The LSU Football team enters the 2025 season with College Football Playoff expectations and National Championship hopes. The LSU Tigers return a talented group headlined by the fact that the Tigers are returning their starting quarterback for a second season which has proven successful at LSU. Where LSU becomes a National Championship hopeful is with the loaded transfer portal class the Tigers brought in as Brian Kelly and his staff added their biggest transfer portal class yet.
As defense has been the Achilles heel of LSU during the Brian Kelly era, the Tigers went out and added key pieces to the Tigers' defense. The edge rush room loses Bradyn Swinson and Sai'Vion Jones to the NFL so LSU added Patrick Payton, Jack Pyburn, and Jimari Butler. The secondary loses two starters at safety and Zy Alexander to the NFL so the Tigers added Ja'Keem Jackson, Mansoor Delane, and Tamarcus Cooley.
While Garrett Nussmeier is the LSU Football team's true most valuable player, CBS Sports looked elsewhere when naming each Top 25 team's MVP.
CBS Sports names Mansoor Delane LSU's MVP for 2025
In CBS Sports' Most Valuable Players for every Top 25 team list, the LSU Tigers MVP was Mansoor Delane rather than Garrett Nussmeier. While Nussmeier is the true Most Valuable Player, not selecting him does make sense as LSU saw with Jayden Daniels, the team needs defense to go along with having a great quarterback.
Mansoor Delane will need to be LSU's most impressive transfer as the Tigers look to end their run of below average play in the secondary. The Tigers will line Mansoor Delane up all over the secondary whether it's on the boundary, at safety, or as the Nickel. Delane comes to LSU after an impressive run at Virginia Tech and the Tigers will need him to emerge as an elite cornerback in the SEC.
If Delane can come in and fill one of the Tigers holes at cornerback comfortably, LSU's defensive questions become much easier to solve. If Delane locks down one side of the defense, Ja'Keem Jackson, DJ Pickett, and the Tigers other cornerbacks can all battle it out with plenty of talent in the room.
The Tigers have finally gone all in using the transfer portal to build out this roster, which has LSU in the race for the College Football Playoff. LSU's season will now be defined by how well each of these pieces fit together and whether they're able to give LSU SEC caliber performances or not.