Ranking transfer portal classes is hard. You have to balance a player’s production with potential. Positional value matters too. It’s harder to find a starting left tackle than it is a starting wide receiver. That muddies the picture before we even get to guessing how players will fare when transferring up a level.
Some guys come up from the FCS and dominate. At the same time, we’ve seen lower level stars struggle to find their footing in the FBS.
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Even if you manage to properly grade the players, the challenge becomes assessing what a team gained vs. lost. Signing a transfer portal haul might not matter if quality starters hit the portal going out. Of course, there’s nuance to that, too. Portal exodus isn’t bad if it leads to upgrades. But it’s hard to tell what a team lost until we see how the transfers look at another school.
A simple way to look at transfer rankings is the average recruit ranking. This lets us look at the teams who signed quality players — not just a high-volume of guys that may or may not have contributed at their previous stop.
Today, we’ll look at where LSU football ranks according to On3’s average transfer portal recruit rating.
What is LSU football’s average transfer portal recruit rated?
LSU football’s average transfer portal recruit has a rating of 82.88. That ranks No. 2 in the country.
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The Tigers signed 16 transfers. Of those 16, nine have a rating of 90 or better per the On3 Industry Rankings.
LSU’s top-ranked transfers are wide receiver Barion Brown and defensive back TaMarcus Cooley. Brown from Kentucky and Cooley from NC State, both addressed positions of need for LSU.
The Tigers also brought in much needed experienced players at offensive line and defensive end.
Top 10 transfer portal class ranked by average recruit rating
|
School |
Transfers In |
Avg Rating |
Composite Score |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Oregon |
10 |
86.9 |
869 |
|
LSU |
16 |
82.88 |
1326.08 |
|
Texas Tech |
18 |
82.56 |
1486.08 |
|
Tennessee |
4 |
82 |
328 |
|
Miami |
12 |
81.33 |
975.96 |
|
Ohio State |
6 |
80.83 |
484.98 |
|
Rutgers |
11 |
79.73 |
877.03 |
|
Georgia |
6 |
79.33 |
475.98 |
|
Texas A&M |
14 |
78.57 |
1099.98 |
|
Texas |
6 |
78.5 |
471 |
The only school with a better average transfer rating than LSU is Oregon. However, LSU maintained the high average while signing six more players.
Two schools that jump out are Rutgers and Texas Tech. Most of these teams on this list are ones you’d expect to see. Texas Tech and Rutgers are punching above their weight. With a top ranked transfer class, Texas Tech has a chance to compete for the Big 12 championship this fall.
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Rutgers task is a bit tougher in the Big Ten, but the Scarlet Knights have proven to be a competent football team in Greg Schiano’s second run as head coach.
The only team on LSU’s 2025 schedule sitting in the top 10 is Texas A&M. Aggies’ head coach Mike Elko signed a strong transfer portal class in 2024 and pulled it off again in 2025.
This article originally appeared on LSU Wire: LSU football: Where Tigers portal class ranks by average rating
