By RON HIGGINS, Journal Sports
BATON ROUGE – If there are any lingering questions about LSU’s 2025 football team as it started the first of 21 preseason practices Wednesday morning, the answers will be revealed quickly.
Because by design, Tigers’ head coach Brian Kelly knows what and who will fill in the blanks. The first two weeks of preseason practice are just for confirmation.
“This has been an ongoing process that started in January,” Kelly said after splitting his first 75-minute practice between working indoors and outdoors. “We’ve been doing this for seven months with this group.
“Seven months of observation, seven months of leadership development, seven months of working physically and technically and tactically, and bringing this together. I feel really good about the football team we put out on the field in three and a half to four weeks (in the Aug. 30 season opener at Clemson). I like where’ we’re at.”
In 11-on-11 drills indoors and outdoors and 5-on-7 outdoors, the expected brilliance of LSU senior quarterback Garrett Nussmeier and a deep and talented receiving corps were on display.
Nussmeier showed long-range accuracy on a 40-yard-plus TD throw to Kentucky transfer Barion Brown. He showed precision, completing his first seven throws in the 5-on-7 work.
And it wasn’t just the expected pass-catchers, such as returnees Aaron Anderson, Chris Hilton, Xavier Thomas, and Trey’Dez Green as well as transfers Brown and former Oklahoma tight end Bauer Sharp.
It was also someone like redshirt sophomore Destyn Hill, a former Florida State signee from New Orleans Edna Karr. Hill played 10 games two years ago for the Seminoles before missing all of last season after tearing an anterior cruciate knee ligament in a 2024 spring practice.
Hill made at least five catches in Wednesday’s first practice, several grabs in crowds of defenders.
“We have eight SEC high-caliber receivers,” Kelly said. “The biggest management right now is putting them position to succeed and being smart about it. We have the depth to lessen the playing load for these guys across the board and keep them fresh. We’re going to be rolling guys in and out.”
The defense received an opening day boost with the return of linebackers Whit Weeks and Harold Perkins Jr., both of whom missed all of spring practice recovering from knee surgeries after torn ACLs they sustained last season.
Weeks is back as a starting inside linebacker, pairing with older brother West Weeks. Perkins is playing the “star” spot, a hybrid linebacker/safety who provides both run support and pass coverage.
“Their presence is impactful,” Kelly said. “The temperature is a little bit different when those two guys are in the room. People talk about missing somebody. It’s hard to replace great players, but it’s even harder to replace great leaders. Those guys lead by example and make a huge difference.”
Transfer portal acquisitions dotted LSU’s opening day depth chart.
Junior Braelin Moore, who started 24 games for Virginia Tech (12 at center, 12 at guard), takes over at center. It affords Kelly the luxury of moving DJ Chester, LSU’s starting center last year, to starting left guard.
Starting at right guard is senior Josh Thompson, who started 21 games the last two seasons at Northwestern.
Kelly feels he has the right pieces in place on the O-line with new starters at every position. It just needs a crash chemistry before the opener at Clemson.
Defensively, edge rushers seniors Jack Pyburn (Florida) and Patrick Payton (Florida State) and graduate student Jimari Butker (Nebraska) are starters or in the playing rotation as is senior cornerback Mansoor Delane (Virginia Tech), senior safety AJ Haulcy (Houston) and sophomore safety Tamarcus Cooley (Virginia Tech).
“We got some tools where (defensive coordinator) Blake Baker can be himself and call the defense the way he wants,” Kelly said.
Kelly said Wednesday’s first practice was shortened by design.
“We’re going to have several days where you acclimatize your football team,” Kelly said. “We felt like the data that we have compiled over the last three years relative to short-term soft tissue injuries, the first seven days are the highest incident for soft tissue injuries.
‘We wanted to be able to increase the player load each and every day. We’ll go for four days, and we’ll have a day off. We’ll go for three days and have a day off.”
Freshman offensive lineman Solomon Thomas is the only injured player sidelined for a significant amount of time. He’s sidelined for a month after sustaining a broken toe.
Contact Ron at ronhigginsmedia@gmail.com