The Lane Kiffin era is off to a roaring start for the LSU Tigers.
The veteran coach had a busy Friday in Baton Rouge. He first secured the crown jewel of the 2026 college football recruiting class, Lamar Brown. The defensive tackle had previously committed to LSU, but his commitment had been wavering amid the school’s coaching search.
With just hours left in the December signing period, Kiffin was officially able to fend off Texas A&M and convince Brown to stay.
No. 1 overall recruit Lamar Brown has officially signed with LSU🐯https://t.co/RuPr47UNBZ pic.twitter.com/cEaiDxK964
— Rivals (@Rivals) December 5, 2025
Kiffin had met with Brown on Sunday, just hours after officially being named LSU’s next head coach. It helped logistically that Brown is from Baton Rouge and attended high school in the area.
Later in the day, Kiffin himself confirmed the news that defensive coordinator Blake Baker was staying on the LSU staff. The news capped off what Kiffin described as “a really long amazing Friday” for LSU.
Sorry couldn’t make it to Atlanta, but so excited that I stayed to finish this all up!! @CoachBlakeBaker is going nowhere !!!! 🐯
— Lane Kiffin (@Lane_Kiffin) December 6, 2025
What a really long amazing Friday for @LSUfootball #ItsDifferent https://t.co/Z84PhdeGVz
Baker turned down an offer to become the head coach at Tulane, his alma mater, to play out the final year of the three-year, $7.5 million contract he signed in 2023.
With big commitments secured on both the coaching and recruitment fronts, Kiffin’s first week at LSU has objectively been a success.
