By LEE BRECHEEN, Louisiana Football Magazine
The tradition of exceptional LSU linebackers has been as good as anyone’s over the years with greats like Mike Anderson, Bo Harris, George Bevan, Michael Brooks, Ron Sancho, Eric Hill, Trev Faulk, Bradie James, Kelvin Sheppard, Perry Riley, and Kendall Beckwith.
Currently there are plenty of Tiger linebackers in the NFL: Duke Riley (Miami), Deion Jones (Atlanta), Devin White (Tampa Bay), Jacob Phillips (Cleveland), Jabril Cox (Dallas), Patrick Queen (Baltimore), Kevin Minter (Tampa Bay), Kwon Alexander (New York Jets) and Damone Clark (Dallas).
This year’s LSU team has some future NFL players on the roster, but at linebacker, those future pros are a little bit under the radar going into the 2022 season.
Watching practice, I have been impressed with several LB’s for the Tigers.
Going into LSU’s opener with Florida State, you might see two start and play most of the downs, but by Week 5, the position might be more of a five or six-man rotation. That many can play.
The two starters going into September appear to be veteran leaders, headed by a familiar figure in Shreveport-Bossier football: Micah Baskerville (6-1, 230), who prepped at Evangel Christian. Baskerville has had his moments at LSU with big-time plays but has battled injuries that sidelined him for some games.
The other starter should be Mike Jones Jr. (6-1, 230), a junior who transferred from Clemson in 2021 with a degree in hand and two years left to play.
Both are strong, fast and built to play every down and have a ton of game experience between them. Jones played a lot for Clemson and as for Baskerville, who can forget his big blocked punt in 2019 against a closer-than-expected (for a while) Vanderbilt team. The play became a scoop and score for the freshman.
The depth for LSU in this room is stronger than that 2019 national championship team’s, which did not have many options at LB.
Coming off the bench and playing a lot will be Maryland native and true sophomore Greg Penn. He is a legit 6-2, 240 with 4.6 speed. I am impressed watching how well Penn runs for a 240-pounder. You can tell he could be a great one.
There’s another transfer, West Weeks (6-2, 238), who looks like an NFL middle linebacker. He plays full throttle and will help LSU in the rotation. Weeks was a starter coming over from Virginia in the ACC. His brother is also committed to the LSU program in the Class of 2023 as one of the top LB’s in the USA. I am impressed by Weeks’ toughness and how well he moves for such a big kid. West is his first name and he’s going to hit people so that they feel knocked out west.
The wildcard in the mix is true freshman Harold Perkins, who goes 6-2, 225 with 4.40 or better speed. He runs as well as any young LB I’ve seen come through LSU. Perkins will become a player for this defense at some point, if not in the first game of the season. This kid has a chance to be a future Round 1 NFL Draft pick. The sky is the limit for him.
Fifth-year senior Jared Small missed the 2021 season with an injury after leading everybody in the spring game with 14 tackles. Small is well-named. At 5-10, 215, he’s not big but he has football skills and leadership skills with 4.6 speed.
South Carolina transfer Kolbe Fields (6-0, 220) played in 2021 for the Gamecocks but thanks to the Covid-19 provisions, he is still considered a freshman for the 2022 season. I have watched him going back to his days at Archbishop Rummell High in New Orleans, and he has the stuff. Fields is not ready to be a starter but is getting better and reminds me of Duke Riley, who did not start until his third season at LSU.
Xavier Carter is a 6-3, 210-pound redshirt sophomore with 4.6 speed who has the ability and just needs to become a complete player. At times, Carter shows up in practice and sometimes you see he’s still learning.
True freshman DeMario Tolan (6-2, 222) has 4.6 speed and tons of ability. He might get some reps on special teams. After a year or two in the program, Tolan will be a great one. I see the ability in practice.
There are some walk-ons in the linebacker room who deserve respect. Fifth-year senior Hunter Faust (6-1, 225) came from Jesuit-New Orleans and is a special teams veteran. Sloan Wright (6-1, 235), a redshirt sophomore, will get a shot on special teams. Another redshirt sophomore, Matt Jayne (5-8, 190) is one of those guys who will flat-out earn special teams snaps despite his size. Freshman Seth Marcione (6-2, 210) has looked really good and appears to have a great future assuming he fills out to 230 pounds by 2023.
Notes on LSU’s linebackers: Seven are from out of state. Two are from Georgia, along with players from Missouri, Maryland, Florida, Texas and Tennessee.
Three are transfers from other colleges, where each played extensively.
Friday, I’ll give you my take on the quarterback room before coach Brian Kelly announces the starter. I’ll beat him to it.
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Contact Lee at lbrecheen@aol.com
Photo courtesy of LSU ATHLETICS