GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor
One of the fringe benefits of being LSU’s football coach, as opposed to Notre Dame’s in South Bend, Indiana, for example, is the close access to plentiful fine dining.
One of Brian Kelly’s favorite restaurants in Baton Rouge is Gino’s, but he has been and will be making the rounds and then some this week as he entertains prospective new impact players who have entered the NCAA Transfer Portal and are interested in LSU.
“I was at Gino’s (Italian), Jubans (Creole) and Ruth’s Chris (steaks) last night,” Kelly said Wednesday morning on a Texas Bowl press conference via Zoom when asked how his portal recruiting is going. All three restaurants are located less than a mile from Kelly’s home near the LSU campus.
“I had three dinners last night. I’ll have two to three more dinners tonight,” he said. “It’s the busiest that I think I can ever remember in terms of activity. There’s a lot going on.”
LSU (8-4) plays Baylor (8-4) in the Texas Bowl in Houston on Dec. 31 at 2:30 p.m. on ESPN. The Tigers open bowl practice on Thursday. Players have been entering the portal since Monday and can continue through Dec. 28.
“It’s a very busy time as you can imagine,” Kelly said.
Yes, it’s Restaurant Week in Baton Rouge, if you are Kelly or on his staff. Forks up!
Asked if he’s mixing in appetizers and salads with main courses, or plans to do so if he continues hitting multiple restaurants on a single night, he said, “If you have to make some adjustments in terms of what you do with your scheme, then you make those adjustments.”
LSU GETTING BUSY IN THE PORTAL
Portal recruits who have already dined with Kelly and assistants or may be soon include Florida cornerback Ja’Keem Jackson, Arkansas sophomore tight end Luke Hasz, Northwest Missouri State sophomore tight end Zach Atkins, Purdue sophomore defensive end Will Heldt, Jacksonville State redshirt freshman safety Zechariah Poyser, Nebraska junior defensive end Jimari Butler and Missouri freshman defensive end Williams Nwaneri. All are prime portal cuts.
Kelly, coming off his worst regular season at LSU, has made a stronger commitment to get the juiciest and most expensive players in the portal than at any time in his LSU career. Going into his first season in 2022, he had to tap the portal hard as he inherited a 6-7 team with only 39 scholarship players. That was a numbers chase. He signed 16. He signed nine last year. He has said he wants 12 portal players or more this time around. But this year, he wants the best of the best.
And LSU has more in its portal budget than ever before – $20.1 million. That ranks third among major portal diners nationally behind only Texas with $22.2 million and Ohio State with $20.2 million, according to 247sports.com’s Brad Crawford.
BRIAN KELLY’S STATE OF THE ROSTER UNION ADDRESS
“The transfer portal, as I’ve mentioned, is extremely important to us in building our roster,” Kelly said. “That is a prime focus for us right now.”
And the prime rib at Ruth’s Chris is very good, by the way.
If he hasn’t already done so, Kelly should bring along defensive coordinator Blake Baker and edge rushers coach Kevin Peoples with him on the restaurant tour should that include Nwaneri. Baker and Peoples recruited the five-star prospect from Lee’s Summit North High School in Kansas City to Missouri last year before leaving for LSU.
Nwaneri (6-foot-7, 255 pounds) was the No. 6 overall prospect in the country last year, according to 247Sports.com and the No. 6 defensive lineman. He only played in four games in the 2024 regular season for Missouri, though, making two tackles with one sack in 38 snaps. Missouri coaches reportedly viewed him as a project. LSU is ready to take that project on, as are other diners.
LSU RECRUITING AT RUTH’S CHRIS
LSU football and other sports have previously recruited at Ruth’s Chris, by the way. Previous coach Ed Orgeron and other athletic department members dined with then-Cincinnati defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman in January of 2021 when Orgeron and company were recruiting him to be LSU’s new DC. Freeman had the 16-ounce bone-in filet for $65, which is now $89.
