No. 1 EDGE in the Transfer Portal, LSU Football Signee Arrives in Baton Rouge

Brian Kelly and the LSU football staff sent shockwaves across the college football scene after reeling in a commitment from Florida State transfer Patrick Payton in December.

Payton, the No. 1 rated edge rusher in the NCAA Transfer Portal, signed with the program last month after electing to depart Tallahassee following three seasons with the Seminoles.

It's no secret there is untapped potential with the impactful defensive piece.

The No. 3 overall transfer in the portal, the upside of Payton is one that evaluators saw the minute he entered the free agent market.

Once officially in the portal, he took a visit to Baton Rouge with Kelly's staff knocking it out of the park for the impressive edge rushing force.

The ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year is a player that is physically ready for the Southeastern Conference with the LSU coaching staff eager at what he can provide in 2025.

The 6-foot-5, 250-pounder logged 109 tackles, 32 tackles for loss, 16 sacks, 12 pass breakups and three forced fumbles in three seasons with Florida State.

Now, all eyes are on Payton in Baton Rouge after the Florida State transfer officially moved in last weekend.

Here To Work pic.twitter.com/pg0gVRXray
— LSU Football (@LSUfootball) January 15, 2025

After taking time to get acclimated to LSU, Payton and Co. have begun working out with the strength and conditioning coaches.

LSU has officially signed eight of the Top-100 players in the NCAA Transfer Portal with the Tigers currently holding the No. 1 overall class.

The program has upped the ante on the NIL side of things in order to piece together a competitive roster heading into year four of the "Kelly Era" in Louisiana.

"It has put us in a position where we can be aggressive on anybody that comes into the portal. And that simply wasn’t the case before,” Kelly said of the new NIL approach in December.

“I’m not saying this particular match did that, but I think it really sent a message to everybody that this is where we are today. And if we want to be where we all want to be in terms of putting our roster together, we all have to step up. It started with me, and I think our fanbase responded equally.”

The Top-100 Signees:

- Florida State EDGE Patrick Payton: No. 3
- Oklahoma WR Nic Anderson: No. 14
- Kentucky WR Barion Brown: No. 22
- Virginia Tech CB Mansoor Delane: No. 47
- Florida EDGE Jack Pyburn: No. 54
- Virginia Tech IOL Braelin Moore: No. 61
- Northwestern OL Josh Thompson: No. 74
- Florida CB Ja'Keem Jackson: No. 91

*Note: LSU safety signee Tamarcus Cooley is yet to be ranked by 247Sports. On3 Sports has the recent LSU commitment as the No. 2 safety in the NCAA Transfer Portal.*

Who have the Tigers gained commitments from?

The Additions on Offense (8):
- TE Bauer Sharp: Oklahoma
- WR Barion Brown: Kentucky
- QB Michael Van Buren: Mississippi State
- WR Destyn Hill: Florida State
- WR Nic Anderson: Oklahoma
- OL Braelin Moore: Virginia Tech
- OL Josh Thompson: Northwestern
- TE Donovan Green: Texas A&M

The Additions on Defense (7):
- CB Ja'Keem Jackson: Florida
- EDGE Jimari Butler: Nebraska
- EDGE Jack Pyburn: Florida
- CB Mansoor Delane: Virginia Tech
- DL Sydir Mitchell: Texas
- EDGE Patrick Payton: Florida State
- S Tamarcus Cooley: North Carolina State

The Special Teams Additions (1):
Punter Grant Chadwick: Middle Tennessee

More LSU News:

LSU Adds Commitments From Seven Top-100 Transfers in the Portal

LSU Dishes Out Offer to No. 1 Quarterback in America

Nick Saban Calls LSU Quarterback Garrett Nussmeier a "Sleeper" Ahead of 2024 Season

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Follow Zack Nagy on Twitter: @znagy20 and LSU Tigers On SI: @LSUTigersSI for all coverage surrounding the LSU program.