By GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor
LSU coach Lane Kiffin already had the No. 1 Transfer Portal class in the nation before he signed No. 4 overall portal prospect and No. 1 offensive tackle Jordan Seaton from Colorado to cap the historic class off.
But Seaton (6-foot-5, 330 pounds), like No. 1 portal player and quarterback Sam Leavitt, could be one of the most important of all the portal signees, because he comes to a position of tremendous need for the Tigers.
As LSU opens spring practice on Tuesday morning, Seaton will lead LSU’s revamped offensive line at left tackle after choosing the Tigers over Miami, Mississippi State and Oregon, among others.
Seaton was the 41st signee and eighth offensive linemen of the Tigers’ portal class. He was named to the All-Big 12 second team after the 2025 season as he allowed only one sack and five quarterback pressures in 511 snaps. Seaton started the first nine games of the 2025 season before missing the final three of the season with a lower leg/foot injury.
The addition of Seaton put a large bow on what recruiting websites called the greatest portal class in history, which only began with the first no-sit-out transfer portal class in the 2021-22 window. But LSU will take it. Kiffin had never signed more players in one portal class. His No. 1 class at Ole Miss in 2024 had just 27. LSU’s No. 1 portal class of 2025 by coach Brian Kelly had just 18.
What may please LSU fans as much as anything is the fact that the addition of Seaton and company could mean LSU will finally have a strong running game via running backs for the first time since the 2019 national title season. LSU rushed for 2,659 yards in 2023, but quarterback Jayden Daniels had 1,134 of those on his way to winning the Heisman Trophy.
Seaton’s Pro Football Focus blocking grade of 91.4 was the best in the country among FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) players. In 2024, he started all 13 games for the Buffaloes, allowing only three sacks in 612 pass blocking situations and earned freshman All-American honors.
A Washington, D.C. native, Seaton was the No. 1 offensive tackle and No. 13 prospect in the country in 2024 by 247sports.com from IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. He was the No. 4 prospect in Florida.
At left tackle, Seaton will be one of three likely transfer starters for the Tigers in 2026, if not more. Penciled in at left guard is sophomore Devin Harper (6-4, 315), the No. 3 interior offensive lineman in the portal from Ole Miss as the No. 79 transfer prospect. He was the No. 3 player in Louisiana, No. 7 interior offensive lineman in the nation and No. 131 overall prospect from Calvary Baptist in Shreveport.
Another likely transfer starter is fifth-year senior Aliou Bah (6-6, 327) of Maryland at right guard. He was the No. 73 interior offensive lineman in the portal.
Contending at the two guard spots will be redshirt sophomore William Satterwhite (6-3, 305) of Tennessee and redshirt junior transfer Sean Thompkins (6-5, 300) of Baylor. Satterwhite, who could also play center, was the No. 22 interior offensive lineman in the portal, while Thompkins was at No. 50.
Returning redshirt sophomore Weston Davis (6-7, 317) could be the starter at right tackle opening spring drills, but he will get competition from redshirt freshman transfer Darrin Strey (6-7, 322) of Kentucky and possibly redshirt junior transfer Ja’Quan Sprinkle (6-3, 295) of North Carolina Central. Strey was the No. 37 offensive tackle in the portal. Sprinkle was ranked No. 59 as an interior lineman, but also plays tackle.
Returning senior Braelin Moore should be the starting center again after a solid season in 2025.
Another transfer is sophomore Ja’Mard Jones Jr. (6-4, 295) of Nicholls State. He was the No. 136 offensive tackle in the portal.
And do not be surprised if No. 125 junior college transfer JaKolby Jones (6-4, 285) of Copiah-Lincoln Community College competes for playing time at tackle as well. Jones is categorized with LSU’s high school signing class of 2026.
Incoming true freshman signee Brysten Martinez (6-5, 300), an early enrollee from East Ascension High, could also be a factor. He was the No. 9 offensive tackle in the nation and No. 3 prospect in Louisiana.
Another early enrollee is guard Ryan Miret (6-4, 290), the No. 44 interior offensive lineman in the nation from Southridge High in Miami.
“We haven’t got to coach them yet,” Kiffin said of his portal linemen moving van. “All these evaluations are just on paper, about how they look, and the evaluation on film of their previous places. There’s a ton of work to do as a team.”
And the offensive line has to be the most together unit, literally.
“There’s never more work anywhere than on the offensive line when you bring pieces, because they have to work together way better than any other position,” Kiffin said. “So, that will be a big challenge. How do these guys develop, coming from all over the country to play together?”
Kiffin also signed two transfer coaches, so to speak, in offensive line coach Eric Wolford, formerly of Kentucky and Alabama, and run game specialist James Cregg, who was LSU’s offensive line coach in the 2019 national championship season when Cregg’s O-Line received the Joe Moore Award for best offensive line in the nation.
BY FIRING JAMES CREGG, LSU HURT ITS OFFENSIVE LINE BY TRYING TO HELP ITS NCAA CASE
Cregg was fired by LSU in June of 2021 for a very minor recruiting violation as LSU was trying to look good to NCAA officials while under NCAA investigation for various violations under previouis coach Les Miles. Cregg should never have been fired, and the Tigers’ offensive line missed him badly.
This was proven by the fact that he landed on his feet as an NFL assistant offensive line coach with San Francisco in 2022 and ’23 and with the Las Vegas Raiders in 2024.
He then was Kiffin’s assistant offensive line coach at Ole Miss in 2025.
“Being able to bring James Cregg back is really neat for a place that he’s done such an amazing job at before,” Kiffin said.
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