LSU DB Sage Ryan announces return to the Tigers
LSU redshirt sophomore defensive back Sage Ryan announced on social media last week that he plans to enter the transfer portal. Now, he’s staying with the Tigers, he said on Tuesday.
The former top-50 player was one of the big wins for LSU’s prior regime in the 2021 class. After three years of modest production, Ryan wants to battle with his brothers, he told Lonn Phillips Sullivan, who originally broke Ryan’s plans to enter the portal.
“I wanna play for my state & for my brothers I sacrificed w/ since I got here,” he told LSUOdyssey.
The Lafayette, Louisiana, native has 64 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, and six pass breakups in 30 games, including a four-game redshirt his freshman season. He bounced from Nickel, to safety, to boundary corner this past season and showed some flashes of potential in his third year, but looks for more consistency in 2024.
Out of high school, Ryan was a highly-touted recruit on all three phases of the ball, but the 5-foot-11 defensive back has been unable to break out and truly capitalize on that potential in his time at LSU. Head coach Brian Kelly complimented his tackling ability and overall awareness on the boundary this season. After a conversation with Kelly, Ryan is back in Baton Rouge.
LSU’s still in the market for more cornerbacks over the coming weeks from the NCAA Transfer Portal. With Laterrance Welch transferring, Zy Alexander sidelined through the spring, uncertainty around Denver Harris and Duce Chestnut, and general inexperience, the urgency to add more defensive backs is there.
LSU has eight players either in or planning to enter the portal and five players from the Tigers’ 2023 defensive unit departing after a troublesome season on that side of the ball.
