Here’s a look at where the team stands at each position through the first two media practices during spring ball.
LSU opened up spring ball earlier this month with good vibes but with a different approach as the Tigers will have a lot of new faces on the staff and on the roster.
LSU has had two practices available to the media but they were both only for 20 minutes of viewing time. Despite the shortness of the viewing periods, they were just enough things to report on what’s going on at LSU.
Here is the report from both of those practices.
Offense
So far, Garrett Nussmeier is QB1. No shocker there at all.
However, the real battle for the quarterback room is who will be the backup quarterback. The battle is currently being led by Vanderbilt transfer AJ Swann and redshirt freshman Rickie Collins.
Freshman Colin Hurley is also getting his feet wet in college which has its challenges given that he should be looking for a tuxedo for his high school prom right about now. Hurley, who recently turned 17, reclassified to join the Tigers next fall instead of 2025.
Due to Logan Diggs transferring to Ole Miss and Trey Holly dealing with some legal trouble, LSU enters spring ball with only two scholarship running backs on the roster. Veteran running back Josh Williams and rising sophomore Kaleb Jackson
The running backs have mainly worked on fundamentals such as handoffs, footwork, and short routes. All of the running back drills were led by running backs coach Frank Wilson.
It was my first time getting the chance to see incoming transfers, CJ Daniels and Zavion Thomas. Along with Kyren Lacy, they looked like the clear veterans of this young group given how they went through all the drills with ease.
Thomas is a player that will likely be used as a kick returner as well. However, that wasn’t the main reason Kelly and the LSU staff decided to bring him in.
However, it looks like the first-team receivers are Lacy, Chris Hilton and rising redshirt freshman Kyle Parker with Thomas and Parker not too far behind.
Parker, who looked impressive throughout the spring and fall of 2023, is showing promise once again. Because of this, he is seeing action with the first team.
At the tight end, Mason Taylor and Mac Markway took most of the reps on the first team. Taylor seems a lot healthier after battling a bum ankle throughout the 2023 season. Kamorreun Pimpton has been getting some reps as well.
At offensive line, LSU rolled out these five linemen in its first-team offense: Will Campbell at left tackle, Garrett Dellinger at left guard, DJ Chester at center, Miles Frazier at right guard and Emery Jones at right tackle.
Bo Bordelon took a good amount of reps at right tackle on the second team and Ethan Calloway looks like he has potential as he has great footwork and physicality during the first media practice a couple of weeks ago.
In the second media practice on Wednesday, redshirt freshman Tyree Adams was installed as part of the first-team offensive line due to Jones being absent, presumably nursing an injury.
Defense
LSU is hoping to return to its former glory after a disastrous 2023 campaign that led them to finish among the worst defenses in the country and the whole defensive staff being let go after the season.
Fortunately for the Tigers, they put together one of the best defensive staff in the country. LSU managed to bring back Blake Baker as its defensive coordinator and Corey Raymond as the cornerbacks coach. LSU also managed to poach Bo Davis from Texas. Davis, who is an LSU alumnus, is one of the most respected defensive line coaches in the country regardless of level.
Despite the defense returning a lot of key pieces from last year, they lack depth on the interior defensive line. The only player LSU retained on the interior that played a significant amount of time was Jacobian Guillory who decided to return for his senior season instead of declaring to go pro.
Besides Guillory, the only scholarship players in the interior are Shone Washington, Preston Hickey, De’Myrion Johnson and Jalen Lee. LSU also converted former offensive lineman Kimo Makene’ole to the defensive line.
For the linebackers, Harold Perkins had more than enough reps working with Baker, where he was able to showcase his elite skillset. Whit and West Weeks looked lively in the drills and Christian Brathwaite got some nice reps too. Greg Penn, who will be entering his third season as a starter, was active in the drills as well
Perkins will remain on the inside as a WILL linebacker, but Kelly believes this is the best place to put him and having a new voice like Baker calling the shots will maximize his potential.
Penn believes that Perkins will adjust to his new role given his versatility.
Penn also is also very comfortable with new LSU defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Blake Baker as he was his linebackers coach at LSU his freshman season before taking the defensive coordinator job at Missouri.
Penn, who was mentored by Baker his freshman season, watched how he turned Damone Clark from an inconsistent player into a Butkus Award Finalist and a fifth-round draft pick to the Dallas Cowboys.
At cornerback, Javien Toviano and Ashton Stamps have been taking most of the first-team reps. The other cornerback tandems following them are Jyaire Brown and JK Johnson taking the second-team reps while Jeremiah Hughes and PJ Woodland are the third cornerback pairing.
Stalwart cornerback Zy Alexander will miss the spring due to an ACL tear he suffered against Army last October, ultimately causing him to miss the second half of the season.
At safety, Baton Rouge natives Jardin Gilbert and Major Burns were taking all of the first-team reps while Sage Ryan took most of the first-team reps at nickel. Gilbert, who attended high school at the University Lab School on LSU’s campus, transferred in from Texas A&M after last season.