Lane Kiffin was busy retooling the LSU Tigers this offseason with over 60 newcomers between the transfer portal and their recruiting class. There will be a lot of new names for Tigers fans to learn for next season.
The question is, which players will have the biggest immediate impact? Here is the LSU Roundtable prediction for the four-most impactful newcomers:
QB Sam Leavitt
This one is fairly obvious. He was the top quarterback in the transfer portal and will be the latest project of Lane Kiffin and Charlie Weis Jr. All three quarterbacks they worked with on the Ole Miss Rebels have made or will make it ot the NFL. Leavitt is poised to make it four in a row.
The Arizona State Sun Devils transfer has 4,652 career passing yards with 36 touchdowns to 11 interceptions. He’s run the ball 196 times for 816 yards. Kiffin’s high-powered offense will take advantage of his skill set.
DE Princewill Umanielen
As dominant as the Tigers’ defense was last season, they didn’t really have a standout pass rusher. Jack Pyburn and Patrick Payton were alright at generating pressure, but combined for just three sacks total.
Umanmielen will hope to build off a massively improved junior campaign and become the star rusher that LSU needs. He had 44 tackles with 13 for a loss and nine sacks last season, with an interception and a pass breakup. He generated 51 total pressures, while the Tigers’ leader had 34.
There are several very exciting players on LSU’s defense this season, but Umanmielen should easily be the biggest difference-maker as a newcomer.
WR Jayce Brown
It was hard to pick which of the new Tigers receivers will have the biggest impact, because of just how many mouths there are now to feed, but Brown has the best previous resume.
Brown has been his team’s leading receiver over the last two years, though they haven’t had very explosive offenses. He has 115 career catches for 1,972 yards and 13 touchdowns. He has mostly worked from the slot, but can make it work from both sides.
Tre Wilson probably has the most hype around him because of the impressive stuff he has shown when healthy, but that hasn’t been very often. If he puts up a full season, he could have video game numbers, though.
DL Lamar Brown
Brown is a little bit bigger of a swing as a true freshman, but he’s just that good. Physically, he’s ready to compete with the best that college has to offer. He’s a five-star from both sides of the football, but it seems as though it’ll be the defensive line where he starts to make his mark.
He’s going to be fun to watch from Day 1 in Baton Rouge.
