Brian Kelly identifies early standouts from LSU's transfer portal class
By: Luke Hubbard - Death Valley Insider
The LSU Tigers officially signed the best transfer portal class in the country after a disappointing 9-4 season. LSU Head Coach Brian Kelly has harped on the fact that he doesn't want to build his roster through the transfer portal, but admitted that they had more needs this season and had to bring in more transfers than they maybe would have wanted to compete for a championship in 2025.
On Wednesday, we spoke to Kelly for the first time since his portal class became official, and he had a lot to say about the newcomers.
LSU's No. 1 portal class was kicked off by the signing of former Oklahoma tight end, Bauer Sharp. The former quarterback turned tight end has become one of the best blocking tight ends in the nation and is someone Kelly has identified as an early standout.
Another guy they brought in early was former Florida defensive end, Jack Pyburn. The former Gator is an excellent run defender, but Kelly said he's been very impressed with his leadership and attitude in the weight room so far.
"Experience at the tight end position to marry with a really exceptional young player in Trey'Dez Green (was important). Bringing in Bauer Sharp, who's got a lot of experience and is a veteran presence, has been outstanding. I think Jack Pyburn brings more than his ability on the field, but how he impacts everybody in the locker room and in the weight room. His demeanor and his attitude are infectious. I think those two guys have stood out."
One of the highlights of LSU's portal class was the receivers they brought in. Barion Brown (No. 10) and Nic Anderson (No. 32) are two of their three highest-rated transfers, but Destyn Hill (No. 504) has also impressed the Tigers staff early. Kelly said the three receivers have come in and developed an early chemistry with all their quarterbacks and have completely lived up to the hype.
"I think all of the wide receivers have been working out hard with our quarterbacks," said Kelly. "I can tell you they lived up to the speed and things that have been out there about them. All of those wide receivers are making an impact."
Kelly also spoke very highly of former Virginia Tech cornerback, Mansoor Delane. The former Hokie has brought immediate experience to a very young cornerback room, and Kelly said his leadership qualities can already be felt among the CB room.
"Mansoor Delane has been very, very impactful at the cornerback position. I think we've got some younger guys, some guys with experience, but we don't have a veteran player back there, and his leadership and the way he's handled himself has been outstanding."
When asked about one of the more surprising commitments of this year's class - former Mississippi State quarterback Michael Van Buren - Kelly told us that they wanted to supplement their quarterback room with some more SEC experience. He also added that when you bring in as much talent as they did - especially when a lot of said talent has one year of eligibility left - you want to have a backup who can come in and still compete for a championship incase anything happens to Garrett Nussmeier.
"Michael (Van Buren) is a young man who has SEC experience," said Kelly. "We wanted to supplement that in our room. If you're going to go out and upgrade your roster in the manner than we did, I think we all know that at sometime the No. 2 may have to be called upon, and if he does, we feel like we've got two guys in Colin (Hurley) and Michael that can go in and continue to compete for a championship."
Brian Kelly seems to be very happy with the early returns on his transfer portal class. We could see upwards of ten transfers starting this year, so it's very important that they come in, build chemistry and standout early, which they seem to be doing.
By: Luke Hubbard - Death Valley Insider
The LSU Tigers officially signed the best transfer portal class in the country after a disappointing 9-4 season. LSU Head Coach Brian Kelly has harped on the fact that he doesn't want to build his roster through the transfer portal, but admitted that they had more needs this season and had to bring in more transfers than they maybe would have wanted to compete for a championship in 2025.
On Wednesday, we spoke to Kelly for the first time since his portal class became official, and he had a lot to say about the newcomers.
LSU's No. 1 portal class was kicked off by the signing of former Oklahoma tight end, Bauer Sharp. The former quarterback turned tight end has become one of the best blocking tight ends in the nation and is someone Kelly has identified as an early standout.
Another guy they brought in early was former Florida defensive end, Jack Pyburn. The former Gator is an excellent run defender, but Kelly said he's been very impressed with his leadership and attitude in the weight room so far.
"Experience at the tight end position to marry with a really exceptional young player in Trey'Dez Green (was important). Bringing in Bauer Sharp, who's got a lot of experience and is a veteran presence, has been outstanding. I think Jack Pyburn brings more than his ability on the field, but how he impacts everybody in the locker room and in the weight room. His demeanor and his attitude are infectious. I think those two guys have stood out."
One of the highlights of LSU's portal class was the receivers they brought in. Barion Brown (No. 10) and Nic Anderson (No. 32) are two of their three highest-rated transfers, but Destyn Hill (No. 504) has also impressed the Tigers staff early. Kelly said the three receivers have come in and developed an early chemistry with all their quarterbacks and have completely lived up to the hype.
"I think all of the wide receivers have been working out hard with our quarterbacks," said Kelly. "I can tell you they lived up to the speed and things that have been out there about them. All of those wide receivers are making an impact."
Kelly also spoke very highly of former Virginia Tech cornerback, Mansoor Delane. The former Hokie has brought immediate experience to a very young cornerback room, and Kelly said his leadership qualities can already be felt among the CB room.
"Mansoor Delane has been very, very impactful at the cornerback position. I think we've got some younger guys, some guys with experience, but we don't have a veteran player back there, and his leadership and the way he's handled himself has been outstanding."
When asked about one of the more surprising commitments of this year's class - former Mississippi State quarterback Michael Van Buren - Kelly told us that they wanted to supplement their quarterback room with some more SEC experience. He also added that when you bring in as much talent as they did - especially when a lot of said talent has one year of eligibility left - you want to have a backup who can come in and still compete for a championship incase anything happens to Garrett Nussmeier.
"Michael (Van Buren) is a young man who has SEC experience," said Kelly. "We wanted to supplement that in our room. If you're going to go out and upgrade your roster in the manner than we did, I think we all know that at sometime the No. 2 may have to be called upon, and if he does, we feel like we've got two guys in Colin (Hurley) and Michael that can go in and continue to compete for a championship."
Brian Kelly seems to be very happy with the early returns on his transfer portal class. We could see upwards of ten transfers starting this year, so it's very important that they come in, build chemistry and standout early, which they seem to be doing.
