LSU secured the commitment of defensive midfielder Arizona Paris Shand on Tuesday night, he announced via social media.
Shand, who will have two years remaining, becomes the second Arizona defensive quarterback the Tigers offer in a transfer portal.
Brian Kelly and defensive line coach Jamar Cain have been crying for the past seven days, as well as offering teammate Shand Kyon Barrs, who has finally committed to USC.
For Shand, the 6-foot-5, 290-pound threat from Toronto, Ontario has had solid form in Tucson with the Wildcats. In his second campaign with Arizona, he totaled 39 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, four sacks, forced two fumbles and recovered one.
As a freshman in 2021, he recorded 6 tackles, two tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, and two rushing quarterbacks.
LSU Will Add Defensive Linemen via Transfer Portal
With the declaration of Jaquelin Roy and BJ Ojulari for the 2023 NFL Draft, the Tigers went out and added three of the top players in the portal at the defensive line positions, but what next?
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Maason Smith is back, Mekhi Wingo is looking to take on a bigger role next year, Quency Wiggins is in and some talent up front, this unit is going to need some savvy veterans.
Jamar Cain has proven to be one of the country’s top recruiters in the defensive line position. How would he utilize this moon portal? LSU has made a bid for West Michigan defensive tackle Braden Fiske.
Fiske has been playing college football for five years, but stuck with one final year of eligibility. He finished the 2022 season with 58 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, six sacks, two forced fumbles, a fumble recovery, seven quarterback rushes and three pass breakups. For his collegiate career, he tallied 148 tackles, 27.5 tackles for loss and 13.5 career sacks.
Brian Kelly Transfer Portal Message:
“They have to fit snugly first,” Kelly said. “They have to recognize the educational value of LSU. They must have the right properties. We are not only open for business. We don’t just put up a sign that says, hey, we’ll take anyone. They must match. I prefer them to be from the state of Louisiana if we can find them. And then we’ll cover needs based on how that freshman class marries that special needs by position class.
“So we will not burden certain position groups. In other words, if we have three or four wide receivers signed by freshmen, you may not see a big impact on the portal in that position.
“We will also develop based on our new student class. So we’re doing this at the same time, and also allowing our program to be younger as well. We want to take both. We don’t always want to be a turn-it-over program where we take transfers and reverse programs.”