Just as the transfer portal was dying down, there has been another wave of unexpected movement. Nick Saban's retirement from being the head coach at the University of Alabama prompted many of his former recruits to hit the portal. The same was the case when Washington head coach Kalen DeBoer took Saban's place and the cycle continued when Arizona head coach Jedd Fisch took DeBoer's former position in Seattle. This new wave of players hitting the portal has had a profound impact on the college football landscape for next season. One coach and school that could take advantage of this golden opportunity is Brian Kelly and the LSU Tigers football program.

LSU football has not been able to capitalize on landing the blue-chip players that have hit the portal in recent days, but it isn't too late for them to add to their roster. They will need to as they are currently slated to lose a good amount of players to the 2024 NFL Draft. The portal isn't plush with premier talent at the moment, but there are a couple of players who can help the Tigers immensely next season.

Will Rogers, Quarterback

Mississippi State QB Will Rogers is likely entering the transfer portal. Will he stay in the SEC?

The biggest position the Tigers have to fill next season will be quarterback. Jayden Daniels took off in 2023 so much so that he will likely hear his name called in the top five of the 2024 NFL Draft after winning the Heisman trophy. He's the second LSU quarterback to win the Heisman trophy after transferring to Baton Rouge late in his college career; Joe Burrow also pulled off the feat. That immense track record of success with transfer quarterback could be of great appeal for Will Rogers to try to follow in their footsteps.

Will Rogers wasn't the best quarterback to hit the transfer portal, but he does have a pretty impressive track record. For his career, Rogers has completed 69% of his passes. He has yet to post a season averaging more than seven yards per attempt, but he does have 12,315 yards to his name across four seasons and has thrown 94 touchdowns in his career with just 28 interceptions.

Not only that but after four seasons at Mississippi State, Rogers is very familiar with the SEC West, the division LSU is in. He has a ton of experience, he has very solid numbers and was coveted in the portal. He originally committed to the University of Washington when he first entered the portal as a potential replacement for Michael Penix Jr., but after Kalen DeBoer left for the University of Alabama, Rogers went back to the portal. At this stage, the LSU football program could do a lot worse than Rogers as their replacement for Jayden Daniels.

Kevon Darton, Defensive Lineman

In addition to losing Jayden Daniels and two star wide receivers Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas Jr., LSU is also going to lose a couple of starting defensive linemen to the 2024 NFL Draft in Maason Smith and Mekhi Wingo. Luckily, there are options for a potential replacement for Smith and Wingo. One of them is former Syracuse defensive tackle Kevon Darton.

Darton was great for the Orange in 2023, which served as Darton's breakout season. He led the team in sacks with five of them as an interior defensive lineman. He didn't have a single sack in his career before the 2023 season. Darton also racked up eight tackles for loss and forced and recovered a fumble. Darton can make a big impact for the Tigers immediately in 2024. With them slated to lose multiple defensive linemen, it would make a lot of sense to bring Darton in.