LSU adds special teams weapons for 2026 from transfer portal

LSU has announced the signing of Florida long snapper Mack Mulhern and punter Hayden Craig on Wednesday evening. The two are set to follow the Tigers’ new special teams coordinator Joe Houston from Florida to LSU, bolstering the special teams unit in year one for Lane Kiffin.

Punter Grant Chadwick remains on LSU’s roster and the expectation is that Craig will compete with Chadwick for the starting job this offseason. Chadwick ended the 2025 season with 62 punts for 45.71 yards per punt and 21 downed inside the 20. He had ample opportunities as the Tigers’ offense was one of the worst in the program’s history and he made the most of the opportunities.

Craig redshirted his freshman season at Florida in 2025, but came in as a five-star punter according to Kohls Kicking and he was the No. 3 punter by On3 in his class. Craig and Chadwick will be able to compete and grow together over the offseason as LSU looks to win in the third phase this season.

The next question for LSU comes at placekicker, where senior Damian Ramos is out of eligibility and backup Aeron Burrell entered the transfer portal. Houston will have to find an answer for next season as the Tigers have had a strong run of place kickers over the past decade to help them win close games. We’ll have to see how Houston also does in the return game after a lackluster year where Barion Brown and Zavion Thomas were seemingly underutilized.

To keep up with the latest players on the move, check out On3’s Transfer Portal wire. The On3 Transfer Portal Instagram account and Twitter account are excellent resources to stay up to date with the latest moves.

Stay tuned to the latest LSU content throughout the month of January on the Bengal Tiger On3