer portal. More than 3,000 players have entered the portal for various reasons. Some are looking for playing time they couldn't find at their initial school. Maybe a player is leaving because their head coach left for a new school. Sometimes a player just wants to play closer to home. And sometimes, a player just needs a change of scenery.
Whatever the case may be, many players, including some very big names, have entered the portal. Perhaps some have their eyes on a program that has been a magnet for getting players out of the transfer portal: LSU.
LSU football has plucked plenty of marquee players out of the transfer portal over the years. Heck, they now have nabbed two Heisman winners out of the portal: Joe Burrow and Jayden Daniels. The Tigers are a major program in the best conference in college football. They can get just about anybody they want out of the portal. But who should LSU go after?
Kyle McCord, QB, Ohio State
Many of the big name quarterbacks who entered the portal have already settled on what school they'll be attending next. Duke's Riley Leonard has gone to Notre Dame. Dillon Gabriel has moved from Oklahoma to Oregon. Coastal Carolina's Grayson McCall recently announced his intention to transfer to North Carolina State.
There are a few productive, veteran quarterbacks still available, with former Washington State star Cam Ward probably the most notable among them. But it might make the most sense for LSU to go get Ohio State's Kyle McCord.
McCord's numbers don't pop off the page the way Ohio State quarterbacks' have the last few seasons, but he was still very solid in 2023. His QBR ranked eighth among quarterbacks last season. He completed 65.8% of his passes and averaged 9.1 yards per attempt. His 24 touchdowns to six interceptions thrown as well as the 3,170 yards passing were quite good for a first-year starter.
It was a bit of a roller coaster ride for McCord at Ohio State last season. He struggled in his first start of the season against Indiana, but picked it up in his next few starts. He struggled again against Notre Dame in Ohio State's nail-biting win over the Irish, but then really went on a roll over the next seven games. McCord once again didn't perform to the peak of his abilities at Michigan, though, where Ohio State's season effectively ended.
Things didn't work out as well as anticipated for McCord at Ohio State, but it shouldn't be lost on anybody that he had a good season for the Buckeyes. With Daniels likely off to the NFL, the Tigers are going to need a quarterback. It worked out the last time LSU got a quarterback who transferred from Ohio State; maybe lightning can strike again in Baton Rouge.
Antwane ‘Juice' Wells, WR, South Carolina
Quarterback is going to be a need for LSU to address this offseason, but so will wide receiver. Malik Nabers, who led the nation in receiving yards with 1,546 yards, is likely going to be a top-10 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Brian Thomas Jr., LSU's other star receiver, could be a first-round pick in his own right.
Juice Wells might be the best player available to take those guys' spot. Wells put up 1,250 yards and 15 touchdowns as a sophomore at James Madison before transferring to South Carolina, where he continued to ball out. In 2022, he finished 68 receptions, 928 yards and six touchdowns. Wells couldn't keep the production coming in 2023 because of a foot injury, but was able to at least score a touchdown against Georgia in one of the two games he played this season.
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Wells is a very talented receiver who likely will be playing on Sundays. Ohio State has been the only program outside of LSU that is putting out star receivers at a better rate than the Tigers. Both sides could use each other.
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