LSU 2025 FALL CAMP 1ST WEEK | BIGGEST TAKEAWAYS

Lonn Phillips Sullivan
Aug 2
6 min read

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After 4 days of Fall Camp, the players are settling in, the pads are taken out of the equipment trucks, and the true meat of this all-important period begins to take hold...a sweeping flurry of limbs, helmets crashing, coaches barking like rabid dogs, it is all under way...and we've identified some striking developments throughout these first days:

THE ENERGY

-During the first few days of Spring or especially Fall Camp, I'm always paying more attention to vibes rather than who may be on the 2nd team one day over the next (although that information is still quite relevant).

The vibes, the energy, the cohesion, the urgency, the competitive psychosis....I am looking for all of these indicators of a great team.

Back in 2022, being at Fall Camp, I was high on the team, enjoying what I was viewing and digging the camaraderie between players, however, it was all too clear:

While there were some stud standout veterans like Jayden Daniels, Malik Nabers, BJ Ojulari, Mekhi Wingo, Jay Ward, and Jaquelin Roy, that 2022 team never felt complete, knowing the hellish roster overhaul & constant transfer-body-bandaiding Kelly was forced to undergo just to make up the numbers, and they lacked confidence in the details.....still, the 2022 Tigers made an SEC Championship Game for just the 2nd time since 2011.....

Point is, I see these 2025 Tigers, and I am seeing the discipline, the true depth, the dawgs & raging psychopath players that were nowhere in sight over the past 5 years, an ability to execute the details, an expectation & an upholding of high standards...all backed by a swaggering confidence that wasn't there for the first 3 years of the Kelly era...and that "kick you in the ass" mentality, from Weeks to Pyburn to Gooden is infectious.

I am not saying the 2025 Tigers are definitively better than any Kelly era team....they haven't played a football game, yet.

However, Brian Kelly and his staff, oozing with longtime continuity & a knowing, unspoken pressure, signed the exact pieces they needed in the offseason...not only adding great players to their roster, they've bolstered & infected championship level returning Tigers like Nussmeier, Weeks, and Perkins with their in-your-face confidence and scalp-hunting determination.

BIG CHANGE @ CENTER

-As we witnessed with 1st team switches and Brian Kelly's own press conference declaration, Braelin Moore is now LSU's starting center, as 2024 starter DJ Chester slides over to left guard.

This is the right call, maximizing two players along such a key area of the offensive line and finding a vastly experienced, physically adept (even clever) anchor in Moore.

THE RECEIVING DEPTH IS BOTTOMLESS

-One day it'll be Destyn Hill turning heads thanks to a couple ridiculous one handed catches, then the next Chris Hilton Jr or Barion Brown are catching bombs down the sidelines, peering over their shoulder as they make contested catches vs tough coverage....even freshman TaRon Francis had his say when pulling down a filthy catch over 6'5 freshman phenom DJ Pickett....

Now after a few practices of limited participation, Nic Anderson is back to his best and looking sharper by the day, plus Alex Atkins' tight ends room continually impress in the passing game via Bauer Sharp, Trey'Dez and Donovan Green all making plays in the flat, over the middle, and inside critical short yardage plays, there will be no shortage of targets for QB Garrett Nussmeier....the fun (and the key to LSU's success) will be watching how offensive coordinators Joe Sloan / Cortez Hankton strike the right balance between finesse and physicality, a quick striking / up tempo passing attack alongside a controlling, dictatorial ground game....however, possessing an insatiable, tyrannical cavalcade of aerial artillery, and a QB of Nussmeier's precision & pure arm talent, LSU's offense have a chance to make offensive history for the 3rd time in 6 seasons.

BERNARD GOODEN WILL BE A ROCK STAR

-No, I'm not saying UCF's former 3 tech DT will be strapping on a Gibson Les Paul and shredding the solo to "Comfortably Numb", as cool as that would be, but I am saying due to Bernard Gooden's savage, penetrative play up front, always seeming to disrupt and create chaos in the backfield or along the line of scrimmage, LSU fans will love watching his hungry, violent insurgency.

