Brian Kelly and his 2025 LSU football roster have officially turned their offseason momentum in a positive direction, as the Tigers have now landed two transfer portal pledges in the last two days, with former Florida cornerback Ja’Keem Jackson becoming the latest.
LSU signs former top-100 Florida cornerback Ja’Keem Jackson in 2025 transfer portal
The 2025 transfer portal first opened up Monday, December 9, 2024, and since then, it’s been something of a whirlwind for coach Brian Kelly and his LSU football team. Not only are they in the midst of preparing for their upcoming Kinder’s Texas Bowl matchup against Baylor later this month, but with the transfer portal and NFL opt-outs all occurring at the same time, there’s no to breathe.
Add in the fact that the Tigers have already lost six defensive backs t0 the portal in less than a week, it’s hard to say that things have gone smoothly since the regular season came to a close in late November.
Even still, NIL has been a significant discussion topic for Kelly and his coaching staff in 2024. They understand that things didn’t go as hoped in the 2024 portal period, and it appears that they’re ready to make some wholesale changes to both their roster, as well as their money management, and while it’s still early, things are certainly starting to fall into place.
LSU landed its first transfer portal commitment of the cycle Friday afternoon, as former Oklahoma and Southeastern tight end Bauer Sharp announced his pledge to the purple and gold for his final season of eligibility. Now, less than 24 hours later, commitment No. 2 has been made official, with former Florida cornerback Ja’Keem Jackson signing his papers early Saturday morning.
A former top-100 recruit in the class of 2023, Jackson has ideal length for his position, being listed at 6-foot-1, 189 pounds.
While his production hasn’t exactly been anything to write home about over his first two seasons of college football – logging 11 total tackles and four passes defended in 13 game appearances – it doesn’t take long to at the very least see his potential.
A former primary pass catcher in high school, Ja’Keem Jackson is still fairly new to the defensive side of the ball, but what he does have is impressive ball skills and a feel for both sides of the passing game.
Furthermore, with a high school 4.5 second 40-yard dash, he has everything he needs to be successful at the college football level. Now it’s just a matter of whether secondary coach Corey Raymond can bring it all together for him.
LSU football now sits with two incoming transfers – both of which come from opposing SEC programs – compared to a whopping 16 players outgoing. While it’s just a start, it’s at the very least an encouraging one, and one that should have Brian Kelly and his coaching staff feeling good, as we move into the remainder of this December transfer portal period.
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