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 Barion Brown, the wide receiver transfer from Kentucky.
WHAT WE KNOW: Brown was a massive recruiting win for Mark Stoops and Kentucky. He was a consensus four-star recruit and the No. 3 player in the state of Tennessee. Kentucky beat out Alabama, Texas A&M and Georgia among other to win his services, and it paid off immediately.
He set Wildcat records with 50 catches for 628 yards, both led the team, in an offense that ranked 12th in the SEC in passing.
Against Georgia, who went on to win the national title by 58 points, he made 10 catches for 145 yards. He also ranked fourth nationally in average kickoff return yards at 27.5.
For an encore his sophomore season, he again led the Wildcats in receptions and yards. He also averaged 12.3 yards per carry. The fireworks came when he returned three more kickoffs for scores to tie the SEC career record of four and break the Kentucky single season record.
He was the first team All-American kick returner by Sporting News as he led the country in kickoff return average.
His receiving production dipped in 2024 because of a putrid Kentucky passing attack that ranked 14th in the SEC. Still he finished his Kentucky career with at least one catch in 36 of 37 games and 3,273 all-purpose yards.
Since 1976, he’s one of two FBS players with 11 career receiving touchdowns and five career kickoff return touchdowns prior to his senior season (Tyron Carrier, Houston, 2008-10).
There is no doubt about Brown’s game breaking speed and kickoff return prowess.
He’s 6-foot-1 and 185 lbs., and he’s played in poor passing offense for three seasons. The question becomes, where does he fit?
THE FIT: Has Brown been held back by Kentucky’s dismal passing attack? Or is he just a straight-line speed guy?
LSU has speed in Chris Hilton and a pair of great kick returners in Aaron Anderson and Zavion Thomas, both of whom ran a kickoff back for a touchdown in LSU’s final two games.
I don’t think Brown brings a “new dimension” to LSU’s offense, but he’s certainly scary opposite Chris Hilton. Both of those guys have outstanding bursts and will force teams to respect the deep ball.
Brown was used a ton in the jet sweep and pop pass game. Kentucky also used him in the reverse game, and you can’t argue with his production in all phases.
Cortez Hankton has more clay to mold this year than last, and Brown is a big piece to that. You can get very creative with him…or you can just tell him to run straight. He’s not going to be a quick as Anderson or Thomas. He’s a one cut runner with the ball in his hands. That’s what Hankton and Joe Sloan will have to ask him to do.
HUNT’S PROJECTION: Brown is going to make some big plays. There’s no doubt. Kentucky hit a flee flicker with him at Florida this year. He made the play that ultimately broke Ole Miss’s playoff hearts on 4th and 8.
Massive W for @UKFootball over #5 Ole Miss
On 4th down, Barion Brown hauls in a 69-yard reception to setup the GW TD #CollegeFootball pic.twitter.com/DSGGH87Jn0
— Jonathan Cisowski (@cisow77) September 28, 2024
I think he and Hilton will share those big moments, so I don’t have Brown as a 1,000 yard receiver. I just think he’ll make defensive coordinators play LSU differently. I’d be surprised if Thomas completely ceded the kick return duties, but it doesn’t hurt to have an SEC record holder as an option. I think Brown is third or fourth in catches for LSU but may finish higher than that in yards because of the explosives.
