LSU has the biggest football class in Nike’s new Blue Ribbon Elite Football program, with 11 Tigers landing on the inaugural roster announced Thursday.
That group gives LSU the largest representation of any school in the campaign and stretches across both sides of the ball. Five of the players are returners, while six are newcomers arriving through the transfer portal or the recruiting ranks.
The full LSU group includes RB Caden Durham, CB DJ Pickett, RB Harlem Berry, QB Husan Longstreet, WR Jayce Brown, OL Jordan Seaton, DL Lamar Brown, DL Princewill Umanmielen, TE Trey’Dez Green, S Ty Benefield and LB Whit Weeks.
A few of those names sit right at the center of LSU’s identity. Berry and Durham are back as one of the country’s top running back duos, while Green returns for his junior season after posting 33 catches for 433 yards and a team-high seven touchdowns in 2025. LSU also added a major piece up front in Seaton, the No. 1 offensive tackle in the portal, and Longstreet arrives to compete for snaps in a crowded quarterback room.
Seaton’s place on the list carries a bit of history too: he becomes the first offensive lineman to sign with Nike at any level.
On defense, Pickett is coming off a strong freshman season in which he finished with 37 tackles and a team-leading three interceptions. Benefield brings a heavy résumé from Boise State after piling up 235 tackles, 18 tackles for loss, 16 pass breakups and five interceptions. Weeks is back for his final season in Baton Rouge, where he remains the leader of the defense and one of the nation’s top linebackers.
Nike’s professional roster has already included several LSU standouts, among them former Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Jayden Daniels, national champion and Biletnikoff award-winning receiver Ja’Marr Chase, along with Malik Nabers, Brian Thomas, Danielle Hunter and Patrick Queen.
Nike first used Baton Rouge and LSU as the launchpad for its Blue Ribbon Elite NIL program in December of 2025, with Green and Pickett part of that initial rollout.
LSU’s full expanded list for the 2026-27 Blue Ribbon Elite program is expected closer to the start of the school year.
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