By Hunt Palmer
LSU blitzed the transfer portal in December and totally reshaped the 2025 roster. It’s all part of a program shift toward NIL and portal additions.
In this series, we’re going to look at all of the transfers Brian Kelly and his staff brought in to assess where they fit and what our projections are for them in 2025 and beyond.
Next up is Nic Anderson, the wide receiver transfer from Oklahoma.
WHAT WE KNOW: Anderson lit it up as a freshman in Norman.
He flew under some radars as a recruit because he played for Katy High School in a run-heavy scheme. On3 dubbed him the No. 16 wide out in the country and No. 95 player overall. The other services weren’t as high on big Texan.
The 6-foot-4, 196 pounder made a couple of catches including a 52-yarder in the 2023 season opener and was held without a catch in Week 2 at SMU.
Then came the breakout.
In Week 3 at Tulsa, he made three catches, all for touchdowns, accounting for 120 yards. He was a starter a couple of weeks later, and when the Oklahoma dust settled on his freshman campaign, he had 38 catches for 798 yards and an Oklahoma freshman record 10 touchdowns including the game-winner against rival Texas.
His sophomore season just never got started. He only appeared in one game, the loss to Tennessee, and then his year was over due to a quadriceps injury that never got right.
Anderson is now 6-foot-4 and 215 lbs. He’s got good speed and the ability to both possess the ball in the intermediate part of the passing game and stretch the field with the deep stuff.
Keep an eye out for Oklahoma WR Nic Anderson! Listed as 6’4 219 pounds. Vertical speed and big playmaking ability. He is a fluid big-body receiver. A big year for him in 2024. pic.twitter.com/Yr6pUixbrZ
— Full-Time Dame 💰 (@DP_NFL) August 21, 2024
Texas A&M wanted Anderson badly, but he chose the Tigers.
THE FIT: I think this is LSU’s No. 1 wide receiver. That bumps Aaron Anderson down to the slot where he’s most effective. Chris Hilton and Barion Brown become scary third options with their elite speed. Because Anderson fills the need for the true first option, everything else falls into place.
NIC ANDERSON IS A TOUCHDOWN MACHINE. pic.twitter.com/j5L4RFkO0k
— College Football Alerts (@CFBAlerts_) October 21, 2023
The injury is a concern. There were rumors about his hip. Then it was called a quad. It kept him out all season.
LSU didn’t need another clone of Aaron Anderson or Zavion Thomas. They didn’t need a blazer like Hilton or Brown. They needed a huge frame with good athleticism. They got it.
HUNT’S PROJECTION: I don’t see any way a healthy Nic Anderson doesn’t go for 1,000 yards and eight touchdowns next year. He’s big, fast, proven and can’t be truly keyed on by defenses because of the other weapons in LSU’s offense.
I said and wrote in December that LSU needed its version of Jameson Williams, Tre Harris, Keon Coleman, etc. That transfer who comes in and becomes the dude. When Anderson’s name popped up, that felt like it.
I spoke with Oklahoma insider Brandon Drumm on my radio show in December. His insight was simply, “he’s a freak.”
Nussmeier threw for 4,000 this season with a fairly pedestrian group of wide outs. The 2025 crop feels more talented, and I think Anderson leads the way.
