By ANDRE Champagne, Tiger Rag Staff Reporter
Another former Lane Kiffin coached player hit the transfer portal on Thursday as Ole Miss redshirt junior linebacker TJ Dottery put his name in shortly after midnight. And he’s going to be a pretty big catch for whichever school lands him.
Dottery was a key piece of the Rebels’ 2025 defense during their historic season and was a two-year starter under defensive coordinator Pete Golding.
This season, Dottery had 98 total tackles, 5.5 tackles-for-loss, 1.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and two pass breakups for the Rebels. Currently, Dottery is unranked is the transfer portal according to 247sports.com, but he is expected to end up as one of the top players in the portal cycle.
Ole Miss LB TJ Dottery has entered the transfer portal, @On3 has learned.
— Pete Nakos (@PeteNakos) January 15, 2026
The former Clemson transfer posted 174 tackles, 10 TFLs, 3.5 sacks and 3 forced fumbles the last two seasons with the Rebels.https://t.co/d1fhYwruUJ pic.twitter.com/XIcRefFW9A
The Montgomery, Alabama, native, started his collegiate career at Clemson in 2022 before transferring to Ole Miss in 2023. Dottery could possibly reunite with Kiffin in Baton Rouge, who brought him to Oxford via the transfer portal.
LSU has yet to add a single linebacker in the transfer portal, but the Tigers return junior Whit Weeks and sophomore Davhon Keys in 2026. Dottery’s production and experience could immediately fill a void that LSU was left with after West Weeks and Harold Perkins Jr. declared for the NFL Draft.
The Tigers also bring back promising young linebackers Tylen Singleton, Jaiden Braker, Charles Ross II and Zach Weeks.
Coming out of Montgomery Catholic High School, Dottery, a former four-star, was rated as the No. 37 linebacker in the country and as the No. 13 player in the state of Alabama in the Class of 2022 according to 247sports.com.
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