LSU Football’s Head Coach, Brian Kelly, declared his intentions to rebuild the team through the transfer portal in order for the team to stay competitive in his first year when LSU faced Kansas State in the Texas Bowl.

Now, with 12 players transferred to LSU, it seems Brian Kelly achieved his goal.

However, building a win-now roster from players in the portal is a relatively new strategy. Teams like Michigan State received a massive boost due to their aggressive recruiting in the portal, and transfers like Kenneth Walker shined for them as a result.

One question remains for these LSU transfers; What roles do they immediately serve to the team? Here are the 12 transfers thus far and where they project for the 2022-2023 season.

Miles Frazier

Right from the start, Miles Frazier stands out as a premiere transfer for LSU’s class. A 6-foot-6 300-pound tackle out of Florida International, Frazier went from a two-star high school prospect to a four-star transfer portal prospect. 

When watching Frazier, his most notable trait is his ability to anchor in pass protection. He takes on rushes incredibly well and does not move off his position easily. He does well for run blocking, too, but he already showed flashes of being one of the better pass blockers in all of college football last season.

The biggest questions reside in how his game translates from playing in the Conference USA to the SEC. Can Frazier handle better trained athletes?

With that in mind, Frazier seems like a vital pickup for an LSU team needing offensive line depth. Frazier immediately puts Kelly’s reputation as an elite offensive line developer to the test because he projects as an immediate starter.

Frazier contains all the tools to be one of the best tackles in the SEC. Can he be developed properly? Regardless, he helps LSU immediately and his signing is a coup for Kelly.

Tre’mond Shorts

Tre’mond Shorts, another offensive line pickup out of Eastern Tennessee State, serves a different role to Frazier. Shorts seems to immediately fill in as depth for the interior.

The 6-foot-4, 326 pound offensive lineman’s main draw comes from his versatility. After coming to LSU, Shorts told sites such as 247Sports that he viewed himself as an “offensive lineman” that wanted to play anywhere on the line.

Shorts fills a critical role for the team; he serves as versatile veteran depth. Shorts, who played five years prior to his transfer to LSU, possesses a rare mix of experience and versatility. Not many players can immediately adjust to different parts of the offensive line, but Shorts embraced that challenge.

Shorts seems harder to project than a player like Frazier, but his experience and versatility should put him in the mix to immediately compete for a starting job. With the amount of talent LSU lost in their interior line this past season, Shorts starting remains a possibility.

At worst, Shorts can fill in any spot if injury strikes a starting lineman. At best, he plays center or guard. Depth at offensive line remains one of the most important parts of team building; Shorts’ value comes from that alone.

Mekhi Wingo

If Frazier stands out as a key offensive transfer, former Missouri defensive tackle Mekhi Wingo might have the same impact on the defensive side of the ball.

The 6-foot-0, 280 pound defensive tackle comes to LSU as an SEC All-Freshman player in 2021. He left the Missouri program due to letting go of the defensive line coaches that recruited him.

Wingo may be a bit undersized, but he’s fast and explosive. He adds immediate help to what should be a great defensive line featuring the likes of Maason Smith and BJ Ojulari.

Does Wingo start? Do not be shocked if he does. Wingo has his own issues due to his size, but he can provide immediate disruption due to his burst. Wingo provides more young talent to an LSU team desperate for it.

Greg Brooks

Former Arkansas cornerback and Louisiana native Greg Brooks immediately comes in and helps a cornerback room reeling from the losses of Eli Ricks, Derek Stingley Jr., Dwight McGlothern, and the man he intends to replace in Cordale Flott.

Brooks plugs in as an immediate starter because he plays a position of need for LSU as a nickel corner. He started there for three years at Arkansas and as mentioned previously, LSU just lost their best nickel corner in Flott.

The 5-foot-11, 185 pound senior may be undersized for his position, but he slots in immediately as a starter because of his ability to break up plays quickly. Brooks stands out as an intelligent player. He constantly undercuts routes, reads the quarterback’s eyes, and breaks up passes. He also tackles well in the backfield.

Brooks’ talent jumps off the screen, especially with his ball skills. He made a play against Penn State where he intercepted the ball with one hand. Brooks is an immediate infusion to a weaker cornerback room, and he makes the team better.

Joe Foucha

Joe Foucha, another former Arkansas defensive back and four-year starter, adds experience to an LSU safety room that lacked consistency the last few years.

Unlike current starter Jay Ward, Foucha projects more as a strong safety for the team. The 5-foot-11, 205 pound safety plays almost like a linebacker. In fact, the Louisiana native plays a similar role as his idol, Tyrann Mathieu.

Foucha can cover, but that’s not exactly his specialty. He plays well when put closer to the snap to disrupt a play as it just begins rather than defending deep passes. Whether he produces tackles for losses in the backfield or breaks up a swing pass to the tight end, Foucha plays well as a strong safety and he projects as an immediate starter.

