LSU’s first SEC Media Days under Lane Kiffin came with a clear message: the roster overhaul in Baton Rouge is already getting conference-wide respect.
The Tigers placed nine players on the 2026 All-SEC preseason teams, the fourth-most selections in the league. Five of those picks landed on the first team, with tight end Trey'Dez Green, offensive tackle Jordan Seaton, defensive lineman Princewill Umanmielen, linebacker Whit Weeks and punter Grant Chadwick all earning top billing.
LSU also had two defenders make the second team in cornerback DJ Pickett and safety Ty Benefield. Center Braelin Moore and linebacker TJ Dottery were named to the third team.
That group reflects how much of Kiffin’s roster rebuild has already become part of the SEC conversation. Four of the Tigers’ selections came from Kiffin’s portal additions this offseason, and Dottery stands alone as the only player who fits both categories, having followed Kiffin from Ole Miss.
Kiffin wasted no time putting his stamp on the program after arriving in Baton Rouge, landing the No. 1 quarterback in the portal, Sam Leavitt from ASU. Leavitt was not among the preseason selections, but the rest of the haul still shows how quickly LSU’s new look has taken shape.
It’s still July, but the Tigers are already being treated like one of the league’s most loaded teams. With a mix of proven veterans and high-end additions, LSU enters the season with expectations that point well beyond preseason recognition.
Late last fall, Kiffin’s move across state lines sent social media into a frenzy and raised plenty of questions about what his LSU tenure would look like. Now, before he’s coached a snap, the conference has already handed him a form of validation: the roster he built is being viewed as one of the SEC’s best.
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The twist for LSU is that this storyline does not sit in the background for long. Kiffin and Ole Miss are set to meet in Week 3, which means the Tigers are headed straight into a game with plenty of emotional baggage and a fresh layer of intrigue around the Rebels roster. Even before that matchup arrives, the fact that Ole Miss had to fight to keep important players in place shows how quickly Kiffins exit has reshaped the conversation on both sides of the rivalry. [Read more 🡒]
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Paul Finebaum Just Raised The Stakes For Lane Kiffin At LSU
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Finebaum also framed Kiffin as someone who keeps a lot of himself hidden from the public, saying the media-facing version of him can serve as a shield. The bigger takeaway for LSU fans is the timeline Finebaum attached to him, because he believes Kiffin could bring home a national title in the next few years. For a program always measured against the sports biggest standard, that kind of expectation only raises the temperature around every move that follows. [Read more 🡒]