LSU 2026 FALL CAMP IS UPON US: DAY 1 & 2 INTRIGUE
- Lonn Phillips Sullivan
- 1 day ago
- 4 min read
Updated: 8 hours ago
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by LONN PHILLIPS SULLIVAN
As the early Baton Rouge morning creeped into the blinding heat of a mid-summer noon, the assembled media were delayed outside the wooden fence of LSU's Ponderosa.
They were scheduled to be inside the practice fence for the 2nd period of practice until the end of the 4th, but instead were kept away for the entirety of LSU's 2nd period....many wondering why the delay...could it be something serious happening (more on this later)...??
However, as soon as they could, the massive amount of assembled Baton Rouge, New Orleans, and national media all piled through the wooden fence behind legendary LSU Sports Info Director Michael Bonnette, all carrying their cameras and phones to grab as much film of LSU's starting quarterback.
How would Sam Leavitt look during his 1st Tigers practice???
All eyes (including coaches, teammates and media members) were trained on the first full outing for the LSU starter, making his comeback from a LisFranc injury that curtailed his final season at Arizona State.
Following a non-participating background role throughout Spring Camp, Leavitt was seen tossing long fade routes down the field with velocity and power, while appearing physically and mechanically sound...most eyes fully fixed on his feet, watching for anything out of the norm.
From all indications, Sam Leavitt looks to be mostly healthy, but like a lot of these main mystery questions surrounding this squad, it's hard to ascertain if he's "game ready" right now, or if Lane Kiffin and Charlie Weis are hoping he will be by the time LSU faces off at home vs Clemson.....a repeat showdown set against an obligatory, almost annual Week 1 College Gameday orgasm.
It's too early to tell whether Leavitt will be fully healthy to start the season or if he'll be touch and go, but we'll all know in short order over the duration of fall camp.
Could LSU media & the fans get swindled once again in a mass injury cover-up for a 2nd straight season???
Not if you also keep your eyes on LSUOdyssey, the only media outlet who reported and stayed on & broke the Nussmeier injury story (as TigerRag noted & credited during one of our prior appearances on their great show)...from the fact he had two separate injuries to the shameless but understandable denials at the time from Kelly and LSU given to our publication.
His arm looked sharp, he was throwing accurately, on time, with precision, velocity, the footwork was sloppy at times, and Leavitt grew tired amid the rough Baton Rouge heat, but his effort never wilted, and I think he looked good in the little bit that everyone saw him.
The problems?
We just don't know anything about how Leavitt will perform yet.
We haven't seen him behind an offensive line, we haven't seen the ins and outs of his chemistry with his receivers (although we can make a few comments, such as Jayce Brown, Jackson Harris, Malik Elzy, and Trey'Dez Green looking like Leavitt's four favorite targets), we haven't seen how mobile he is yet running the dual threat RPO action, and we haven't seen him take a few hits yet. Once we witness his communication & adjustments, his durability, his mentality, and his chemistry with teammates, then we'll know where we're at....but you'd rather see those moments happen first in Fall Camp rather than vs Clemson.
Elsewhere, maybe even more than trying to capture the visage of Lane Kiffin's chiseled hot yoga jawline, the gathered LSU media wanted to capture footage and get a few looks at Ed Orgeron's unthinkable, improbable, but almost destined LSU coaching return.
It was surreal to see Ed Orgeron back at a Tigers practice, and maybe it was a bit humbling for Coach O, too:
He was once the Head Coach here, and at one point, for a very short time in between the 2019 National Championship run and 2020 & 2021's hellish pandemic-toxic seasons, Coach O could do no wrong.
Cast as the King of LSU, once ascribed "Coach for Life", as well as remaining one of the true icons of college football, it was beautiful to see him on the sidelines screaming his head off at a great play, showing the violent enthusiasm of an unleashed, bloodthirsty pit bull finally allowed to attack a 3 pound steak.
Then, even Coach O's energy was topped by defensive coordinator Blake Baker bringing the heat, losing his mind at a few disrupted drills and errors, appearing to be absolutely ready for an incredible Year 3.
Meanwhile, former Wisconsin running back Dilin Jones is sticking out to many people around the LSU fanbase as the Tigers' potential starter in 2026......looking like a true athletic Adonis.
I've also been impressed by #88 WR Malik Elzy's hops, strength and fleet-footed ability to stretch the field. Yes, LSU possess a few aerial "Towers of Power" already, Trey'Dez Green, Roman Mothershed and Jackson Harris, but Elzy is just yet another weapon that should be a matchup nightmare.
Practices continue Thursday night around 6:30-7:00 pm central, but as we found out during the 1st practice, media availability times are subject to change.
There is a few whispers that an injury happened during the 2nd period, preventing the media from entering, and there's also a few indications of who that player is....but I think we'll know a bit more to be concrete about all the facts here once we see the 2nd practice.
DEFENSIVE STARTERS
DE Jordan Ross
DT Deuce Geralds
DT Rich Anderson
DE Princewill Umanmielen
LB Whit Weeks
LB TJ Dottery
SS Ty Benefield
FS Jhase Thomas
CB DJ Pickett
CB PJ Woodland
OFFENSIVE STARTERS
LT Jordan Seaton
LG Bo Bordelon
C Braelin Moore
RG Aliou Bah
RT Weston Davis
QB Sam Leavitt
RB Dilin Jones
TE Trey'dez Green
WR Jackson Harris
WR Jayce Brown
WR Malik Elzy
WATCH OUR FALL CAMP FILM ANALYSIS SHOW W/ LOUIS JOHNSON👇👀
by LONN PHILLIPS SULLIVAN
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