Lane Kiffin has been earning his money over the past two weeks with the Transfer Portal open and in full swing. As Lane Kiffin takes over the LSU Tigers, he has a tall task on his hands as this roster had a ton of holes that needed to be filled after a disastrous season that cost Brian Kelly his job. Luckily for Lane Kiffin, he had a great roster at Ole Miss that he could turn to for his rebuild.
We've seen several coaches like Matt Campbell and Eric Morris tear their old programs to shreds on the way out the door, taking an absurd number of players with them. Lane Kiffin hasn't used the same approach, but he's picked his spots, landing some great pieces for his new team.
Lane Kiffin poaches TJ Dottery away from Ole Miss
At Midnight in Baton Rouge, Lane Kiffin struck as the Transfer Portal closed to new entrants landing former Clemson and Ole Miss linebacker TJ Dottery.
Committed to The Boot
— LSU Football (@LSUfootball) January 17, 2026
Welcome to Baton Rouge TJ Dottery pic.twitter.com/FZQ5rEOJQ1
Over the past two seasons, TJ Dottery has been one of Ole Miss's most productive players on defense, marking a big win for LSU. Dottery wore the green dot for Ole Miss, finishing this season with the most tackles in the SEC with 98, along with 1.5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, and 2 pass defenses.
The LSU Tigers will now have one of the most exciting linebacker duos in the Country as TJ Dottery will step into Blake Baker's defense next to Whit Weeks. The Tigers lost West Weeks and Harold Perkins Jr to the NFL which created a void in the middle that Dottery will get to fill.
Lane Kiffin hasn't gone scorched earth on Ole Miss, but he's now landed 3 former Rebels in WR Winston Watkins Jr, OL Devin Harper, and LB TJ Dottery.