It’s barely been a month since Lane Kiffin sat down on his $91 million throne and it seems like the LSU Tigers are already reaping the benefits. The “prove-it” era is officially underway, and Kiffin just notched his first recruiting win by locking down the No. 1 overall prospect in the 2027 class.

“LANE TRAIN,” EDGE Jaiden Bryant tweeted, announcing his commitment to the LSU Tigers on January 3, reposting Hayes Fawcett’s tweet.

At 6-foot-3 and 250 pounds, he terrorized offenses in 2025- posting 10 sacks, 75 tackles, 16 tackle for loss, six forced loose balls recovered, and an interception for good measure. And if that wasn’t enough, he racked up 14.5 sacks the season before.

Despite having multiple offers from Alabama Crimson Tide, Georgia Bulldogs, Miami Hurricanes, South Carolina Gamecocks, and Texas A&M Aggies on his table, Bryant has picked Lane Kiffin and the LSU. Bryant took recruiting trips almost every weekend, trying to find his best-fit school throughout the fall. 

In this process, the Gamecocks got struck off the list. That was indeed surprising since the distance between his high school and Gamecocks’ Williams-Brice Stadium is just 13 miles. The same goes for Florida State, another big competitor for Kiffin in this race.

Bryant made several visits to Tallahassee, but the Seminoles couldn’t close a deal. While Florida State avoided a coaching reset, much like South Carolina, two straight losing seasons have left Mike Norvell feeling the heat.

Bryant’s long-standing bond with former Gamecocks defensive ends coach Sterling Lucas, who first recruited him at South Carolina, proved to be a major factor in sealing the decision. That’s what worked in Kiffin and co.’s favor.

“The connection I had with coach Sterling Lucas and him leaving South Carolina and going to LSU,” said the No.1 EDGE. “It just made my recruitment process very easy.”

Sterling Lucas seemed to have immediately accepted Lane Kiffin’s offer to join LSU. His move seemed to have been finalised overnight and that left a sour taste in Shane Beamer. While speaking to reporters, Beamer vented his frustrations out as he found the move unprofessional. The major issue Beamer had was with Lane Kiffin as the LSU HC did not reach out to him discussing his plans to recruit Lucas. Kiffin directly reached out to Lucas and the next day he left Seminoles and became on of the Tigers.

Kiffin’s LSU got lucky to bring in Lucas, who acted as the recruiting magnet. 

“Coach Lucas is a coach I trust and believe in,” Bryant told Rivals. “South Carolina wasn’t one of my first offers, but he was recruiting me before that. He started recruiting me early, and he’s like family. He’s easy to talk to, we have a nice relationship, and he’s always been a coach I knew I would love to play for.”

Other than the Lucas factor, Kiffin’s program scored some extra points in Bryant’s report card for their storied history. That’s how his pledge gave Kiffin his second commitment in the 2027 class. Back in September, they landed a pledge from 2027 quarterback Peyton Houston, ESPN’s top-ranked pocket passer in the future rankings.

Kiffin was rolling on the recruitment trail, but the transfer portal storm is now crashing the party.

Lane Kiffin’s LSU gets hit with mass exodus

Barely a month into Kiffin’s Baton Rouge tenure, and the dominoes are already falling. Star running back Caden Durham has officially entered the transfer portal, delivering a major blow to the Tigers’ backfield. Well, it’s already been thinned by the exits of JuJuan Johnson and Kaleb Jackson.

Kiffin’s rebuild just took another hit in the trenches. Former five-star Carius Curne, once the crown jewel of the 2025 interior O-line class, has entered the portal, joined by fellow lineman Coen Echols.

Is that the reason Kiffin has now become overprotective when it comes to forcefully stopping his players from moving out? As per the latest reports, the head coach has been sabotaging Curne’s transfer portal opportunity by delaying the paperwork. But it did not go well.

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“Holding my paperwork trying to prevent me from opportunity is crazy work 😂😂,” the offensive lineman shared on X. “I just want to ball out 😂😂 @LSUfootball.”

Kiffin’s interest in his former quarterback, Ole Miss’ Trinidad Chambliss, also cost him another portal exit. 

“I do not believe LSU’s next quarterback is currently on this roster,” analyst Shea Dixon shared. “They only have one scholarship quarterback on the roster. Michael Van Buren.”

After failing to get the go-ahead from Lane Kiffin, Michael Van Buren is hitting the portal, too. So, will Kiffin’s recruiting wins be drowned out by mounting transfer losses?