Lane Kiffin's Historic Recruiting Feat Sets Stage For Transfer Portal Window With LSU

Lane Kiffin and the LSU Tigers dominated the Early Signing Period after inking a pair of five-star, Top-25 prospects to the 2026 Recruiting Class.

Once Kiffin arrived in Baton Rouge, the first point of attack was to assemble a talented class prior to the signing period where the staff went above and beyond to lock in the haul.

From keeping players already pledged to the program to flipping multiple Southeastern Conference recruits away from other schools, Kiffin and Co. handled business across the first two weeks of his tenure in the Bayou State.

"That is our number one focus right now is to sign the best class that we possibly can Wednesday," Kiffin said on Dec. 1. "Also, we have big-picture thinking too.

"We're not reaching or we're not signing kids because they're from this school or that school or any of that stuff, okay? We're going to sign the best players that we can on Wednesday.

"I know what the interest was of players nationally to come play for us where we were just at, and now when you put that with this stadium and with that logo, it makes me want to get on the phone right now."

LSU Tigers Football: Lamar Brown. — Courtesy of Lamar Brown's Instagram.

Now, with the Early Signing Period in the rearview mirror, Kiffin and the LSU Tigers have 14 players locked in to the 2026 Recruiting Class.

It isn't the traditional recruiting class with 20-plus signees, but the new staff in Baton Rouge took a "quality over quantity" approach with the Tigers holding the highest average player grade of 93.81, according to 247Sports.

That's the highest average player grade in America.

Now, the stage is set for the NCAA Transfer Portal where Kiffin has started counting down the days until the window opens on Jan. 2.

LSU's new shot-caller has been labeled the "Portal King" where he will certainly be looking to open up his treasure chest full of roster cash in order to reconstruct the roster.

From highly-touted quarterbacks to elite weapons on the outside, Kiffin and the staff will be big-game hunting across the two-week Transfer Portal window.

LSU Tigers Football. — Dec 1, 2025; Baton Rouge, LA, USA; LSU president Wade Rousse, left, LSU new head coach Lane Kiffin and LSU athletic director Verge Ausberry stand together at South Stadium Club at Tiger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images | Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images

“[LSU AD Verge Ausberry] and his team had a really, really good plan,” Kiffin said on Dec. 1. “Even talking to some donors that are part of that plan here to see exactly, how does that work? There’s a great plan here.

"There’s a great plan here of how we can come together with what we bring and with what players around the country want to play for us and our systems, and then have that support to do that, so that they want to play for us and they get taken care of financially.

“Obviously, nowadays, it’s the world of college football and it’s important and it’s critical to them. It’s important to them. This was the best setup. That definitely played a factor into it. I don’t care what your systems are. Without good players, they don’t work.”

The stage is set. Kiffin has dominated in recruiting across his time as a head coach where the resources in Baton Rouge will provide an opportunity to take it up another notch as he prepares for a new chapter of his career.

More LSU News:

LSU Football Wide Receiver, Oklahoma Transfer Labeled 'Biggest Bust' in Portal

Lane Kiffin Pulls Off Historic Recruiting Feat Amid First Month With LSU Football

Lane Kiffin Reveals How Nick Saban, Pete Carroll Influenced Decision to LSU Football

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