Lane Kiffin Pulls Off Monumental Recruiting Feat After Building No. 1 Portal Class

Kiffin and Co. are making history across his first offseason in Baton Rouge, recruiting heater continues for the program.

LSU head coach Brian Kelly and Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin shake hands after a college football game between Ole Miss and LSU at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford, Miss., on Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025. Ole Miss defeated LSU 24-19. | Ayrton Breckenridge/Clarion Ledger / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

When Lane Kiffin arrived in Baton Rouge, the new shot-caller of the LSU Tigers brought his recruiting prowess with him after being labeled the "Portal King" across his time with the Ole Miss Rebels.

The Bayou Bengals' head coach has thrived in the NCAA Transfer Portal market across the last few years in Oxford where he believed his elite ability to bring in America's top talent would only grow greater with the resources in Baton Rouge.

Kiffin was right.

“This place is built for championships with championship expectations. We understand that, but as an elite competitor, that’s exactly what you want, and that’s why we’re here,” Kiffin said at his introductory press conference. …

"I know that we have, with the passion of LSU family and our LSU players, that we have everything to bring championship football back to LSU.

“It’s time for LSU to take its place back as the best program in all of college football. … I’m uniquely prepared at 50 years old for this job to have been so many places, done good things, made a lot of mistakes and made them really early on.”

#LSU has now landed seven Top-100 players in the Transfer Portal.

That includes:
- No. 1 QB Sam Leavitt
- No. 6 QB Husan Longstreet
- No. 2 Safety Ty Benefield
- No. 3 IOL Devin Harper
- No. 8 EDGE Jordan Ross

LSU has four Top-50 wideouts committed.

No. 1 class in America. pic.twitter.com/2RF34uJgd3

— Zack Nagy (@znagy20) January 16, 2026

LSU now holds the No. 1 Transfer Portal Class in America by a significant margin with the Tigers creeping up on 40 newcomers via the free agent market.

It's a monumental achievement for the LSU Tigers with Kiffin's recruiting prowess on full display in Baton Rouge with seven Top-100 transfers signed, sealed, and delivered as new members of the program.

The Transfer Portal Tracker: Who's in?

Quarterback (2):
Sam Leavitt - 6'2, 205 pounds - Arizona State Sun Devils
Hussan Longstreet - 6'0, 200 pounds - USC Trojans
Landen Clark - 6-foot, 186 pounds - Elon Phoenix

Running Back (3):
Raycine Guillory - 5'9, 190 pounds - Utah Utes
Rod Gainey Jr. - 6'0, 175 pounds - Charlotte 49ers
Dilin Jones - 6'0, 205 pounds - Wisconsin Badgers

Wide Receiver (9):
Jackson Harris - 6'3, 205 pounds - Hawaii Rainbow Warriors
Tre Brown - 6'2, 180 pounds - Old Dominion Monarchs
Jayce Brown - 6'0, 179 pounds - Kansas State Wildcats
Eugene 'Tre' Wilson - 5'10, 194 pounds - Florida Gators
Tyree Holloway - 6'0, 180 pounds - West Florida Argonauts
Malik Elzy - 6'2, 225 pounds - Illinois Fighting Illini
Josh Jackson - 6'2, 185 pounds - McNeese State Cowboys
Winston Watkins - 6'2, 185 pounds - Ole Miss Rebels
Roman Mothershed - 6'4, 208 pounds - Troy Trojans

Tight End (2):
Malachi Thomas - 6'4, 240 pounds - Pitt Panthers
Zach Grace - 6'3, 238 pounds - Oregon Ducks

Courtesy of Tre Brown's Instagram.

Offensive Line (7):
Ja'Quan Sprinkle - 6'4, 325 pounds - North Carolina Central Eagles
William Satterwhite - 6'3, 305 pounds - Tennessee Volunteers
JaKolby Jones - 6'4, 285 pounds - Copiah-Lincoln Community College
Darrin Strey - 6'7, 322 pounds - Kentucky Wildcats
Ja'Mard Jones - 6'4, 295 pounds - Nicholls State Colonels
Sean Thompkins - 6'5, 300 pounds - Baylor Bears
Devin Harper - 6'4, 315 pounds - Ole Miss Rebels

EDGE (3)
Jordan Ross - 6'5, 245 pounds - Tennessee Volunteers
Jaylen Brown - 6'5, 265 pounds - South Carolina Gamecocks
Achilles Woods - 6.3, 289 pounds - South Alabama Jaguars

Defensive Line (2)
Malik Blocton - 6'3, 291 pounds - Auburn Tigers
Stephiylan Green - 6'4, 290 pounds - Clemson Tigers

Safety (2):
Ty Benefield - 6'2, 205 pounds - Boise State Broncos
Faheem Delane - 6'1, 210 pounds - Ohio State Buckeyes

Special Teams (3):
P Hayden Craig - 6'1, 208 pounds - Florida Gators
LS Mack Mulhern - 6'0, 225 pounds - Florida Gators
K Scott Starzyk - 5'9, 172 pounds - Arkansas Razorbacks

More LSU News:

LSU Football's Transfer Portal Class Skyrockets To The Top After Sam Leavitt Decision

LSU Football's Transfer Portal Departures Quickly Finding New Schools Amid Rebuild

LSU Football Officially Signs No. 1 Transfer Quarterback Sam Leavitt to Portal Class

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