LSU football signs Kentucky wide receiver transfer Barion Brown

Three days after Garrett Nussmeier announced he was returning to LSU for the 2025 season, coach Brian Kelly and his staff got their star quarterback another weapon.

Kentucky’s Barion Brown, one of the top wide receivers in the transfer portal, has signed with the Tigers, according to a report from On3 Sports Saturday.

He becomes the third incoming transfer for LSU in its 2025 class, joining cornerback Ja’Keem Jackson (Florida) and tight end Bauer Sharp (Oklahoma).

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Brown was the second-leading wide receiver for a Wildcats team that finished the 2024 season with a disappointing 4-8 record while enduring inconsistent, often underwhelming quarterback play. The 6-foot-1, 182-pound Brown had 29 catches for 361 yards and three touchdowns.

Perhaps his biggest contributions came on special teams, where the speedy Nashville native was one of the most dangerous kickoff returners in the country.

In his three seasons at Kentucky, Brown returned five kickoffs for touchdowns, including an FBS-leading three during the 2023 season. Last season, he averaged 23.6 yards per return and scored a touchdown.

That was an area in which LSU didn’t struggle in 2024, as the Tigers averaged 25.84 yards per kickoff return during the regular season, the 10th-best mark in the FBS.