LSU Football 2026
10 Players Who Will Define LSU’s 2026 Season
And they’re not all from the portal.
Quarterback
Sam Leavitt
The No. 1 quarterback and player in the portal, the redshirt junior from Arizona State has LSU’s immediate future in his hands and right foot, which he had surgery on last season that limited him to seven games. He is expected to be 100 percent for August. When healthy in 2024, Leavitt threw for 2,885 yards and 24 touchdowns with six interceptions in 13 games, taking the Sun Devils to the College Football Playoff and an 11-3 finish while rushing for 443 yards and five touchdowns.
EDGE
Princewill Umanmielen
The No. 1 edge in the portal, the LSU senior had nine sacks last season for Ole Miss and has 19 career quarterback hurries.
Left Tackle
Jordan Seaton
The No. 1 offensive tackle and No. 3 overall portal player from Colorado, the junior will be the pillar of the rebuilt offensive line that has been average to bad for too long.
Tight End
Trey’Dez Green
Likely the best tight end in the nation and a prized mismatch at 6-foot-7 and 237 pounds for Leavitt. Green caught 33 passes for 433 yards and seven touchdowns last season as a sophomore.
Middle Linebacker
Whit Weeks
If this key senior leader can return to his 2024 form before the ankle injury that limited him to eight games last season, look out.
Wide Receiver
Jayce Brown
The most experienced of the nine wide receivers added, the deep-threat senior from Kansas State caught 88 passes for 1,535 yards and 10 touchdowns over the last two seasons.
Cornerback
DJ Pickett
The five-star freshman lived up to his billing last season with three interceptions and two sacks.
Safety
Ty Benefield
One of the most discussed additions, the senior had 107 tackles at Boise State last year.
Running Back
Dilin Jones
A bigger back at 5-foot-11 and 211 pounds, he could be Kiffin’s power source between the tackles.
Center
Braelin Moore
The senior will be a stabilizing leadership force amid the new faces.
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Meta description: Sam Leavitt, Princewill Umanmielen, Jordan Seaton and Whit Weeks headline 10 LSU players who could define Lane Kiffin’s first season in 2026.
Suggested feature-image cutline: LSU offensive tackle Jordan Seaton is one of 10 Tigers whose performance could define Lane Kiffin’s first season in Baton Rouge.
Suggested image alt text: LSU offensive tackle Jordan Seaton during preseason practice.
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