LSU Tigers head coach Brian Kelly gave up his own money for the recruiting cause this past offseason, and it worked out as well as possible. On paper. The “Million Dollar Match Challenge” brought in $3.25 million, and that eventually funneled into a $18 million NIL bill for the team’s 2025 Transfer Portal class via the donor class’s help.
A top class wouldn’t have been possible if 5-star Belleville (MI) quarterback Bryce Underwood didn’t decommit and get a $12 million contract for four years in Ann Arbor with the Michigan Wolverines.
Worse yet, Underwood would’ve been riding the pine had he stayed at LSU. Garrett Nussmeier has one more season of eligibility before becoming a likely top NFL draft pick in 2026.
The Baton Rouge Advocate’s Scott Rabalais believes Underwood’s absence from Kelly’s QB room, combined with Nussmeier’s impending departure, could provoke the Tigers to go back into the Transfer Portal to look for their starting signal-caller during the next portal cycle.
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“Losing out on Underwood may have spurred LSU and its well-heeled boosters to help build a contender roster this year, but recruiting is an annual thing. Nussmeier will leave for the NFL after this season — LSU clearly made it worth his while to stay for 2025. That means the Tigers will look to recently transferred quarterback Michael Van Buren from Mississippi State or current redshirt freshman Colin Hurley to be their quarterback in 2026,” Rabalais wrote.
“Just as likely, LSU will head back into the portal to try to entice a proven quarterback to transfer in for next season. Quarterbacks bounce all over the college football map these days, but you don’t find a really good one in the discount aisle. If LSU wants/needs to go that route for next season, it will cost dearly.”
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The Tigers are almost certainly going transfer hunting next year. It’ll either be for a QB1 or a depth piece in Kelly’s room, or it’ll be for a new head coach altogether. Kelly was a loss to the Vanderbilt Commodores away from being let go last season. Another eight-win finish likely has a different coach who can turn massive spending into success in the seat.
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