BREAKING: LSU lands elite Florida State transfer Patrick Payton

LSU has landed another huge signee from the NCAA Transfer Portal, this time reeling in Florida State defensive end Patrick Payton.

Payton becomes the 13th player to announce his transfer decision to LSU, which follows up another big signee over the weekend in Virginia Tech center Braelin Moore, who is ranked as On3’s No. 1 interior offensive lineman in the portal.

All three picks on the Transfer Portal On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine (RPM) were on the Tigers, including a 90% confidence prediction from The Bengal Tiger’s Shea Dixon.

Payton is the No. 3 EDGE in On3’s Transfer Portal Rankings and a Top 20 overall prospect, though the rankings are far from finalized as portal season rolls on.

After playing his high school football at Northwestern in Miami, Florida, Payton was named a four-star recruit in the Class of 2021, according to the On3 Industry Ranking. He was the 22nd-ranked linebacker and the 180th-ranked player overall in the recruiting cycle.

In high school, he helped lead Miami Northwestern to the region quarterfinal round of 5A state playoffs. On top of that, he earned First-Team All-Dade 8A-5A recognition after helping lead the Bulls to the 5A state championship in his junior season.

After only playing in one season in 2021, he took a redshirt. He followed that up in 2022 by breaking out as one of the best young pass rushers in college football and was named the 2022 ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year.

In 40 total games at Florida State, Payton made 110 total tackles, including 32 tackles for a loss and 16 sacks. He’s defended 13 passes and has three forced fumbles. By far the most productive individual season he had was in 2023, when he made 44 tackles, including 15 tackles for a loss and 7.0 sacks. That went with 10 passes defended and a pair of forced fumbles.

Following a 12-0 season in Tallahassee in 2023, the Seminoles went 2-10 during the 2024 season, and Payton will now spend his final year of eligibility at LSU.

LSU lose Bradyn Swinson, Saivion Jones, and Dashawn Womack from the 2023 defensive line, but the Tigers added transfers from Nebraska in Jimari Butler and Florida in Jack Pyburn, and now Payton gives another huge boost to replenish LSU defensive ends coach Kevin People’s position room for the 2025 season.

Stay tuned to The Bengal Tiger and On3 for all the breaking LSU news from the NCAA Transfer Portal.

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When is the transfer portal open?

The college football transfer portal is scheduled for 30 days during the 2024-25 academic year. The NCAA Division I Council voted to move from 45 to 30 days in early October.

The portal will open at the end of the regular season, the day after the College Football Playoff field and bowl games are announced. According to the NCAA, the portal will open for business Monday, Dec. 9, 2024, and close on Dec. 28.

The spring window in April remains. The portal will only be 10 days, lasting from April 16, 2025, and shutting down on April 25, 2025. The transfer portal will open for 30 days whenever a head coach leaves their program, allowing athletes to leave and decide on their future, according to NCAA guidelines.

With the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff, the postseason will be longer. Athletes on teams that compete in the College Football Playoff and later bowl game will be allowed to enter an additional five-day transfer portal window in January after the portal closes.

More than 2,800 FBS scholarship players entered their names into the NCAA’s transfer database during the 2023-24 school year. Removing those who withdrew or went pro, the final total sat at 2,707 transfers. That means roughly 25% of all FBS scholarship players hit free agency in one year.

In data gathered over the first two years with transfer windows, the NCAA found most athletes enter the portal within the first four weeks of the portal opening. The study showed that 73% of men’s and women’s basketball undergraduate athletes entered during the first four weeks. That increased to 82% for men and 86% for women in 2024.