MARLER: Kiffin sets the bar high in year one

By Chris Marler

Lane Kiffin hasn’t stopped, and I don’t mean his tweeting. 

Since his arrival in December, Kiffin has done nothing but work. It’s paid off, to say the least. As of Wednesday, he’s signed 40 players from the transfer portal and doesn’t just have the highest ranked portal classes in this cycle, he has one of the highest in the five year history of the portal. 

🐅!

— Lane Kiffin (@Lane_Kiffin) January 21, 2026

The transfer portal frenzy has overshadowed another reality: he’s also set to take over a top-11 recruiting class featuring two five-stars and ten additional blue-chip prospects. Oh, and don’t forget about retaining guys like Trey’Dez Green, Harlem Berry and DJ Pickett. All three will most likely be starters on this year’s team and would have been some of the most sought after players in the country had they entered the portal. 

On Wednesday morning, he received another huge commitment from Princewill Umanmielen and he’s still awaiting a decision from another top-five portal prospect, a commitment that could put this class in a tier of its own.

There’s a legitimate argument that this could be the most talented team in Baton Rouge since 2019, and while we aren’t going to make that kind of comparison, it’s definitely something LSU fans should be excited about. 

BREAKING: LSU lands Ole Miss sack leader Princewill Umanmielen 🐯

He’s the No. 3️⃣ ranked player in the transfer portal‼️

More Here 👉 https://t.co/HKSm5VeDIQ pic.twitter.com/oXr7gdtFN8

— 104.5 ESPN (@1045espn) January 21, 2026

Spring practice is approaching, and Kiffin will have eight months to mold a roster full of mercenaries into a championship-caliber team. The schedule for next year looks daunting on paper. There are games against Alabama, Clemson, Texas and Texas A&M. It’s essentially a murderer’s row of last year’s hype teams that never quite delivered. LSU gets all four at home, plus a trip to Oxford in what will be the most anticipated game of the next eight months.

Let’s be clear, this isn’t an “I hope he can have some success in year one, but we should give him time to turn it around” mentality. 

The time is now.

The ceiling now matches the expectations at LSU, exactly as it should. That’s the standard here, and it’s the one Kiffin embraces. Now it’s about reaching it, with the hope that the CFP trophy in Las Vegas is the reward when they do next season.