Transfer Portal Snapshot: LSU’s QB surge reshapes SEC

By Chris Marler

The 2026 NCAA transfer portal opened Friday, Jan 2 and has been open for 13 days now. 

By the Numbers 

As of Wednesday, over 4,000 players in college football have entered the portal. That includes 3,053 players at the FBS level. That’s 71 more names that entered on Wednesday. A total of 1,626 FBS players have committed, meaning 53 percent of the players in the portal have signed or committed to a school. That’s up three percent from yesterday, as 69 players committed or signed with a school on Tuesday. 

Lane Kiffin on a Historic Tear

LSU had to wait for over a week after the portal initially opened before getting a quarterback commit. They’ve now had three in the last four days. The big news, of course, was signing the No. 1 overall player Sam Leavitt. The news Wednesday, however, may be just as important in the long run. 

LSU got a commitment from the highest ranking quarterback in the portal as former five-star Southern Cal quarterback Husan Longstreet pledged with the Tigers. Longstreet would’ve been a prize in the portal if he was the only quarterback Kiffin landed. In addition to being a five-star out of high school he is a top 20 player in the portal after one year of college. 

With Leavitt’s injury limiting him for Spring camp. Longstreet should get plenty of quality reps with the first team offense all spring and provide quality depth come fall. 

Retainment Continues

Several big names withdrew their names from the portal on Wednesday. There are only 35 players in the entire portal that have withdrawn their name this season. On Wednesday, four more followed suit, and two of those were from South Carolina.

The biggest is former five-star offensive tackle Josiah Thompson who entered the portal less than a week ago and was expected to look at places like Miami. A two year starter at South Carolina, he was ranked as a top 10-12 tackle in this year’s cycle and garnered a payment in the high six figures. He, along with defensive back Jalewis Solomon, both withdrew their name from the portal and will return to school. 

Alabama got some bad news as a third EDGE rusher entered the portal late Tuesday night. They would get some good news on Wednesday, though, as four starters announced they would be returning for the 2026 season. That included running back Daniel Hill, EDGE Yhonzae Pierre, and safeties Keon Sabb and Bray Hubbard. 

Exodus by SEC Teams 

These numbers will fluctuate rapidly, but here are the total players that have entered the portal for each SEC team according to 247Sports as of Wednesday, Jan. 14, at 6:00 p.m. CT.

404 players from the SEC have entered the portal, and 290 players have committed and/or signed with SEC teams. 

SEC Players Entering the Portal

• Auburn – 36
• Mississippi State – 36 
• Arkansas – 35
• LSU – 34
• Florida – 32
• Oklahoma – 28
• Tennessee – 27
• Texas – 26
• Missouri – 24
• South Carolina – 22
• Kentucky – 22
• Alabama  – 21
• Texas A&M – 17
• Vanderbilt –16
• Ole Miss – 15
• Georgia – 13

Players Signed by SEC team 

• Arkansas – 33
• LSU – 28
• Kentucky – 26 
• Auburn – 24
• Florida – 20
• Mississippi State – 20
• Missouri – 19 
• Texas A&M – 18
• South Carolina – 17
• Ole Miss – 15
• Vanderbilt – 15
• Texas – 14
• Oklahoma – 13
• Tennessee –11
• Alabama – 10
• Georgia – 7

247Sports National Rankings 

No. 1 – LSU
No. 2 – Texas
No. 5 – Ole Miss
No. 6 – Kentucky
No. 7 – Texas A&M
No. 16 – Auburn
No. 19 – Tennessee
No. 20 – Oklahoma
No. 21 – Missouri
No. 22 – Florida
No. 23 – South Carolina
No. 24 – Arkansas
No. 31 – Georgia
No. 32 – Mississippi State
No. 34 – Alabama
No. 39 – Vanderbilt