LSU fans have enjoyed watching Tigers coach Lane Kiffin work the portal. LSU has signed nearly 40 players since players were allowed to jump into the portal on January 2nd. According to 247 Sports, LSU has signed the number one transfer portal class in the country.
During a speech at the Baton Rouge Business Report’s Leadership Power Breakfast, Kiffin took it a step further.
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“It is an exciting time, I think, when these next two days are done, it will be the best portal class in the history of college football,” Kiffin said.
The transfer portal has only been around since 2018, and it wasn’t until 2021 that players were allowed to transfer one time and not have to sit out a year.
So, the transfer portal era has only been around a few years, but still, Kiffin has lived up to his nickname, "The Portal King.”
Kiffin told the crowd at the Baton Rouge Business Report’s Power Breakfast that the success they’ve had with the transfer portal is not just him; it is also what LSU has to offer.
“They (the transfers) all say the same thing, it just feels different, and these guys are coming from big-time places,” Kiffin said.
Kiffin said some of the portal players who signed at LSU didn’t receive big NIL agreements or guarantees of starting. He said the chance to be the next great LSU football team really sells them.
“We’ve got guys that normally in a situation would say, you guys are already loaded at that position, I’m not coming there, and when they come, they say actually these other places, sometimes they are offering more money, it’s a better depth chart go into, but those are the guys that are choosing I don’t care, I want to be a part of this special thing,” Kiffin said.
Kiffin said former Alabama and LSU coach Nick Saban told him LSU was special.
He said he was torn over whether to leave Ole Miss for LSU, but Saban told him he would regret not taking the LSU job, because it’s the best job in America.
“When he said that, that really made the decision for me, and it has pushed me, it has gotten me out of a comfort zone that we were doing amazing things, but you come, you feel the power of the place, and it drives you every day to even go to another level,” Kiffin said.
LSU is not done signing players out of the portal. The Tigers are still trying to land offensive tackle Jordan Seaton, who is ranked as the fourth-best player in the portal.
The Tigers are also reportedly interested in Ole Miss linebacker Princewill Umanmielen if he officially enters the portal. Umanmielen has announced his plans to transfer, but CBS Sports’ Chris Hummer reports Ole Miss is holding up his paperwork because Umanmielen recently signed a contract with the Rebels.