Recapping the first day of the Spring Transfer Window for LSU

The Spring Transfer Window officially opened on Tuesday and while many industry experts predicted a chaos-filled day the first day ended up pretty uneventful. The inability for SEC Players to transfer within the conference likely played a massive part in the day being somewhat uneventful. Brian Kelly told the media that the LSU Tigers will only be targeting depth on the defensive line in the transfer portal.

Departures are expected from the program as the team has 88 scholarship players on the roster three players over the 85 scholarship limit. The team needed to see three scholarship players leave no matter what and they'll need further transfers for each player brought in.

The first transfer departing the LSU Tigers is freshmen edge rusher Jaxon Howard who announced his intentions to transfer last week. The edge rusher was a four-star recruit in the 2023 recruiting class recording three tackles this season. The move wasn't a surprise as Howard was buried on the depth chart and likely wouldn't have seen much playing time in 2024.

The Tiger's focus has been adding defensive linemen and landed a commitment from Wisconsin Defensive Tackle Gio Paez on March 26th. The Tigers have made their first offer to a player in the portal in Kent State defensive tackle CJ West who was an All-Mac Defensive Tackle recording 40 tackles and two sacks last season. West recorded an 86 PFF grade last season and is drawing tons of interest with offers from Texas A&M, Arkansas, Wisconsin, Colorado, and Miami. The Tigers also hosted Indiana Transfer Philip Blidi this past weekend and are attempting to beat out Auburn and Oklahoma for him.

LSU Running Back Trey Holly got news on his pending court case pleading not guilty to the illegal use of a weapons charge. The next court date for Holly is July 3rd and Brian Kelly told the media he thought Holly's legal issues could be resolved soon. There is a long way to go for Holly but, the hope for the team and Holly is that he's reinstated before the start of the season.

What to expect in Day Two

Today may be the day we start to see the most transfers announce they're leaving their current schools with coaches now having time following the Spring Games, busy recruiting weekends, and after watching film from the Spring Games. The LSU Tigers will likely continue to offer defensive tackles after having time to brush up on players they weren't familiar with. After learning that Trey Holly's next court date isn't until July we may also see Brian Kelly explore potential running backs incase Holly isn't cleared for the season. We may also see LSU explore some of the better defensive players possibly extending offers with Cormani McClain, Nyjalik Kelly, and whoever else enters the portal.