Brian Kelly on spring transfer window plans: ‘I like our roster’

The spring transfer window is a brief period for players to enter the portal and teams to try and fill gaps on their roster. It’s both a challenge and a tool for coaches, but in the case of LSU Tigers head coach Brian Kelly, it wasn’t something he wanted to lean on this year.

This spring, Kelly explained that he’s happy with where the LSU roster currently stands. So, he doesn’t necessarily feel the need to dip his toes into the portal and adjust the roster.

“I like our roster right now,” Brian Kelly said. “It wouldn’t surprise me if we didn’t have anybody in the portal on either side, either leaving our program or adding. If you ask me right now, I would be happy to take this roster right into May on both sides of it. Maybe that’s fool’s gold. Maybe that’s wishing more than it is anything else, but I like what we’ve done with this roster. I like the development of it.”

LSU currently has the second-ranked transfer portal class in the 2025 cycle, according to the On3 College Football Team Transfer Portal Rankings. That includes 23 players who have left LSU and another 18 who have joined the program through the portal.

Despite Brian Kelly saying he wasn’t planning on moves in the spring, LSU has already added two transfers this spring. Defensive lineman Bernard Gooden and defensive back AJ Haulcy are both entering the program this spring. That comes following several other players chose to enter the portal and leave LSU.

“Not all of that is in my control, obviously. But I can tell you we’re not actively saying, ‘We’ve gotta have this. We’ve gotta have that.’ We feel good about our roster. If something shows itself that is an incredible opportunity, we’re certainly going to investigate anytime that we can help our football team,” Kelly said. “And so we’re always going to be looking to help our team. But it’s not like it was, obviously, in January.”

From the outside looking in at the LSU program, analyst Greg McElroy shared this spring that he thinks Brian Kelly needs to add to the defensive line and safety position in the portal. That was largely for depth purposes, but it appears Kelly ended up agreeing with him. Gooden and Haulcy both will fill those positions of need.

LSU went 9-4 in 2024, the third season that Brian Kelly coached the Tigers. It was the first year they didn’t get to 10 wins as a program under Kelly and now he’s looking to bounce back with a run to the College Football Playoff.