Gooden is also a trash talker who backs up his words, feeding off the humiliation of his opponents.

MANAGING THE REPS OF WHIT WEEKS, HAROLD PERKINS & JACOBIAN GUILLORY

-Through these first 4 days of practice, all 3 returning Tigers who suffered season ending/long term injuries were rotated in and out of the action, switched to backup roles, and generally had their reps limited.

Because of the nature of a torn ACL, a broken fibula / broken ankle, and a torn achilles, as well as the importance of this power trio of veteran Tigers, keeping them injury free is everything at this point.

This is no surprise and should be of no real concern for any Tiger fan...in fact, if Kelly's coaching staff weren't cautious (as we watched with John Emery Jr last season) I would be worried.

JUJUAN JOHNSON MOVED TO RUNNING BACK????

-Jujuan Johnson may just be the most athletic Tiger on the roster outside of Harold Perkins, arriving at LSU as a highly recruited cornerback prospect (nearly signing with Deion Sanders' Colorado...until he felt the freezing chill of a Rocky Mountain winter), Johnson set all time Louisiana high school records as a dazzling, gravity-defying dual threat quarterback, before trying his hand at running back in 2024 as a freshman, then trying his hand at wildcat packages this past Spring.

Well, now that Trey Holly won't be with the squad this fall. Johnson is getting a steady dose of carries at running back, even topping #2 back Kaleb Jackson's touches during Saturday's practice.

Will 2025, his second year, become the campaign where Ju'juan Johnson is able to find his positional home, as a running back of the future and the now???

He could be that wily third option, aiming to pick up steady streams of positive yards, even if it's chunk plays to assist Caden Durham's home run-hitting prowess and Kaleb Jackson's physical power?

THE DEFENSE IS AGGRESSIVE, MEAN SPIRITED & HAS POTENTIAL TO BE FANTASTIC

-Although we haven't seen Blake Baker's defense in its final form, watching reps where Perkins & Weeks take their place in the lineup, alongside new transfers Jack Pyburn, Delane, and AJ Haulcy, has been riveting stuff.

There is such a strong mix of veterans, youth, speed, brutality, strength up front, and a siege of aggressive-minded players, all on the same wavelength.

While there isn't anything concrete to go on (as far as proven results as a unit) for me to suggest LSU will have a top 25 defense in 2025, it's just a feeling...a sense that this group, even with their flaws of unfamiliarity, some injury worries concerning key pillar defenders on their way back from long spells out, and an unproven sheen wrapping it all together, I still feel there's enough options at each position for Blake Baker's defensive staff to get this right.

Hell, maybe this group will even make Tiger fans feel a kind of violent nostalgia....like they're watching a vintage hell bent for leather LSU defense once again...arguably for the first time since 2018.

And when you have guys as solid and coveted as Patrick Payton, Jimari Butler, Bernard Gooden, Dashawn Spears, Javien Toviano, PJ Woodland, and Davhon Keys either coming off your bench, in the rotation or competing for significant playing time, you have every right to at least be excited about what's possible.

PROSPECTIVE STARTING XIs BASED ON FIRST WEEK

QB GARRETT NUSSMEIER

RB CADEN DURHAM

TE TREY'DEZ GREEN

LT TYREE ADAMS

LG CARIUS CURNE

C BRAELIN MOORE

RG JOSH THOMPSON

RT WESTON DAVIS

WR AARON ANDERSON

WR CHRIS HILTON JR

WR BARION BROWN

DE JACK PYBURN

DT AHMAD BREAUX

DT DOMINICK MCKINLEY

DE GABE RELIFORD

LB WHIT WEEKS

LB WEST WEEKS

⭐️ HAROLD PERKINS

FS/NB TAMARCUS COOLEY

SS AJ HAULCY

CB MANSOOR DELANE

CB DJ PICKETT

By LONN PHILLIPS SULLIVAN