Things to watch as fall camp begins for LSU
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Fall camp for the Tigers begins this week, as the team is set to report on Tuesday, with practice beginning Wednesday at 10:05 a.m.
During camp, Lane Kiffin and his staff will do something a bit different than in years past by rotating between morning and evening practice sessions. No reason has been provided for why the schedule will flow this way, but it will be exciting to see just how much Lane Kiffin truly brings with him to Baton Rouge.
As camp gets underway, there are not many positions up for grabs for the Tigers. It appears Bo Bordelon has a firm grip on the left guard spot, while Weston Davis is beginning to separate himself at right tackle.
The wide receiver room is one of the deepest and most talented groups on the roster. PFF recently rated Jackson Harris as the highest-graded returning receiver in the SEC, and Jayce Brown was near the top of the list as well. That should have every LSU fan excited about Lane Kiffin and his staff’s ability to evaluate and develop talent.
On the defensive side of the ball, the household names have already locked up their spots at safety, linebacker, cornerback, and edge rusher. The questions to watch during camp are whether Jakeem Jackson can emerge as the third cornerback while staying healthy throughout the season, and whether Dominick McKinley can finally live up to those five-star expectations. McKinley wasn’t mentioned much throughout the spring, but his emergence and presence will certainly be needed this season.
The Tigers are also set to rely on some very talented true freshmen along the defensive line in Lamar Brown, Deuce Geralds, and Richard Anderson. Of the three, Anderson appears to have taken the offseason the most seriously. He has fully bought into the strength and conditioning program, and the physical results are already very evident.
The most exciting storyline to watch, however, is obviously Sam Leavitt. As Leavitt makes his full return from the Lisfranc injury he suffered last season, this will be his first opportunity to fully participate with the entire offense. The running game is a major focus of the offense that Lane Kiffin and Charlie Weis Jr. operate, so having Leavitt’s dynamic running ability paired with this extremely talented running back room should be a lot of fun to watch.
Speaking of the running backs, the Tigers may have landed one of the biggest gems of the entire transfer portal class. Kiffin pulled off something similar last season when he took a relatively unknown running back from Missouri, brought him to Oxford, and turned Kewan Lacy into a household name. The same thing could happen with the up-and-coming Dilin Jones.
Jones turned heads coming out of spring camp and has continued to impress heading into fall camp. He should be a tremendous addition to the offense alongside Leavitt.
This is the last Monday without some form of football for the rest of the year. You can almost smell it in the air.
Football is back, and the Tigers are once again the topic of every conversation.
What are you most excited to see heading into fall camp and which positions do you think need the most attention?
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