Former Northwestern OL Josh Thompson becomes transfer commitment No. 14 for LSU football

The LSU football transfer portal class of 2025 jumped up to the No. 1 spot nationally Friday afternoon, after landing a commitment from former star Northwestern offensive lineman Josh Thompson.

LSU football lands four-star transfer portal commitment from ex-Northwestern IOL Josh Thompson

With just a couple days remaining until the “conclusion” of the 2025 December transfer portal period, LSU football continues to make some big-time moves, and they might not actually be officially done for a few more weeks, as the College Football Playoff contending teams still have some time to make decisions.

Entering Friday, the Tigers were sitting pretty with 13 total commitments for their 2025 transfer portal group. Considering that Brian Kelly was looking to land somewhere around 12 players a little less than a month ago, this was plenty reason to feel encouraged about the way things were trending.

Little did we know that there were still plenty of moves being made behind the scenes. Just last week, the purple and gold head coach gave a short update on his expectations for the final size of the group, explaining that the number could end up closer to 15 before things are all said and done.

Now, as we enter the final day of the official December period on the 28th, LSU football has quickly found itself within just one of hitting that total of 15 commitments, most recently landing a pledge and a signature from former Northwestern offensive lineman Josh Thompson Friday afternoon.

BREAKING: Northwestern transfer IOL Josh Thompson has Committed to LSU, he tells @on3sports

The 6’5 300 IOL started in 11 games this season (played in all 13)

Ranked as a Top 5 IOL in the Portal (per On3)https://t.co/RlUbB6Fk7q pic.twitter.com/8VIxX3EqUL

— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) December 27, 2024

While this won’t exactly be the most headline grabbing commitment of the offseason for Brian Kelly and his coaching staff, it very well may go on to be one of the most important.

Standing at 6-foot-5, 301 pounds, the soon-to-be 5th-year senior enters the 2025 college football season as one of the most experienced offensive linemen in all of college football. Having made appearances in 30+ games (including 20+ starts) over the last four seasons, Josh Thompson is set to bring an immediate starting presence to Baton Rouge.

Rated as the No. 66 player in the transfer portal, according to 247Sports, as well as No. 6 among fellow inside offensive linemen, the talented big man out of Fenton, MI, would have made an incredible addition for just about any team in the country. Thanks in large part to his pass blocking prowess – logging zero sacks allowed on 402 pass block snaps in 2024, according to PFF – he likely would have been able to start with any program he wanted.

The LSU football transfer portal class of 2025 now ranks No. 1 nationally, beating out teams like Texas Tech and Ole Miss with their 14 total commitments.

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