Opinion: Brian Kelly, the King of Transfer Portal?

LSU ranked No. 32 in the nation in passing yards allowed per game last season (206.2) and bolstered its secondary with the transfer portal’s best defensive backs. The Tigers landed three top 10 cornerbacks in the portal, Texas A&M’s Denver Harris (No. 2), Southeastern Louisiana’s Zy Alexander (No. 4), and Syracuse’s Duce Chestnut (No. 8). LSU also signed JK Johnson, a former top-50 recruit in the 2021 class, that saw action in one game for Ohio State last season. LSU pretty much retooled their entire secondary. Denver Harris is among many notable portal additions for the Tigers in the secondary. Denver Harris did not work out at Texas A&M. It’s not because of a lack of talent. I cannot guarantee you it’s going to work at LSU. But if it doesn’t work at LSU, it won’t be because of a lack of talent. It will be because of things that start from the neck and work their way up from there. They got Zy Harris from Southeastern Louisiana. He is one of the best FCS additions you don’t know about. Duce Chestnut is down there. Also, JK Johnson was a top-50 kid in the 2021 recruiting cycle and got some minutes at Ohio State last year. I can guarantee you the LSU defensive coaching staff, coming out of spring, will not tell me that this is a finished product. They could tell me, ‘We’ve got a high upside and a high ceiling.’ When you got a lot of transfer infusion, that’s what you’re hoping to be able to say coming out of spring.”