LSU’s 2026 roster looks nothing like the one that limped through 2025, and that was the point.
A seven-win season may buy patience in a lot of places. In Baton Rouge, it wasn’t enough. Brian Kelly was dismissed during the 2025 season, and LSU responded with a full-scale overhaul - one that included a huge push of money, a major hire in Lane Kiffin, and a wave of transfer talent that completely changed the look of the Tigers.
The numbers tell the story. LSU lost 38 players to the portal, according to 247Sports, and added 44 who announced their intentions to play for Kiffin in 2026. 247Sports also ranked LSU’s haul as the No. 1 transfer class of the offseason.
That kind of turnover leaves a depth chart that feels almost like a new team. According to Ourlads, LSU’s projected lineup for 2026 features 15 transfer starters, including seven of the 11 likely offensive starters coming from other programs.
At quarterback, LSU landed the biggest prize in the portal: Sam Leavitt. Once Kiffin made the move to Baton Rouge, the obvious question was who would follow him under center, especially with Garrett Nussmeier headed to the NFL. Leavitt emerged as the answer over names like Dylan Raiola, Darian Mensah and Demond Williams Jr.
Leavitt arrives after a strong run at Arizona State. He was the No. 1 player in the portal per 247Sports, a two-year starter who took over as a redshirt freshman in 2024, helped push the Sun Devils to the College Football Playoff and won Big-12 Freshman of the Year.
Injuries slowed him in 2025, but he still left Arizona State with 34 touchdown passes and nine interceptions over two seasons. With that arm talent, he’s viewed as a potential 2027 NFL Draft pick and should give Kiffin one of the steadier quarterback situations in the SEC.
LSU also hit big on the offensive line with Jordan Seaton, who is lined up to start at left tackle. Seaton was the No. 3 player in the portal and brings the kind of profile that turns heads immediately: 6-5, 330 pounds, a five-star recruit, and already a two-year starter at Colorado. He gave up just one sack in the 2025 season and arrives as one of the most highly regarded linemen in the country.
The Tigers also brought in Princewill Umanmielen, another elite portal addition and the No. 6 transfer in the class. He’s back with Kiffin after playing for him at Ole Miss, and he brings real production off the edge. Umanmielen, who spent two years at Nebraska before Ole Miss, is 6-5 and 245 pounds and broke out in 2025 with nine sacks and 13 tackles for loss.
There’s also a cluster of transfer additions whose availability remains unsettled. Tight end Dae’Quan Wright, edge rusher Jack Pyburn, defensive lineman Zxavian Harris and edge rusher Junior Tuihalamaka all face uncertain futures because of the ongoing legal battle involving the SEC, the NCAA and LSU. The dispute centers on the Class of 2022’s eligibility for an extra year and whether players who spent time on NFL rosters this summer can return to college.
If they’re cleared, all four would give LSU more proven depth. Harris played under Kiffin at Ole Miss and started 15 games in 2025, finishing with 58 tackles.
Wright began his career at Virginia Tech, moved to Ole Miss in 2024 and posted career highs last season with 39 catches for 635 yards and five touchdowns. Pyburn returned to LSU in 2025 and produced 51 tackles, two sacks and a fumble recovery.
Tuihalamaka spent his last four years at Notre Dame and had 12 tackles and one sack last season.
For now, though, the biggest takeaway is simple: LSU’s 2026 depth chart is packed with transfers, and Kiffin’s first roster in Baton Rouge already looks loaded with players he chose to bring in.
In Other News...
Arizona State Faces A Bigger 2026 Test Than Fans Realize
Arizona State already knew this offseason would be a roster reset, but the scale of it makes the 2026 schedule feel even more consequential. Kenny Dillingham is now operating under the five-year extension he signed in December, and hell be doing it with a team that looks almost nothing like the one fans just watched. With no full-time offensive starters back from the previous year and Sam Leavitt gone to LSU, the Sun Devils are headed into a season where continuity is more of a concept than a luxury.
Thats what gives the 2026 slate extra weight for a program trying to keep moving forward under Dillingham. The dates, opponents and broadcast windows are now mapped out, and the next step is figuring out what this version of Arizona State can actually become once the season starts. For a team built from the ground up, the schedule is not just a list of games, but the first real test of how quickly a rebuilt roster can come together. [Read more 🡒]