Brian Kelly announces LSU veteran Major Burns to be shut down with ankle injury

LSU safety Major Burns has been shut down for the rest of spring practice with an ankle injury, Brian Kelly told reporters Tuesday. He’s expected to be back in time for fall camp, though.

Burns has been dealing with an ankle injury and appeared to aggravate it, which is why Kelly made the decision to shut him down and try to get him ready for fall.

“Major has more of an injury. He had that ankle injury and he’s kind of re-injured that,” Kelly said. “We’re going to shut him down for the spring. … That’s just why you’re seeing young guys out there playing safety. We wanted to get healthy at those positions more so.”

Burns is gearing up for his third season with LSU after transferring from Georgia. Last year, he totaled 38 tackles and 3.5 tackles for loss. On the whole, he has 63 tackles and an interception along with the 3.5 tackles for loss in two years in Baton Rouge.

Greg Brooks Jr. has also been dealing with an injury after suffering a sprained ankle. However, he’s expected to be back for spring practice and could get on the field as soon as the weekend.

“Greg is about … 80% of his body weight,” Kelly said. “He had a sprained ankle that was giving him some aggravation. We just kind of shut him down and tried to get him back to 100%. … We won’t practice Major again, but we’ll probably get Greg out there this weekend.”

Brooks transferred to LSU from Arkansas and put up career numbers for LSU in 2022. He totaled 66 tackles, 3.0 tackles for loss, a sack and two interceptions to help anchor the Tigers secondary with Burns.

Brian Kelly on the transfer portal: ‘I still think that there’s a couple of needs on defense’

Now, the transfer portal is about to open again for another 15-day window. Kelly briefly addressed LSU’s plans and said defense will be an area of focus following spring practice. However, he admitted a starter might not be feasible at this point in the calendar.

“I still think that there’s a couple of needs on defense, and I think we’re still maybe interested in the offensive line,” Kelly said. “I think there’s still an interest to add to our offense. But I would say that we’re guarded at this period of time as to somebody that’s going to make a difference in an LSU football lineup. These are probably going to be guys that can add depth to what you’re doing.

“I don’t think you can go out there swinging for a starter that’s going to come in and change the trajectory of your starting lineup. These are guys that can contribute and be part of your depth, and I think that that’s kind of what we’re looking at.”