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Brian Kelly has been the head coach of the LSU football team for three seasons now, and the Tigers have been close to breaking through. Kelly took LSU to the SEC title game in his first season, but Georgia ended up cruising to a victory in that game. Since then, the Tigers have been solid, but they have been trending in the wrong direction. Now, Kelly is about to enter year four. He needs to find a way to get his team into the College Football Playoff, and adding talent in the college football transfer portal could help him get LSU over the hump.
In today's era, the college football transfer portal is crucial. Unless a team had a phenomenal season and is bringing back all of their starters, there is reason for every squad to go shopping during the offseason. There is a lot of experienced talent in the transfer portal, and it gives any team the opportunity to build something special ahead of the season.
This past season, the LSU football team ended up with an 8-4 regular season record, and they finished tied for fourth place in the SEC. The Tigers earned a bid to the Texas Bowl, and they took down Baylor to finish the year with nine wins.
Ending the year with a bowl win is always nice, but LSU fans were expecting more than 9-4 seasons and Texas Bowl victories when Brian Kelly was brought to Baton Rouge. He needs to accomplish more this season.
Bringing in experienced transfer portal talent is always useful, and the Tigers have done that so far this season. Like most programs, LSU has done most of their shopping already as the team has landed 17 transfers. However, there is more talent still available, and there a few guys that could be good fits at LSU.
Jamarrion Solomon, DL, FIU
The LSU football team lost a good amount of defensive line talent to the transfer portal this offseason, and while the team has brought in a couple of replacements, it could still use some more depth. FIU transfer Jamarrion Solomon is currently the best available DL in the portal. He just finished up his first season playing with the Panthers, and he racked up 20 total tackles and one sack. He could be a good depth piece for the Tigers.
Markevious Brown, CB, Purdue
LSU also lost a lot of defensive backs to the transfer portal, so some more depth in the secondary wouldn't hurt either. One player that might be worth a call is Purdue transfer Markevious Brown. Brown brings a ton of experience to the table as he just finished up his first year of college football. He started his career at Ole Miss back in 2021, and after spending two seasons with the Rebels, he transferred to Purdue.
Brown has put up some big numbers during his college career, and his 2023 season at Purdue was the most productive. He finished the year with 45 total tackles, five passes defended, two forced fumbles and one sack. Brown has found success at the power four level, so it's clear that he has the potential to come in and be an impact player.
A.J. Haulcy, S, Houston
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Another experienced DB that could be a good fit for the LSU football team is Houston transfer A.J. Haulcy. Haulcy is the best available safety in the transfer portal, and he has had an impressive college career so far. He started his career at New Mexico back in 2022, and after one season, he made the move to Houston. This past season, Haulcy racked up 74 total tackles and five interceptions. He was a force for the Cougars, and he will be a star wherever he ends up.
Transfer portal overview
One of the biggest parts of the college football offseason is the transfer portal, and the festivities begin before the offseason actually starts. Teams that don't qualify for the postseason have entered their offseason when the portal first opens, but there are a lot of teams that still have bowl games/playoff games to play. The transfer portal opened up for the first time on December 9th, so it created some issues for players that want to transfer but still have a season going.
The transfer portal is a massive part of college football now, and there are definitely positives and negatives to it. One of the biggest issues that people have with it is the timing of the first window. It is open in early December so players can pick a new school and start the next semester there when January rolls around. However, it does create issues as we have seen players this past season on College Football Playoff teams have to miss out on the opportunity to participate in the CFP because of their transfer.
On the flip side, the transfer portal gives teams a chance to completely rebuild their squad in just one offseason. New head coaches can come in and bring in a lot of experienced players from the jump, and it can make for a quick turnaround. Any team has hope in the offseason because of the transfer portal.
The transfer portal opened up for the first time this season on December 9th and it stayed open until December 28th. This window is the main window where a lot of the action takes place, but the transfer portal is open during the spring as well.
From April 16th until April 25th, the transfer portal is also open. That way, players can go through spring ball and have a better idea of what their upcoming season will look like. If they aren’t satisfied, they can leave. We even sometimes see players that transferred in the first window transfer again in the second window, sometimes back to their original school.
The transfer portal is a crucial part of the offseason, and we will be hearing a lot about it from now until the end of the spring.
