Jaylen Addai’s rise into Top 15 makes legacy pursuit more important for Lane Kiffin

The Lane Kiffin era is well underway in Baton Rouge as the new head coach prepares for his first season leading the LSU Tigers. Lane Kiffin's transition was made easier by the fact that Brian Kelly and his staff built a great recruiting class that he just needed to keep in place. After signing his first recruiting class, Lane Kiffin is tasked with building a class of his own.

One of the biggest reasons for Lane Kiffin's decison to take the LSU job was the advantages the program can give him on the recruiting trail. Between the In-State talent and some of the legacy recruits in the pipeline, Lane Kiffin should have no problem building loaded classes year over year.

Joseph Addai’s son is rising fast and his Top 15 ranking makes him a pivotal target for Lane Kiffin

On Monday Morning, Rivals unveiled their initial Top 300 recruiting rankings for the 2028 recruiting cycle. Cracking the Top 15 was Texas Native Jaylen Addai who debuts as the 14th ranked player in the 2028 class.

Jaylen Addai is a familiar name for football fans as the son of running back Joseph Addai. During his college career, Joseph Addai was a star for the LSU Tigers becoming the 30th Overall Pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. Addai went on to win a Super Bowl for the Colts after winning a National Championship at LSU making the Pro Bowl in 2007.

LSU's new coaching staff offered Jaylen Addai a scholarship back in January joining the race for the legacy recruit. Last season, Jaylen Addai caught 37 passes for 779 yards and 14 touchdowns as a Sophomore.

Given how talent Jaylen Addai is, he'd be a major target for LSU to begin with, but given the fact that he's a legacy recruit, he becomes a must get target for the Tigers. Lane Kiffin isn't the only Tiger targeting Jaylen Addai as 2027 commit Peyton Houston is already trying to form a star QB-WR duo.

The LSU Tigers have plenty of time to start pitching Jaylen Addai on following in his father's footsteps which is great news. Landing Jaylen Addai would give the Tigers another star wide receiver who can become the next stadnout to make it to the NFL.