Brian Kelly was never a good fit in Baton Rouge. It was awkward from the start, and four years in, the 64-year-old was still spinning his tires while Kalen DeBoer and Mike Elko have national championship contenders in their second seasons at two of LSU’s biggest rivals.
In the hours since Kelly’s firing, there hasn’t exactly been an outpouring of support from former players or staff. It’s not that Kelly was necessarily holding the LSU roster together; revenue-sharing, NIL, and the allure of the purple and gold were doing that. However, now that he’s gone, there’s a chance that many of LSU’s young players head to the transfer portal as whoever replaces him overhauls the roster.
These five players, who were expected to be important pieces of the future in Baton Rouge, should immediately be put on transfer-watch in the wake of Kelly’s firing.
LSU has a familial pipeline with West, Whit, and Zach Weeks, and while all three have a connection to Georgia, where their father played his college football, Whit, the best of the three linebackers, also has ties to Ole Miss and Lane Kiffin. More specifically, to his daughter, Landry.
The story about Whit’s relationship with Landry Kiffin arose when she first posted about it, leading up to the Magnolia Bowl, but there’s a chance that it resurfaces when the Transfer Portal opens. Maybe Whit and Lane will team up in Baton Rouge if Kiffin takes the LSU job, but if he stays at Ole Miss or jumps to Florida, it’s possible that Whit follows.
As a true freshman, DJ Pickett has been a reliable CB2 opposite veteran Virginia Tech transfer Mansoor Delane, who might be the best cornerback in college football. Pickett, a 2025 five-star recruit from Tampa, Florida, would be one of the most highly coveted players on the open market if he opts for the portal. On a team primarily led by veterans, he’s one of the few major contributors with multiple years of eligibility remaining.
Miami showed major interest in Pickett during his recruitment, so it won’t be a surprise if Mario Cristobal pushes to add him in the portal this offseason.
Caden Durham grabbed the starting job in the LSU backfield as a true freshman, but as the Tigers continue to struggle running the ball, he’s already ceded the job to another true freshman, Harlem Berry. Berry is a Louisiana native who likely won’t be going anywhere regardless of who is the head coach of the Tigers. So, Durham would have probably been on transfer-watch regardless of the head coaching situation, but the change will make it even easier for the Oklahoma City product to leave Baton Rouge.
If LSU had held onto Bryce Underwood, then Brian Kelly would likely still be the program’s head coach. Not because the five-star quarterback who flipped to Michigan would’ve saved this season, but because the fear of losing him to the transfer portal by firing Kelly would be too great.
Now, without Underwood on the roster, Michael Van Buren Jr. looks to be the heir-apparent to Garrett Nussmeier. However, whoever LSU hires to replace Kelly will likely either bring a QB with them or go handpick one from the Transfer Portal. Van Buren’s path to the starting job at LSU just got quite a bit more complicated, so testing the portal again is probably in his best interest.
Trey’Dez Green is the only player on this list from the state of Louisiana, so maybe he’ll stay loyal to the Purple and Gold. However, the proven red zone threat would be a hot commodity if he entered the Transfer Portal, so it could be a good opportunity to cash in with multiple years of eligibility remaining.
The 6-foot-7 tight end has 21 catches for 264 yards and four touchdowns this season, but his NFL translation as a 240-pound jump-ball specialist is a bit unclear. That could motivate him to test the market during LSU’s coaching staff transition.