By GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor
Recruiting rankings may mean less to Lane Kiffin than any LSU football coach in history.
Sure, he signs his share of highly ranked players via high school or portal rankings. But he has his own system of judging talent and potential.
This is why transfer running back Stacy Gage, a redshirt sophomore from Central Florida who ran the ball 13 times last season, has been impressive in recent practices and could be the No. 3 back behind projected starter Dilin Jones and No. 2 Harlem Berry. At the moment, returning starter Caden Durham is lagging behind at third or fourth.
Gage (5-foot-10, 206 pounds) is ranked as the No. 1,739th player in the portal by 247sports.com and the No. 134th transfer back. A three-star prospect from St. Thomas Aquinas High in Tampa, he was the No. 30 back in the nation and No. 55 prospect in Florida in 2024.
Could Lane Kiffin be considering a four-year starting offensive guard who recently entered portal?https://t.co/UU5zuxOlF0
— Glenn Guilbeau (@SportBeatTweet) August 20, 2026
But Kiffin saw something, much like he saw something in Hawaii wide receiver Jackson Harris last January when he signed with the Tigers as the No. 173 propect in the portal and No. 40 wide receiver. He is now 110th overall and the No. 25 receiver – a significant jump for someone who hasn’t played since the previous ranking. Could that be the Kiffin Effect?
“Stacy’s done really well. That’s a good spot by you,” Kiffin told TigerBait.com’s Michael Scarborough Thursday at a post-practice press conference. “He’s had a really good camp, really done things for not being kind of a marquee name coming in. And that’s how we do it.”
Whether or not Gage ends up as the third back remains to be seen. But he is giving Durham – LSU’s leading rusher the last two seasons with 1,252 yards and nine touchdowns on 151 carries – a run for his playing time. Durham has frequently not been seen until the third or fourth running back in practice during the media’s limited time at practice. But again, this is just during the brief media windows of practice. Kiffin could be flipping everyone after the media leaves.
But Kiffin is not into the past or rankings or statistics when he is figuring his personnel rotations. Gage gained just 63 yards through eight games at Central Florida last season. In 2024, he played in three games and did not touch the ball.
“We just open it up and evaluate guys from scratch, regardless of what they’ve done before,” Kiffin said.
Before this pre-season camp, LSU running back Harlem Berry gained 491 yards on 104 carries with two touchdowns as a freshman last season. Jones gained only 300 yards on 76 carries with two touchdowns in 2025 in just seven games because of a serious turf toe injury. But those numbers do not mean a lot to Kiffin. It’s about practice. And Jones has been at the top since spring, and Gage is moving on up.
“So, we’re really pleased with him (Gage), and he’s gotten reps to show that,” Kiffin said.
PRACTICE NOTES: True freshman defensive end Lamar Brown was not at practice on Thursday amid reports of an injury on Tuesday. Defensive tackle Malik Blocton returned to practice Thursday after missing Tuesday. Defensive end Jordan Ross was also practicing Thursday after missing Tuesday. And safety DJ Pickett was at full go on Thursday after no contact on Tuesday. Running back Harlem Berry also practiced Thursday after missing Tuesday.
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