LSU Football Adds Former Top-100 Prospect in Louisiana to Elite Transfer Portal Haul

Southern University defensive back Treylan James has committed to Lane Kiffin and the LSU Tigers after going public with a decision on Friday.

The redshirt sophomore safety originally signed to Prairie View A&M out of high school where he spent two seasons with the program - appearing in 10 games while recording 16 tackles - prior to hitting the Transfer Portal and returning to his hometown last fall.

The 6-foot-3, 190-pounder is coming off of a 2025 campaign where he tallied 26 tackles, 3 tackles-for-loss and five pass breakups for the Jaguars prior to entering the Transfer Portal once again.

The Baton Rouge native attended high school at Madison Preparatory Academy and was unranked in the Class of 2023 - now landing at LSU for the 2026 season.

LSU has added the No. 2 safety in the Transfer Portal in Boise State star Ty Benefield after the elite defensive back signed with the program earlier this week after a multi-day visit to campus.

AGTG 1000% committed 🐯 pic.twitter.com/PXNqYnFcMS
— treylan james (@TreylanJ) January 9, 2026

The 6-foot-2, 204-pounder received interest from a myriad of schools once officially in the Transfer Portal with LSU beating out the likes of the Oregon Ducks throughout his process.

Benefield logged 105 total tackles, 69 total tackles, 3 pass breakups, 2 interceptions and 1 forced fumble across the 2025 season for his Broncos squad.

LSU is in the midst of a strong run of both adding and retaining defensive backs this offseason with safeties Dashawn Spears and Tamarcus Cooley revealing intentions of remaining Baton Rouge along with cornerbacks PJ Woodland and DJ Pickett announcing their returns as well.

“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.”

More LSU News:

LSU Hosts No. 1 EDGE Transfer as Lane Kiffin Pushes For Ex-Penn State Defender

LSU Football Hosting Elite Florida Gators Transfer For Visit, Former Five-Star Recruit

Arkansas Razorbacks, Kentucky Wildcats Among Teams to Watch for LSU Football Transfer

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