Three Things to Know About LSU Football's Transfer Portal Class

Brian Kelly's No. 2 Transfer Portal Class flaunts an embarrassment of riches, immediate impact signees set to arrive.

Sep 16, 2023; Gainesville, Florida, USA; Florida Gators defensive end Jack Pyburn (44) gestures to the crowd during the first half against the Tennessee Volunteers at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images / Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images

Brian Kelly and the LSU Tigers remain one of the most active programs in the NCAA Transfer Portal with 13 commitments to this point.

Kelly's "very aggressive" approach has done wonders in Baton Rouge with the Tigers currently holding the No. 2 Transfer Portal Class in America.

“[The NCAA Transfer Portal] is being measured in terms of what you’re trying to do in terms of where you are as a program," Kelly said on Saturday. "We needed time to develop young players in our program. They needed an opportunity before we went and brought in a number of veteran players. We needed to do a little bit of work to compete in the SEC, which we did, but now it’s time to roster build.

"We have a strong young nucleus in our program, but now it’s time to add to that. Those that have moved on, we wish them the best, and now we feel like we’ve put ourselves in a position where we can put together an SEC Championship roster.”

LSU has entered "win now" mode after a disappointing 8-4 season in 2024, and with a reconstructed roster in Baton Rouge, the program is in an efficient position to do so.

What are the highlights of LSU's portal class to this point? Who are the headliners?

Three Things to Know:

No. 1: LSU Signs Seven of the Top-100 Transfers in the Portal

Kelly and Co. have done damage on the recruiting trail in December with the program securing the services of seven Top-100 transfers:

- No. 1 EDGE: Patrick Payton
- No. 1 IOL: Braelin Moore
- No. 2 CB: Mansoor Delane
- No. 5 WR: Nic Anderson
- No. 6 EDGE: Jack Pyburn
- No. 8 WR: Barion Brown
- No. 8 CB: Ja’Keem Jackson

The headliners of LSU's Transfer Portal Class include Payton, the No. 2 overall transfer in this year's cycle, along with Anderson and Delane.

The trio of newcomers are set to provide the Tigers with surefire weapons on both sides of the ball with Payton becoming an instant impact edge rusher in Baton Rouge.

The 6-foot-5, 250-pounder logged 109 tackles, 32 tackles for loss, 16 sacks, 12 pass breakups and three forced fumbles in three seasons with Florida State.

For Anderson, he's a player that will immediately ignite LSU's passing attack once again heading into the 2025 season.

He set the Oklahoma freshman record for touchdown receptions with 10 in 2023. His 798 receiving yards that year rank No. 2 in Oklahoma history for a freshman. In two years with the Sooners, Anderson appeared in 17 games with six starts, all coming as a redshirt freshman in 2023. Anderson missed the entire 2024 season with an injury.

No. 2: Garrett Nussmeier's Heir Apparent is Here

Brian Kelly and the LSU football staff have received the paperwork from Mississippi State quarterback Michael Van Buren Jr.

The transfer signal-caller will join the Tigers after one season in Starkville where he completed his true freshman campaign.

Van Buren recently wrapped up his lone season at Mississippi State where he started the final eight games of the season for the Bulldogs.

In 10 appearances as a true freshman in 2024, Van Buren completed 140-of-256 passes for 1,886 yards and 11 touchdowns. He added another five rushing TDs for the Bulldogs.

He was named SEC Freshman of the Week against Georgia when he completed 20-of-37 passes for 306 yards and three touchdowns.

The Georgia contest began a three-game stretch for Van Buren where he threw for eight touchdowns. He followed the Georgia game with 242 passing yards and three touchdowns against Texas A&M and then threw for a career-best 309 yards and two scores against Arkansas.

He closed his rookie season at Mississippi State with 280 passing yards and two touchdowns (1 rushing, 1 passing) against Ole Miss.

Van Buren was a four-star recruit from St. Frances Academy in Baltimore, choosing Mississippi State over Oregon. He helped St. Frances Academy to back-to-back national Top 10 finishes in 2021 and 2022.

Now, Van Buren joins freshman Colin Hurley as the backups behind Nussmeier, but it would certainly appear as though Van Buren will have the edge heading into the offseason given his SEC experience as a true freshman.

No. 3: Retooled Edge Rushers Set to Arrive

LSU defensive line coaches Bo Davis and Kevin Peoples will have an embarrassment of riches to work with in 2025 as several newcomers make their way to Baton Rouge.

The Tigers knocked it out of the park when it came to rebuilding the trenches headlined by a trio of immediate impact edge rushers that have signed to the program out of the NCAA Transfer Portal.

- Patrick Payton: No. 1 EDGE
- Jack Pyburn: No. 6 EDGE
- Jimari Butler: Top 20 EDGE

Payton needs no introduction. The 6-foot-5, 250-pounder logged 109 tackles, 32 tackles for loss, 16 sacks, 12 pass breakups and three forced fumbles in three seasons with Florida State. Now, as the No. 2 overall transfer, he heads to Baton Rouge as the headliner of the haul.

For Pyburn, the Florida Gators' starting edge rusher during the 2024 season tallied 60 total tackles, four tackles for loss, one sack, one forced fumble and an interception. He'll be an integral piece to what LSU does in the trenches next season.

The final piece to he new-look edge rushing unit will be Nebraska's Jimari Butler. A starter for the Cornhuskers in 2024, Butler burst on the scene after an impressive stint with the program. He's coming off of his fifth season with the Cornhuskers where he started in 10 of his 11 games played with the program in 2024. Butler logged 22 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss and a pair of sacks on the year.

More LSU News:

LSU Adds Commitments From Seven Top-100 Transfers in the Portal

LSU Dishes Out Offer to No. 1 Quarterback in America

Nick Saban Calls LSU Quarterback Garrett Nussmeier a "Sleeper" Ahead of 2024 Season

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