Kirk Herbstreit Believes 'Sky Is the Limit' for Major College Football Program – Sports Illustrated

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Nearly 20 different Power Four college football programs enter their first season under a new head coach in 2026.
The increasing popularization of the NCAA transfer portal in the years following its inception has created a tool that can mitigate the effects of a coaching change.
Indiana transformed from a perennial bottom-feeder in the Big Ten to a national champion in a two-year period under Curt Cignetti, largely because of the opportunities it took advantage of in the 2024 and 2025 portal cycles.
New LSU head coach Lane Kiffin is another who has become synonymous with portal acquisitions in the last five years. Kiffin amassed a 55-19 overall record in six seasons as the head coach at Ole Miss, a result largely made possible by the play of a large number of transfers he acquired in those years.
The Tigers reeled in 40 transfers during the 2026 portal cycle, a tenth of which followed Kiffin from Ole Miss to LSU. A trio of these transfers ranked as five-stars in the cycle: quarterback Sam Leavitt (Arizona State), Jordan Seaton (Colorado) and Princewill Umanmielen (Ole Miss).
The portal is not something Kiffin wants to continually utilize in his tenure at LSU; his goal is to capitalize on the blue-chip high school talent Louisiana offers.
Former Ohio State quarterback and College GameDay panelist Kirk Herbstreit gave Kiffin a ringing endorsement on "The Pat McAfee Show" on Tuesday, specifically highlighting the potential for Kiffin on the recruiting trail within state borders.
"I think the sky's the limit with Lane Kiffin. I know that he is a polarizing figure, I know a lot of people like to talk about stuff he says, but I'm telling you, I think he's going to bring an energy," Herbstreit said.
"When you're around LSU when they're rolling, it's different than any other program in the country. When they recruit the state of Louisiana, there is such pride in that state when it comes to how good they are at football."
LSU recruits blue-chip talent in close proximity not only within Louisiana but in southern Mississippi as well. Not only are the Tigers recruiting from one of the strongest talent wells in the country, but they also lack Power Four competition for those in-state recruits.
Many programs in the deeper talent pools across the SEC lack this luxury. Texas and Texas A&M compete fiercely for talent within the state of Texas, and Texas Tech's new approach to transfers and recruits adds another layer of difficulty.
Florida is also engaged in a three-way recruiting battle for Miami and Florida State for in-state talent, the former of which has surged back into the national spotlight after two decades of irrelevance.
Kiffin can also sell his high-octane offense to in-state recruits, something that did not frequently exist in previous LSU coaching regimes. Florida Atlantic and Ole Miss consistently produced at a high clip on offense while under Kiffin's leadership.
The Tigers caught lightning in a bottle when Joe Burrow and Jayden Daniels were playing quarterback, but much of the last 15 years has been full of one-dimensional offense and stifling defense.
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Tucker Harlin is a passionate sports fan and journalist covering college sports. His work can be found on Vols Wire of the USA TODAY Sports Media Group and The Voice of College Football Network. He graduated from the School of Journalism and Media at the University of Tennessee in 2024 and is based in Nashville.
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