Freeman ate and ran to Notre Dame, though, after a visit to a South Bend restaurant to be named later and coordinated the defense for Kelly. Orgeron later settled for Minnesota Vikings secondary coach Daronte Jones. And a year later, Freeman replaced Kelly as head coach of the Fighting Irish when Kelly came to LSU.
Kelly has also been busy re-recruiting current members of LSU’s roster, such as quarterback Garrett Nussmeier, who had been considering a departure for the NFL Draft a year early as a junior. Nussmeier announced Wednesday he will stay at LSU.
WHEW! GARRETT NUSSMEIER IS STAYING PUT
Kelly expects some LSU seniors and possibly some juniors who declare for the draft to not play in the bowl as they prepare for the NFL Draft. Junior tight end Mason Taylor has declared for the draft, but his status for the bowl is uncertain.
“We’ll have some of the veterans play, and some have certainly made a decision that it’s in their best interest not to play in the game,” Kelly said. “The guys who we’ll be fielding for this game will be 100 percent committed.”
Meanwhile, Kelly is trying to convince some of the 15 LSU players who have entered the portal since the end of the regular season to exit out of it and stay with the Tigers. And he’s trying to make sure no more of his players enter the portal.
“We’re working on retaining players,” he said. “You can imagine it’s quite busy.”
A 15th Tiger entered the portal after Kelly spoke to reporters on Wednesday. That was senior backup defensive tackle Jay’viar Suggs, who has a year of eligibility remaining. He made 10 tackles in the 2024 season with three for loss, 2.5 sacks and two quarterback hurries. Suggs transferred to LSU before the 2024 season after two full seasons at Grand Valley State.
Kelly was surprised by some of his players who entered the portal, such as senior starting wide receiver CJ Daniels and projected sophomore starting tight end Ka’Morreun Pimpton. Players can enter the portal without telling their coaches, and often the coaches are as surprised and disappointed as the fans.
“Every year in the portal, there’s always going to be one (trying to leave) that in your estimation, it just doesn’t add up – the facts, the information, the things that lead to somebody going into the portal,” he said.
Kelly said he also wants to help the players in LSU’s exit portal land somewhere, even if that’s not at LSU.
“You can look at the body of work and say, ‘Let’s help these guys find a spot,'” he said. “I want these guys to end up where they can contribute, where they can help teams. And that’s what I want to do for maybe 13 out of the (15) guys.”
LSU true freshman cornerback PJ Woodland of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, was reported as an entry into the portal on Wednesday, but he has said he is remaining at LSU. Woodland played in 12 games with two starts in the 2024 regular season and made 15 tackles with two pass breakups, 1.5 tackles for loss and a fumble recovery and forced fumble.
“There were a couple there that just didn’t add up to us, but that’s what happens when you have unlimited transfers,” Kelly said. “And sometimes those things happen. You just have to continue to move forward and look to restock your roster.”
LSU PLAYERS IN THE TRANSFER PORTAL
Here is the complete list of LSU’s 15 players who have entered the NCAA Transfer Portal since the regular season ended on Nov. 30.
-Defensive tackle Jay’Viar Suggs, senior, backup.
-Tight End Ka’Morreun Pimpton, sophomore, backup (projected starter in 2025).
-Cornerback J.K. Johnson, junior, deep backup.
-Defensive Tackle De’Myrion Johnson, true freshman, deep backup.
-Kicker Nathan Dibert, junior, backup.
-Cornerback Jyaire Brown, junior, deep backup.
-Safety Kylin Jackson, redshirt freshman, deep backup.
-Wide Receiver Shelton Sampson, redshirt freshman, deep backup.
-Cornerback Bernard Causey, true freshman, deep backup.
-Safety Jordan Allen, sophomore, backup.
-Wide Receiver CJ Daniels, senior, starter.
-Linebacker Xavier Atkins, true freshman, deep backup.
-Defensive End Da’Shawn Womack, true freshman, deep backup.
-Wide Receiver Landon Ibieta, sophomore, deep backup.
-Quarterback Rickie Collins, redshirt freshman, backup.
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