By GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor
Everyone knows LSU football coach Lane Kiffin can recruit the NCAA Transfer Portal. He had the No. 1 class while Ole Miss’ head coach before the 2024 season and recently signed the top class of 2026.
But what Kiffin can also do is recruit players back after apparently losing them.
He did it with No. 1 quarterback and overall portal player Sam Leavitt in this LSU portal class when it appeared he was headed elsewhere after a visit to LSU last January. But Kiffin got him back. And he did it with LSU running back Caden Durham, who entered the portal last January after leading the Tigers in rushing in his first two seasons in 2024 and ’25.
Kiffin was trying to get Ole Miss sophomore star running back Kewan Lacy to join him along with former Ole Miss offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr. and former Ole Miss running backs coach Kevin Smith at LSU last January via the portal at the time. So, Durham entered the portal as the No. 98 prospect overall and No. 8 running back. And his plan was a possible reunion with his running backs coach at LSU – Frank Wilson, who had migrated to Ole Miss in a trade of sorts for Smith.
Kiffin did not retain Wilson on his new LSU staff, opting for Smith with hopes Smith could get Lacy to LSU. But Lacy decided to stay at Ole Miss, and then Durham exited the portal and went back into the LSU fold for a third season.
“Unfinished business,” Durham said on Twitter at the time of his return to LSU.
Durham (5-foot-9, 205 pounds) was LSU’s leading rusher in 2025 as a sophomore with 505 yards on 111 carries and three touchdowns despite an ankle injury at mid-season that caused him to miss the Ole Miss game. He also caught 16 passes for 91 yards.
In 2024, Durham led the Tigers in rushing with 753 yards on 140 carries and six touchdowns while also catching 28 passes for 260 yards, including a 71-yard catch and run, and two touchdowns. And that was despite nagging toe injuries. When he signed with LSU before the 2024 season from Duncanville High in Duncanville, Texas, Durham was the No. 6 running back in the country, No. 20 player in Texas and No. 124 prospect in the nation.
Also back will be sophomore Harlem Berry (5-11, 190), the No. 1 high school running back in the nation by 247sports.com in 2025 out of St. Martin’s High in Metairie. Berry started LSU’s last six games last season ahead of Durham, first because of Durham’s injury, then because Wilson wanted to give Berry an opportunity. Wilson took over as interim head coach after Brian Kelly was fired following the Texas A&M game with five games to play. Wilson recruited Berry out of the New Orleans area and had known him and his family since Berry was in eighth grade.
Berry rushed for 491 yards on 104 carries in 2025 with two touchdowns and caught eight passes for 32 yards. Look for him to give Durham a run for his money as the lead running back in 2026 with spring football starting on Tuesday and running through April 24. The two could also end up splitting time somewhat evenly.
Berry is the fan favorite to be the starter as he is a more recent recruit signing, and the recruiting addicts love to see elite signees play or start right away. But Durham is more experienced and proven and has put up the numbers while hurt. If he can stay healthy, look for Durham to be No. 1.
The NCAA Tournament is great, but at LSU this year, March Madness means Spring Football, Lane Kiffin and about 60 new players, including 3 QBs:https://t.co/jflJCdYmF7
— Glenn Guilbeau (@SportBeatTweet) March 19, 2026
And look for Wisconsin sophomore transfer Dilin Jones to possibly get in the mix as well. Jones (6-0, 208) started the Badgers’ first seven games last season, gaining 300 yards on 76 carries with two touchdowns and making nine catches for 21 yards.
A turf toe injury against Ohio State ended his season, which included 63 yards on 17 carries against Michigan and 69 on 16 rushes against Iowa. A four-star prospect out of Our Lady of Good Counsel High in Olney, Maryland, Jones was the No. 10 running back in the nation in the class of 2024 and No. 139 prospect overall. He was red-shirted in 2024 at Wisconsin. As a portal prospect, Jones was the No. 73 running back.
LSU Spring Football 2026: Tigers may have their first real running game since 2019 in 2026 – excluding Jayden Daniels, who didn’t really need blocking in 2023.https://t.co/R22uCT3p8q
— Glenn Guilbeau (@SportBeatTweet) March 22, 2026
Kiffin also signed redshirt freshman running back Raycine Guillory (5-9, 190) from Utah. He played in only one game at Utah, but he had an impressive career at Aledo High in Fort Worth, Texas.
In 2024, Guillory gained 1,299 yards on 161 carries with 24 touchdowns while catching 13 passes for 169 yards at Aledo. In 2023, he rushed for 1,236 yards and 17 touchdowns and gained 769 yards in 2022. He also ran track at Aledo. Guillory was the No. 60 running back in the nation out of high school and the No. 117 prospect in Texas. He was the No. 99 running back in the portal.
Kiffin added two other transfer running backs – redshirt sophomore Stacy Gage (5-11, 210) of Central Florida and redshirt sophomore Rod Gainey Jr. (6-0, 175) of Charlotte.
Gage played briefly in 2025, gaining just 63 yards on 13 carries. He was the No. 125 running back in the portal. Out of St. Thomas Aquinas High in Tampa, he was the No. 30 running back in the nation and No. 55 prospect in Florida.
Gainey played in 11 games with two starts in 2025, gaining 260 yards on 74 carries. He was the No. 118 running back in the portal. Coming out of Tampa Bay Tech in Tampa, he was the No. 85 running back in the country and No. 151 prospect in Florida.
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