At LSU the portal opens for 30 days, and some championship talent will hit it

Chaos is a ladder. With Brian Kelly out at LSU the players on the Tigers roster have 30 days to seek a new deal and a fresh start, and a significant number of them will take it. Part of the frustration with Kelly is that he couldn't win at a championship level despite stacking recruiting classes that ranked No. 10, No. 7 and No. 5 in the last three seasons.

There are some big names on the Tiger roster, and a few of them can be pieces that could put a contending team to an entirely new level. In the 2025 class the Ducks battled to the end for 5-star cornerback DJ Pickett. A fake Twitter account went viral yesterday aping the logo of On3 Sports, claiming that 5-star linebacker Harold Perkins intends to sit out the rest of the season and enter the portal.

False alarm-- it's a hoax, with no sources at all, from "No. 3 Sports," a nonexistent entity. The explosive, agile Perkins is a junior and likely headed to the NFL.

Though the Perkins news is fake, the Kelly bombshell puts LSU's 2026 class in play, and that includes defensive lineman Duece Geralds from Collins Hill High in Suwanee, Georgia, a four-star with incredible quickness who was down to Ohio State, Oregon, Michigan and Georgia before committing to the Tigers.

Geralds hasn't reopened his recruiting yet, but he's the all-time sack leader in Georgia prep football, a dynamic talent, sure to claim high-demand offers in a wide-open NIL and revenue-sharing season.

Defensive back Ashton Stamps and defensive linemen Jalen Lee and Kimo Makane'ole are already in the portal.

As always EVALUATION is critical. Just because a player has LSU or four or five stars after his name doesn't make him a prime prospect-- sometimes a deteriorating situation leaves players with scars, bad habits, poor motivation, a weakened desire to grow and compete. A return to the recruiting process can breed a sense of entitlement.

Oregon remains an attractive destination for portal talent and the selections Marshall Malchow and the staff have made in the portal have been exceptional. Dillon Thieneman, Bear Alexander, Jadon Canaday and Theran Johnson have elevated the defense. Alex Harkey and Emmanuel Pregnon have stacked pancakes from here to Happy Valley.

The LSU coaching change and changes at Florida, Penn State and others will create opportunities for talent acquisition for a driven and alert staff. For players who can make an impact and want to win at a high level, the grass is damn green in Eugene. It always is, even if there's an occasional atmospheric river.