Cottonport

Logan Schmidt just posted on his instagram that he’s coming to LSU

Chad Lavalais… Marksville HS in the 318

I do agree, snaps/holds seemed to be one of the biggest issues of special teams. Hopefully that is cleaned up this season

This post was made before we landed Haulcy

Fair point, this was more so a prediction on paper. But that’s why the game is played on the field lol

Lacy wasn’t quite on the level of the Jefferson’s, Chase’s, and Naber’s of the world.

This is my personal breakdown for each position group for the upcoming season with a way too early depth chart prediction. Feel free to add your own thoughts and grades.

QB
1. Garrett Nussmeier
2. Michael Van Buren
* Nuss enters his 5th season. The season goes as far as Nuss’s decision making takes us imo.
* Michael Van Buren from Miss St is about as good of a backup as it gets in the event Nuss goes down. Played in 10 games (started 8) for the bulldogs.
GRADE = A

RB
1. Caden Durham
2. Kaleb Jackson
3. Harlem Berry
4. Trey Holly (has a court date set in July)
* Durham is one of the top backs in the SEC
* With the loss of Josh Williams, gotta have a guy like Kaleb Jackson step up to be the #2 and help split reps
* If Trey Holly returns to the team I think he sees a lot of action
GRADE = B+

TE
1. Trey’Dez Green
2. Bauer Sharp
3. Donovan Green
* Really solid group overall. Trey’Dez green will be really important in the red zone.
* You have to replace the production of Mason Taylor but you get 2 solid transfers in Bauer Sharp (Oklahoma) and Donovan Green (Texas A&M)
* B. Sharpe = 42 rec, 324 yds, 2 TDs
* D. Green is a run blocking specialist when we go into jumbo sets
GRADE = B

WR
1. Aaron Anderson
2. Barion Brown
3. Chris Hilton
4. Zavion Thomas
5. Nic Anderson
6. Kyle Parker
7. Destyn Hill
* Overall, you don’t have a true #1 such as a Malik Nabers, Kyren Lacy, etc. but this should be a really well rounded group by committee that gets better as the year goes on
* Aaron Anderson (61 rec, 884 yds, 5 TDs in 2024) will be in slot
* Barion Brown is regarded by some as the fastest player in CFB (122 rec, 1528 yds, 11 TDs at Kentucky over 3 seasons)
* Chris Hilton has size and speed to have a breakout year. Played really well in the bowl game vs Baylor
* Nic Anderson transfers in from Oklahoma where he was hurt for the whole season last year but amassed 38 rec, 798 yds, and 10 TDs in 2023
GRADE = B+

OL
1. LT - Tyree Adams
2. LG - Josh Thompson
3. C - Braelin Moore
4. RG - DJ Chester or Coen Echols
5. RT - Weston Davis
* Really important group here. Have to do a much better job this season at establishing the run game.
* Gotta replace 2 really good tackles in Will Campbell and Emery Jones. Adams and Davis are relatively inexperienced.
* Braelin Moore comes in from Virginia Tech as the top rated center in the portal, while Josh Thompson comes in as a top rated lineman from Northwestern. These 2 should be plug and play guys
* Overall, this is a group who has to find a way to get going early bc they face a really strong Clemson D-Line in Week 1
Grade = B-

DL
1. DE - Patrick Payton / Jack Pyburn
2. DT - Dom McKinley / Guillory / Mitchell
3. DT - Ahmad Breaux / Bernard Gooden
4. DE - Jimari Butler / Gabe Reliford
* This group should be a strength of the defense. You have a lot of options and depth here for Blake Baker to give different looks
* The addition of Gooden was HUGE. You can never have enough D-Linemen
* Payton and Butler are rush specialists, while Pyburn is known for his ability to stop the run
* Breaux and McKinley should be primed to make a strong second year jump
* Mitchell is a big space eater, while Guillory is returning from injury
GRADE = A

LB
1. Harold Perkins
2. Whit Weeks
3. Davhon Keys
4. West Weeks
5. Charles Ross II
6. Tylen Singleton
* Led by Perkins and Whit Weeks as 2 of the top Linebackers in the SEC
* Davhon Keys started to play well towards the end of the season vs Oklahoma with 10 tackles and a sack
* Hopefully Blake Baker allows Perkins to do what he does best… and that’s rushing the passer
GRADE = A

CB / NB
1. Monsoor Delane
2. DJ Pickett
3. Ashton Stamps
4. Ja’Keem Jackson
5. Tamarcus Cooley
6. PJ Woodland
7. Aiden Anding
* Delane from V Tech is arguably the biggest portal haul of 2025 and should be an instant CB1
* 5 star DJ Pickett has plenty of length and speed, we’ll see how fast he can adapt to the physicality of the SEC
* Stamps and Jackson will also battle it out with Pickett for that #2 corner spot
* Ideally, Cooley slides into the nickel spot. It has been said that Woodland has also had a strong spring and is primed to push for playing time in the nickel role
* This group is relatively unknown but their progress will be pivotal in the success of the defense to show they can cover
GRADE = B

S
1. Dashawn Spears
2. Jardin Gilbert
3. Tamarcus Cooley
4. Javien Toviano
5. Joel Rogers
* This group is a huge question mark
* The addition of AJ Haulcy could certainly provide a boost to this group with his ability to tackle and cover. He also has great size at 6’ 215 lbs. We should have an answer on Haulcy soon
* It has been said that Spears had a pretty good spring
* If Cooley doesn’t play nickel, he will certainly be called upon to bolster the safety group
GRADE = C+

Special Teams
1. PK - Ramos
2. KO - Burrell
3. P - Grant Chadwick / Peyton Todd
4. PR - Zavion Thomas
5. KR - Barion Brown
* Ramos went 23 for 29 in 2024 (79.3%)
* Burrell is one of the top kickoff specialists in CFB with 66 of 74 kicks being touchbacks in ‘24
* Punter is a position that needs to show improvement in ‘25 and the addition of Chadwick from Middle Tennessee should help to create competition with Todd. I predict that Chadwick will win the job as he averaged 43.1 yds per punt as a freshman compared to Todd’s 41 yds per punt
* Zavion Thomas is a dynamic punt returner while Barion Brown will handle Kickoff return duties. Brown is one of the nation’s most electric returners with 5 career TD returns
* With the hire of new special teams coach, Aman Anand, I expect this group to show improvement for a position group that has given Brian Kelly trouble in the past
GRADE = B+

Reeves

We need Noot!

I’m pretty sure Skenes has visited

Where does LSU stand with Hurston Waldrep and Tanner Hall? Waldrep has electric stuff with a 97 mph fastball, but Hall’s low walk numbers are very intriguing, especially being a Louisiana guy from Zachary HS. I would love to pull one of them. Any shot?