The LSU Football Transfer Portal Update: Who’s in? Who’s out?
Brian Kelly and Co. have seen double-digit departures this week, add multiple key transfers in Week 1 of the portal window.
Sep 14, 2024; Columbia, South Carolina, USA; LSU Tigers head coach Brian Kelly smiles after defeating the South Carolina Gamecocks at Williams-Brice Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Kinser-Imagn Images / Scott Kinser-Imagn Images

Brian Kelly and the LSU Tigers will utilize a “very aggressive” approach in the NCAA Transfer Portal this offseason with the program preparing to reconstruct the roster for 2025.

It’s no secret the Tigers didn’t live up to the “LSU standard” after an 8-4 season, but with an opportunity to bolster the talent-level this offseason, Kelly and Co. will use it to their advantage.

“We’ll be very aggressive,” Kelly said last week. “I think everybody knows last summer that we weren’t very aggressive in the transfer portal and we put together a defensive line with minimal resources. We’ve really put ourselves in a position, and I’ll use this term loosely, well under the ‘cap’ to where we could be quite aggressive this year. And we will be in that area.”

LSU has seen 16 members of the 2024 roster depart Baton Rouge and enter the NCAA Transfer Portal, but the program has also gone out and made a handful of splash additions.

Who’s departed Death Valley? Who’s set to make their way to The Boot heading into the 2025 season?

The Transfer Portal Update: Week 1 Edition

The Departures (16):

– Rickie Collins: Quarterback
– Landon Ibieta: Wide Receiver
– CJ Daniels: Wide Receiver
– Dashawn Womack: EDGE
– Jordan Allen: Safety
– Shelton Sampson: Wide Receiver
– Kylin Jackson: Defensive Back
– Xavier Atkins: Linebacker
– Jyaire Brown: Cornerback
– Bernard Causey: Cornerback
– Nathan Dibert: Kicker
– De’Myrion Johnson: Defensive Tackle
– Jk Johnson: Cornerback
– Ka’Morreun Pimpton: Tight End
– Jay’viar Suggs: Defensive Tackle
– Sage Ryan: Defensive Back

The Additions (5):

Bauer Sharp… LSU picked up its first roster addition from the transfer portal on Friday as tight end Bauer Sharp has signed with the program. Sharp joins the Tigers after spending the 2024 season at Oklahoma where he led the Sooners in receptions and yards. Sharp’s final game at OU came two weeks ago in Tiger Stadium when he caught one pass for four yards in the Sooners’ 37-17 loss to LSU.

Prior to his year at Oklahoma, Sharp spent three years at Southeastern Louisiana. He signed with the Lions as a quarterback out of high school before transitioning to tight end as a redshirt freshman in 2022. In his one season at Oklahoma, Sharp started all 12 games for the Sooners, leading the team in both receptions (42) and yards (324). He scored two TDs.

Ja’Keem Jackson… Ja’Keem Jackson, a season-opening starter at cornerback for Florida this year, has signed with LSU. He comes to LSU after two years at Florida where he appeared in 13 games recording 11 tackles, four pass breakups and a quarterback hurry. He started the first two games of the 2024 season at cornerback for Florida before an ankle injury sidelined him for the remainder of the year.

In 2023 as a true freshman, Jackson appeared in 11 games, tallying seven tackles and three pass breakups. A native of Kissimmee, Fla., Jackson was a consensus four-star prospect at Osceola High School where he was named an ESPN Top 300 player and rated as the nation’s No. 3 overall cornerback by On3. As a senior, he helped lead his team to a 10-4 record and a semifinal appearance in the Florida high school playoffs.

Barion Brown… This is a big one for the Bayou Bengals. Brown is a Top-15 overall transfer in the portal with the program now locking in one of the top receivers available in the college version of free agency. Brown, a speedster who torches opponents with his freakish athleticism, heads to Baton Rouge with 122 career receptions for 1,528 total yards and 11 touchdowns in three seasons of college football.

The former Top-100 recruit has track speed that cannot be taught and it’s what has made him a lethal weapon in Kentucky’s offense over the last three years. Brown’s five kick return touchdowns is an SEC record where he will become an instant impact player in the special teams facet for the Tigers

Jimari Butler… Jimari Butler, a standout defensive lineman during his four years at Nebraska, has signed with LSU. He appeared in 37 games for the Cornhuskers, starting 16 times, including 10 in 2024. He comes to LSU with 65 career tackles to go along with 17 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks.

In 2024, Butler tallied 22 tackles, seven tackles for loss and a pair of sacks. During his All-Big Ten season in 2023, he had 34 tackles and led the team in both tackles for loss (8.5) and sacks (5.5). He was a key part of the 2023 Nebraska defense that limited opponents to 92.9 rushing yards per game and 18.3 points per game, the fewest for the program since joining the Big Ten in 2011.

Michael Van Buren… The coveted quarterback earned the starting job in 2024 as a true freshman for the Mississippi State Bulldogs where he tallied 1,886 passing yards and 16 total touchdowns in nine games. After one season in Starkville, Van Buren elected to enter the NCAA Transfer Portal with a slew of Power Four programs expressing interest in the SEC starter.

Now, after one week in the college version of “free agency,” Van Buren has made his move: He’ll join the LSU Tigers for the 2025 season. Van Buren is rated as the No. 10 quarterback in the Transfer Portal where he will provide LSU with a critical backup quarterback behind returning starter Garrett Nussmeier.