Mark Pszonak contributed to this report.

The transfer portal never stops grinding. LSU continues to be the hottest team in the portal, landing Missouri defensive lineman Mekhi Wingo as the latest plug and play addition to the Brian Kelly roster.

Recruiting: Wingo was the first Class of 2021 commitment at Missouri for new coach Eli Drinkwitz, which came in January, 2020. He grabbed his offer during a junior day and committed the following day. He had upwards of 15 offers at the time of his decision, including from Arkansas, Kansas, Kansas State, Iowa State, Purdue, Texas Tech, West Virginia and Louisville.

At Missouri: Wingo played in all 13 games in 2021 as a true freshman, with four starts. He finished with 27 tackles and one sack, and returned an interception 40 yards for a touchdown. He was named to the SEC all-freshman team following the season.

Farrell’s Take: Wingo hit the ground running in college playing a big role this past season as a true freshman and his power and quickness are advanced for a player his age. He also plays with a natural leverage and his pursuit is excellent. This was a big loss for Mizzou and LSU immediately became the early leader with his high school coach on board now. He should be able to push for a starting role immediately and will be one of the more athletic front seven defenders right away.

Impact Meter: 8.6 out of 10

IMPACT METER

The Transfer Portal continues to change the way college football programs recruit and manage their rosters so we here at Rivals.com continue to evolve our coverage. Each time a player of note enters the portal, we will examine their potential impact on the college football landscape and assign an impact rating, both when they enter the portal and when they choose a destination. The scale is from 1-10 and the description below explains the scoring scale.

1.1-4.0 — Not a big impact expected, likely a non-starter and down the bench depth player.

4.1- 6.0 — A solid impact can be expected in the right scenario and has the potential to battle for a starting job.

6.1-9.0. — A high impact player who won’t change a program but will certainly be a very good contributor and starter.

9.1- 9.9 — A very high impact player who should start the moment he steps on the field and will change the outlook of a program immediately.

10 — A franchise transfer who has a chance to be an All American and one of the elite players in college football.