Lane Kiffin and LSU made headlines this week with the commitment of Sam Leavitt on Monday morning. Kiffin has landed his QB1 for 2026, and continues to navigate the LSU Football program through the transfer portal, which remains open until Friday, January 16. In his latest portal addition, Kiffin has brought in valuable running back depth.
Sam Leavitt Heisman odds: New LSU QB among Heisman favorites for 2026
According to Hayes Fawcett of On3, LSU has received a commitment from former Wisconsin RB Dilin Jones. The 6'0" 205-pound running back comes to Baton Rouge after two seasons in Madison with the Badgers, and has 3 years of eligibility remaining. This past season, Jones racked up 300 yards and two touchdowns on 76 carries while also adding 9 catches for 21 yards in the passing game.
BREAKING: Wisconsin transfer RB Dilin Jones has committed to LSU, @Hayesfawcett3 reports🐯https://t.co/p7wPS5ERAA pic.twitter.com/jdSZyyOSUg
— Transfer Portal (@TransferPortal) January 13, 2026
LSU's RB room shaping up nicely for 2026
Jones joins an LSU running back room that features returners Caden Durham and Harlem Berry, as well as fellow portal additions Rob Gainey Jr. from Charlotte and Raycine Guillory from Utah. Durham initially chose to enter the portal, but announced earlier this week that he would be returning to Baton Rouge for his junior season. Durham has been LSU's leading rusher in each of the last two seasons, totaling 1,258 rushing yards and 9 rushing touchdowns.
Former 5-star prospect Harlem Berry is also returning to Baton Rouge in 2026. The New Olreans native put together a strong true freshman season in 2025, collecting 491 rushing yards to go along with a pair of touchdowns. The combination of Durham and Berry figure to make for a great 1-2 punch for Kiffin's offense.
The additions of Gainey and Guillory, and now Jones, gives LSU's running back room some much-needed depth heading into the new season. The Tigers entered the 2025 season with just three scholarship running backs on the roster for the season-opener at Clemson, which led to jack-of-all-trades Ju'Juan Johnson seeing time in LSU's backfield this season.
Furthermore, Durham battled multiple injuries all season long, which left the Tigers with little depth at the RB position. After the season, Johnson, Kaleb Jackson, and JT Lindsey all chose to leave LSU via the portal. But now, Kiffin has LSU's RB room set for a bounce back campaign in 2026.