Pair of LSU Football Cornerbacks Set to Enter NCAA Transfer Portal

Brian Kelly and the LSU Tigers wrapped up the 2024 regular season last Saturday after a 37-17 victory over the Oklahoma Sooners in Death Valley.

With the regular season in the rearview mirror, the Bayou Bengals have seen a wave of players reveal their intentions to enter the NCAA Transfer Portal.

On Friday, four members of the 2024 roster announced they would be departing Baton Rouge.

LSU will lose two pieces of the defensive backfield with Ohio State transfer Jyaire Brown and true freshman Bernard Causey set to enter the portal once it opens on Dec. 9.

Brown, who began his playing career at Ohio State, just wrapped up his lone season with the LSU Tigers in 2024. He had previously spent two seasons with the Buckeyes prior to his time in Baton Rouge.

The 5-foot-11, 177-pounder out of Louisiana played in three games for the Tigers this season where he tallied three tackles.

For Causey, the New Orleans (La.) native played in zero games during his lone season with the Bayou Bengals. He will have four seasons of eligibility remaining at his next destination.

Brown and Causey are two of the three defensive players to enter the NCAA Transfer Portal on Friday with linebacker Xavier Atkins joining them.

It was reported that defensive lineman De'Myrion Johnson would be entering the portal, but a further report via The Advocate confirms he will be remaining with LSU.

LSU four-star freshman linebacker Xavier Atkins, junior cornerback Jyaire Brown, freshman cornerback Bernard Causey and freshman defensive lineman De’Myrion Johnson are expected to enter the transfer portal, sources tell @CBSSports/@247Sports

Brown, a former four-star,… pic.twitter.com/NOd1uhPX0o
— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) December 6, 2024

Atkins is the biggest loss of the day after playing in seven games for LSU in 2024.

Friday's Key Departure: LB Xavier Atkins

LSU true freshman linebacker Xavier Atkins will enter the NCAA Transfer Portal after one season in Baton Rouge, 247 Sports' Matt Zenitz reported on Friday afternoon.

Atkins, a four-star linebacker and Louisiana native, will be a key name to watch once officially in the portal with several suitors set to line up for his services.

With LSU linebacker Harold Perkins going down with a torn ACL earlier in the season along with veteran West Weeks battling a lower-body injury, Brian Kelly turned to Atkins to take key snaps down the stretch.

It was true freshmen Atkins and Davhon Keys to take on bigger snaps than expected.

He played in seven games in 2024 where he logged three total tackles in his lone season with the Bayou Bengals.

LSU has now seen 11 portal departures over the last six days:

- Rickie Collins: Redshirt-Freshman Quarterback
- Landon Ibieta: Redshirt-Sophomore Wide Receiver
- CJ Daniels: Senior Wide Receiver
- Jordan Allen: Redshirt-Sophomore Safety
- Da'Shawn Womack: Sophomore Defensive End
- Shelton Sampson: Redshirt-Freshman Wide Receiver
- Kylin Jackson: Redshirt-Freshman Safety
- Xavier Atkins: True Freshman Linebacker
- Jyaire Brown: Junior Cornerback
- Bernard Causey: True Freshman Cornerback
- De'Myrion Johnson: True Freshman Defensive Lineman

Brian Kelly's Portal Thoughts:

“I think everybody that’s followed us knows that we weren’t very aggressive in the transfer portal,” he said. “We put together a defensive line using minimal resources. We’ve really put ourself in a position — and I’ll use this term loosely — to stay well under the cap so we could be quite aggressive this year and we will be very aggressive in that area as well as bringing in 16 mid-years.

“We think that the program in terms of the culture and the standards are such that we can do that now where we can bring in 16 freshmen and maybe, if not one of the largest transfer portal classes as well.”

More LSU News:

Paul Finebaum: LSU, Brian Kelly in a "Really Bad Spot" Moving Forward

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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