College football is back in Tiger Stadium, and No. 11 LSU opens against Clemson on Saturday night in Death Valley with a roster that looks very different from the one that finished last season. Half of the team is made up of new players, the coaching staff is new, and three transfer additions stand out as the ones most likely to shape what comes next for the Tigers.
The biggest name in that group is former Arizona State quarterback Sam Leavitt. The redshirt junior was the No. 1 transfer player in the portal this spring, and his track record explains why.
Leavitt helped lead the Sun Devils to a 2024 College Football Playoff appearance and was named Big 12 Freshman of the Year in that same season. Now he steps into an offense directed by Charlie Weiss Jr., where his dual-threat skill set and arm strength give LSU the kind of downfield punch it needs with targets like junior tight end Trey’Dez Green and Kansas State transfer Jayce Brown.
Leavitt also turned in a strong fall camp and is expected to be fully healthy after a foot injury heading into Saturday.
On the other side of the ball, LSU has another proven SEC defender in Ole Miss transfer TJ Dottery. He is one of four Rebels who transferred to LSU to join Kiffin, and he arrives after leading the SEC in tackles in 2025 with 98. Dottery should line up next to senior linebacker Whit Weeks, giving defensive coordinator Blake Baker another experienced body in the middle and more depth at linebacker against conference competition.
The third transfer name worth watching is Boise State safety Ty Benefield, a player who may end up being the most impactful of the bunch. During SEC Media Days, Green called him “the definition of a Tiger” because of the way he led workouts and spring practice. Benefield enters his senior year at LSU after three productive seasons at Boise State, and his blend of speed on blitzes and physicality in space gives Baker more ways to mix and match on defense.
There are still questions for LSU on both sides of the ball as the 2026 season gets underway, but these three transfers give the Tigers a real chance to be dangerous right away. LSU faces Clemson on Saturday, Sept. 5 at 6:30 p.m. CT in Tiger Stadium.
In Other News...
LSU Clemson Opener Just Got A New Eligibility Twist
The buildup to LSUs opener against Clemson picked up another layer this week, with Dabo Swinney weighing in on the possibility that former Cleveland Browns player DaeQuan Wright and defensive tackle Zxavian Harris could be cleared for the Tigers. Swinneys comments added to the game-week buzz around eligibility, a topic that has become almost as prominent as the matchup itself as both programs prepare for one of the seasons earliest spotlight games.
Swinney made clear his frustration was aimed at the broader state of college football rules, not at LSU coach Lane Kiffin, while also settling one important piece of Clemsons side of the equation by naming senior Christopher Vizzina as the starting quarterback. For LSU, the situation only sharpens the intrigue heading into kickoff, with potential roster movement still in play as the Tigers and Tigers head toward a game that already had plenty riding on it. [Read more 🡒]
LSU Is Mourning The Loss Of A True Tigers Football Legend
LSU is remembering one of the most versatile and accomplished figures in its football history after the death of Jerry Stovall at age 85. A standout for the Tigers from 1960 to 1962, Stovall did just about everything on the field, playing multiple positions while building a resume that included unanimous All-American recognition and SEC Player of the Year honors before moving on to a nine-season NFL career.
Stovall eventually came back to Baton Rouge as a coach and later led LSU from 1980 to 1983, earning Coach of the Year honors in 1982 along the way. His death closes the book on a career that connected different eras of Tigers football, from his days as a star player to his return as the man in charge, and his place in program history is secure even as the full extent of his legacy continues to resonate. [Read more 🡒]
LSU Is Suddenly at the Center of an SEC Punishment Debate
LSU has found itself in an unusual conversation that reaches beyond the field, with speculation swirling about whether the Tigers could face punishment from the SEC over the addition of multiple players with NFL preseason experience. The league has never expelled a member school, even as other programs have come and gone on their own, which is part of what makes this kind of talk so striking in the first place. It also taps into the conferences long history of trying to police the line between competition, recruiting and amateurism.
The bigger backdrop here is the SECs own origin story, which was shaped by disputes over those same rules and the tension they created among member schools. However this latest debate plays out, it has put LSU at the center of a broader question about how far the league is willing to go when it believes a program has pushed too far. For now, the uncertainty is the point, and it leaves the Tigers in a spotlight they probably did not want. [Read more 🡒]