BREAKING: LSU lands Florida transfer Jack Pyburn

The LSU football staff has landed Florida transfer EDGE rusher Jack Pyburn out of the NCAA Transfer Portal.

Pyburn becomes the second EDGE rusher LSU has landed out of the portal during December’s 21-day window, joining Nebraska EDGE rusher transfer Jimari Butler.

With LSU senior Bradyn Swinson turning in a breakout season ahead of the 2025 NFL Draft, defensive coordinator Blake Baker and defensive ends/EDGE coach Kevin Peoples have now landed a pair of talented starters from the portal.

While LSU lost Da’Shawn Womack to the portal, the Tigers return freshman standout Gabriel Reliford and redshirt freshman Dylan Carpenter.

At 6-foot-3, 265 pounds, Pyburn has one year of eligibility remaining after a breakout 2024 season for the Gators when he took over as the starting outside linebacker after Florida’s first bye week and started in the final eight games of the season. Pyburn finished second on the team with 60 tackles, adding four tackles for a loss, a sack and an interception.

Pyburn is expected to compete with Butler and the returning LSU players for the starting EDGE rusher position.

Pyburn became LSU’s sixth addition to the roster after the NCAA Transfer Portal opened on December 9.

Here’s the breakdown on the other five additions, how they fared at their former college and what roles they are expected to compete for in Baton Rouge ahead of next season.

QB Michael Van Buren – Mississippi State … Van Buren’s decision to leave Mississippi State comes after he was forced into immediate playing time as a true freshman when starting quarterback Blake Shapen went down with a season-ending injury. Van Buren played in 10 games, completing 55% of his passes while throwing for 1,886 yards, 11 touchdowns and seven interceptions. His best game of the year came against Georgia when Van Buren threw for more than 300 yards and logged three touchdowns. LSU has a starting quarterback in Garrett Nussmeier, who has already announced his decision to return for a final college season next fall. Now, Van Buren can step into the game at any time as a run-threat at quarterback, but is expected to back up Nussmeier, then compete to be the team’s starting quarterback in 2026. LSU backup quarterback Rickie Collins has already announced his intention to transfer, and it remains to be seen what Van Buren’s commitment to LSU will mean for the two other scholarship quarterbacks in Colin Hurley and former Vanderbilt transfer AJ Swann.

TE Bauer Sharp – Oklahoma … With Mason Taylor headed to the NFL Draft, LSU needs multiple tight end additions given the plans are to continue to use former 5-star Trey’Dez Green in a pass-catching role. Sharp fits the bill for the LSU staff as the first of what is expected to be multiple tight end additions from the portal, and he’s coming off a 2024 season at Oklahoma that saw him lead the team in catches (42) and receiving yards (324). Whether he wins the starting job remains to be seen, but expect Bauer to be part of the two-tight ends sets and a player who gets reps each game next fall.

WR Barion Brown – Kentucky … Brown walks into LSU as a Day 1 starter at wide receiver – and he could earn even bigger roles. The Bengal Tiger’s Matthew Brune broke down all the ways Kentucky used Brown, which included time spent at multiple receiver position, designed plays out of the backfield, jet sweeps and as a return specialist – and he’s currently tied for the SEC record with five kickoffs returned for touchdowns. The speedster is dynamic with the ball in his hands and has proven it on the SEC stage. Brown should step into the starting 11 on offense right away for the Tigers while also competing for the starting kickoff and punt returner role.

EDGE Jimari Butler – Nebraska … Bradyn Swinson and Saivion Jones both played 590+ snaps as defensive end/EDGE rushers for LSU this past season, but both are headed to the NFL Draft. The EDGE rusher with the third-most snaps played this year was true freshman Gabriel Reliford, who out-snapped Da’Shawn Womack by nine snaps (109-100). Womack entered the transfer portal and landed at Ole Miss, but the Tigers return Reliford after getting a full season under his belt. From there, the fourth-most snaps by an LSU EDGE rusher this past season was Dylan Carpenter with 20. With Swinson set to play on Sundays and Womack suiting up in Oxford next fall, expect LSU to take multiple EDGE rushers through the Transfer Portal as Reliford and Carpenter continue to develop. With 10 starts in 11 games played this past fall at Nebraska, Butler is certainly going to position himself to either win a starting job at EDGE rusher or be part of a talented rotation.

CB Ja’Keem Jackson – Florida … LSU loses the team’s veteran cornerback in Zy Alexander, and the move to add Jackson comes after the Tigers signed the No. 1 cornerback in America in 5-star+ prospect DJ Pickett and the No. 1 cornerback in Louisiana in 4-star Aidan Anding. Jackson was recruited and signed by LSU secondary coach Corey Raymond during his time at Florida, and Jackson played for Raymond during the 2023 season. This past fall, Jackson started the first two games for Florida before being injured and later choosing to take a redshirt. Jackson hit the portal, made a visit to LSU and signed with the Tigers. That tells me the message is clear: Jackson is headed to LSU with the expectation of being a Day 1 starter vs. Clemson in the opener next season. Jackson was ranked as On3’s No. 3 cornerback prospect in the 2023 class.

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