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 Sydir Mitchell, the defensive tackle transfer from Texas.
WHAT WE KNOW: After last winter’s whiff on defensive tackle transfers, Brian Kelly told the media that LSU wasn’t in the business of buying players. That tune changed in December. Defensive tackle wasn’t the focus entering 2025. Wide receiver, safety and center felt like bigger priorities, but the defensive line is always open to new faces.
Sydir Mitchell signed with Bo Davis at Texas in 2023. The evaluations on him were all over the board. ESPN had the 6-foot-6, 320 pounder as the No. 68 player in America and No. 6 defensive lineman. 247sports had him 50th among defensive linemen.
Texas won the recruiting battle over Texas A&M, Georgia and Miami which indicates coaches thought highly of the big spaceeater.
After two years in Austin, there hasn’t been much production.
He’s played in nine games and made seven tackles on a couple of Texas teams that have been stout on defense.
Last year Byron Murphy and T’Vondre Sweat went in the first 38 picks of the NFL Draft, and this year former five-star Alfred Collins had a big year at defensive tackle.
Mitchell possesses elite size, but at this point that’s about it. His film shows a reluctance to play with great pad level. That’s a tough chore for someone 6-foot-6. On the flip side, you can’t teach 6-foot-6 and 320 lbs.
THE FIT: Jacobian Guillory had a great 2024 camp. He was primed to really emerge as LSU’s leader on the defensive interior. Then he tore his Achilles. Lower leg injuries are tough on big men. The spring will be a good test for how that recovery is going.
If Guillory gets back to the level he played at in fall camp, he’s LSU best option at tackle.
Ahmad Breaux impressed the staff enough in August of last year to earn a starting role in two games as a true freshman. He played in all 13 games and made 17 tackles including a tackle and a half for loss. After signing as a defensive end, Breaux packed on enough pounds to move inside.
Dominick McKinley joined Breaux in the fold midway through the season after recovering from turf toe. He finished the season with a two-sack effort against Oklahoma.
That’s LSU’s foundation at defensive tackle.
Gio Paez, Paris Shand, Jay’viar Suggs, De’Myrion Johnson, Kimo Makane’ole and Jalen Lee are gone. Shone Washington returns.
Mitchell has Davis’s endorsement for the second time. That’s strong coming from one of the most respected defensive line coaches in America. Still, there’s a large gap between “seven tackles in two years” and “elite SEC defensive tackle”.
Right now, it feels like Mitchell is a depth add behind Guillory, Breaux and McKinley.
LSU’s run defense has been very poor the last two years. In 2023, the Tigers finished 12th in the SEC in yards per carry allowed. They dropped to 13th in 2024. That has to improve in 2025.
Mitchell can be a big-time spaceeater that helps LSU’s linebackers roam freely. That’s certainly the hope.
HUNT’S PROJECTION: Davis is an elite coach. His position group needs to reflect that. I give the three returners at defensive tackle a better chance at becoming All-SEC type players than I do Mitchell in 2025.
This doesn’t feel like a Walter Nolan-type addition.
Because LSU is thin at defensive tackle, I expect Mitchell to be a rotational piece, but Davis is going to have to coach him up to a level far higher than he reached in two seasons at Texas.
I’ll project Mitchell to play a role similar to McKinley’s in the past season. I think he plays in every game and makes eight to 15 tackles.
Inarguably, though, adding depth to the defensive line is always going to be a positive.
