The LSU Football team finally returns to the field on Saturday March 8th as the Tigers kick off the first of their 15 Spring Practices. The Tigers enter the preseason with a ton of high expectations after landing Top Ten Recruiting and Transfer Portal Classes. Spring Practices will finally get the group on the field alongside LSU's returning core.
The influx of new talent makes Spring Practice more exciting than any of the previous years under Brian Kelly. As LSU enters the Spring the pieces are on the roster but, the coaching staff will be looking to see which players emerge as starters while others may eye the Spring Transfer Portal.
Ahead of Spring Practices, we'll be keeping an eye on these five position groups as LSU's roster shakeups begin.
Running Back
The LSU Football team has struggled under Brian Kelly to find a consistent rushing attack aside from when Jayden Daniels will run. As the Tigers enter Spring Camp, LSU has its starting running back in Caden Durham but, who plays behind Durham is one of the biggest questions. As Josh Williams, Rickie Collins, and John Emery Jr depart 35% of the carries from last season are up for grabs.
Kaleb Jackson was expected to be the Tigers lead back after the team left Summer camp but, he wasn't effective early on and Caden Durham's emergence took away from his carries. LSU signed the Nation's top running back Harlem Berry and another Top Ten running back recruit in JT Lindsey.
Lindsey will enroll this Summer but, Harlem Berry has been with the team since Bowl Game preparation and is ready to compete for a role. Berry has blazing speed and great ability as a receiver making him a threat to score every time he touches the football. Jackson is a bruising back and is likely more polished in pass protection at this stage in his career which will give him an edge. It'll be interesting to see which of the two emerges this Spring as Berry may be too talented to keep off the field.
Cornerback
Last year, Brian Kelly brought back Corey Raymond to coach cornerbacks as the Tigers looked to bring the DBU level of play back to LSU's secondary. Given when the defensive staff was hired, Raymond worked with a ton of the last regimes pieces but, he now has his own group of players he recruited.
Headlining the newcomers on defense are the Nation's top cornerback recruit DJ Pickett as well as transfers Mansoor Delane and Ja'Keem Jackson. Returning to the team are starting cornerback Ashton Stamps and PJ Woodland who received a ton of playing time early on as a Freshman.
This Spring, all eyes will be on DJ Pickett as he has the talent to start week one against Clemson and could follow a similar path to Derek Stingley Jr. Transfer Mansoor Delane will start somewhere in the secondary and if it's not at cornerback it'll be at safety. Ja'Keem Jackson was one of the top recruits in his class brought to Florida by Raymond and was slated to start for Florida this season before suffering a season ending injury.
Wide Receiver
The phrase "There's only one ball" rings true when you look at LSU's Wide Receiver core in 2025 as the Tigers are loaded at the position. LSU returns players who have started in Aaron Anderson, Chris Hilton Jr, Kyle Parker, and Zavion Thomas. That didn't stop LSU from going out and adding Barion Brown, Nic Anderson, and Destyn Hill via the transfer portal.
Kylan Billiot and Jelani Watkins come off of their Freshmen seasons and will look to push for playing time after a year developing. This Spring it'll be fascinating who emerges in LSU's wide receiver room and who may hit the transfer portal.
Nic Anderson and Aaron Anderson seem slated to be locked in as starting wide receivers for the Tigers. Chris Hilton Jr when healthy is one of the best deep threats in the Country and the Tigers added another piece that can take the top off the defense in Barion Brown. Zavion Thomas is the type of player where you just get the ball in his hands as often as possible.
LSU truly has three trios of wide receivers that you'd be excited about if they were the starters and it'll be interesting to see how the staff handles that much talent in one room.
Safety
LSU fans are beyond excited to see some new players filling the roles at safety as the Tigers play at the position has been subpar for a few seasons. The safety position may be the group with the most competition this Spring as it seems every role is truly up in the air.
Returning is starting safety Jardin Gilbert who transferred in from Texas A&M but, played through an injury the entire season. The Tigers also moved cornerback Javien Toviano to safety and he got his feet wet at the position during the Texas Bowl. Most fans will be keeping an eye on Dashawn Spears who got a ton of experience as a Freshman as he seems poised to take a leap.
The returning players will have some steep competition as LSU landed a starting caliber safety via the transfer portal in Tamarcus Cooley while signing three talented safeties in Jacob Bradford, Jhase Thomas, and CJ Jimcoily, all of which could fight for playing time.
The Tigers have finally brought elite level players back to the position and added a ton of competition which will only help as LSU tries to bring each along in their development.
Offensive Line
No group has undergone more change than LSU's offensive line which loses both starting offensive tackles and guards to the NFL. LSU used the transfer portal to bring in a Center in Braelin Moore and a Guard in Josh Thompson. The entire offensive line could see a new starter at each position as the addition of Moore will likely move DJ Chester off of center.
In the Texas Bowl, LSU started Tyree Adams at Left Tackle, Paul Mubenga at Left Guard, DJ Chester at Center, Bo Bordelon at Right Guard, and Miles Frazier at Right Tackle before Weston Davis and Coen Echols got experience at Tackle and Guard respectivley.
The Spring will see LSU deploy several different offensive line combinations and the movement may not be done until the end of the Summer. The good news for LSU is that there are plenty of highly ranked recruits in the room who have been waiting for the chance including the four they signed this recruiting cycle.