Of course, with any player, Foucha has questions. For a safety, he’s somewhat undersized. He can cover but he does not excel in it. That’s not to discredit him; he simply plays more like a linebacker than a true safety.

Despite those concerns, Foucha should supplement the aforementioned Ward well in the backfield. LSU had its struggles at safety since 2020; Foucha should help remedy said struggles immediately.

Kyren Lacy

Former University of Louisiana-Lafayette wide receiver, Kyren Lacy, stands out as a large target at 6-foot-3, 213 pounds.

When watching Lacy, he makes plays as a contested catch guy. His large frame definitely comes to his advantage, and he played well within that specific role. Expect him to make a couple tough catches throughout the season.

He should start, but the question for him is whether he has more upside than being a jump ball specialist. Can he compete against SEC competition? Does he have the same ball skills when he faces more talented cornerbacks?

Regardless of any concern, LSU gets a guy with good body control who can be a red zone and sideline threat. He already has that skillset. The question is where he can develop more and be a true threat.

Mekhi Garner

Mekhi Garner, a former player for the University of Louisiana-Lafayette, joins LSU as the only outside corner they grabbed out of the transfer portal.

The 6-foot-2, 217 pound junior still has two years of eligibility left, and he definitely brings veteran presence to a young LSU cornerback room. He has played as a starter for two years at this point.

In his starts, Garner made 15 pass break ups and three interceptions, and he became a Sun Belt Third-Team player this past year. 

When watching games, teams stray from targeting him most times. Whenever he does get targeted, though, he plays well at the catch point. Sun Belt teams definitely feared him.

Can he play the same way in the SEC? That is his big question. However, the outside cornerback room is young, so do not be surprised if he starts. 

Noah Cain

Noah Cain is the Tyrion Davis-Price replacement. Out of all these players and their defined roles, Cain’s remains the easiest to tell because of his play style and frame.

Formerly out of Penn State, the 5-foot-10, 208 pound Louisiana native came back to the state as a graduate transfer with two years left.

Despite being highly ranked during his recruitment, Cain suffered an up-and-down career at Penn State due to injuries. He played well as a freshman, but suffered a season-ending injury in 2020 and did not play as well this past season.

With that being said, Cain plays a physical game. He takes on contact and remains upright. He is the epitome of “yards after contact”. Cain is the one coaches put in on fourth and one to establish a threat for a short-yard carry.

Cain projects as a rotation back in LSU’s deep running back room, but he stands out as the tone setter amongst his peers. Emery, Kiner, and Goodwin play differently than Cain, so he immediately has an advantage there. Expect him to get some carries when LSU really needs the yards.

West Weeks

Former Virginia linebacker, West Weeks, who stands at 6-foot-2, 220 pounds, should add immediate depth to a position group that needs it.

Weeks, a freshman, came into LSU as a versatile player. He mainly played inside linebacker at UVA, but he can play outside linebacker. 

Weeks supplements a thin linebacker room, but he mostly projects as a rotation player unless he can truly take the job from players like Micah Baskerville or five-star freshman Harold Perkins. He does have an opportunity to start due to the lack of depth, but he may not immediately snatch a starting role.

Weeks is a good addition for Kelly, and his experience helps him with the competition between him and some other talented players coming into that group. He may not start immediately, but he has the tools to make an impact.

Jarrick Bernard

Despite projecting as an outside corner, Jarrick Bernard brings versatility to LSU’s secondary due to his past experience at safety. This makes him like no other secondary transfer at this time.

The 6-foot-1, 200-pound Shreveport native most likely slots as a starting outside cornerback, though. That is the position he played when he received Big 12 First Team honors last season.

Like Mekhi Garner, Bernard exists to bring starting experience to a young cornerback room. However, Bernard is the more proven corner out of the two. He has good hands and he tracks the ball well. He is fast and fluid, making him effective on plays such as corner blitzes. Bernard is also a willing tackler, which is useful for plays that break past the first level.

Bernard is a good Power Five cornerback. He might be the best cornerback on the roster in terms of experience and skill. Honestly, anyone starting over him would be a shock.

Jay Bramblett

Jay Bramblett, who started at punter for Brian Kelly at Notre Dame, acts as veteran competition for a young kicking room.

LSU currently rosters a top recruit from 2021 in Peyton Todd, but Bramblett poses a bit of a challenge to Todd due to his experience with Kelly. Bramblett also came into college as a top punting recruit in 2019.

Aside from competition, Bramblett genuinely does a good job at punting. He averaged 44.1 yards per punt and kicked his longest punt at 72 yards in 2021.

Bramblett brings a veteran presence to the program, but he is also a quality punter. Punting’s important to the game, so it is nice to have a good one.

Slade Roy

Former East Carolina long snapper Slade Roy adds more to the special teams. He started as a true freshman and transferred to LSU after the 2021 season.

Admittedly, commentary about long snappers is a bit harder than some of these other positions. Roy comes to LSU with plenty of eligibility and he seems like he can be a good starter. Special teams remain important; Roy is an important piece to them.