College football looks different than it did 10 years ago. The transfer portal and NIL have added a new element to recruiting. How programs balance that ultimately goes a long way toward determining their success.
Transfer season is fast approaching. The regular season will end, early signing day will come and go, and transfer season will be upon us.
LSU head coach Brian Kelly was asked about LSU’s portal plans on Monday.
Kelly said he does not want a program built on the transfer portal, but it’s not going away and LSU has to continue to work with it.
“We have to rely on young players,” Kelly said, “We are playing a lot of young players, as you know, right now.”
Kelly said LSU has 19 freshmen coming in at mid-semester, so you’ll see younger players in the mix again next year. But Kelly acknowledges there needs to be a balance.
“The transfer portal will be something that is examined closely and if we feel like there’s a particular need there to balance off our football team, we’re certainly going to be invested in that,” Kelly said.
Kelly’s words align with what we’ve seen from LSU in Kelly’s time. LSU was portal-heavy when Kelly first arrived, but didn’t go all-in last cycle. That involved LSU swinging and missing on a couple of prospects, notably on the defensive line.
The priority should remain high school recruiting, but don’t be surprised if LSU is more aggressive in trying to fill roster holes in the portal this cycle.