Brian Kelly addresses Mekhi Wingo, Will Campbell earning prestigious LSU jersey honors

The jersey numbers 18 and 7 hold a lot of weight in Baton Rouge, awarded to those who make an impact on and off the field and exemplify what it means to be an LSU football player.

And with the Tigers kicking things off in just a few days versus Florida State to open up the season, head coach Brian Kelly revealed which players would have the honor of wearing the prestigious jersey numbers for the 2023 football season.

“Internally we have a history and tradition of awarding jerseys within the program, the number 18 jersey which signifies and exemplifies the character traits necessary,” Kelly said. “For that person to wear 18 he’s got to have the leadership capabilities, he’s got to represent incredible traits and somebody that’s really going to wear that jersey both on and off the field. And representing LSU football and that number 18 went to Mekhi Wingo and we’re really proud of him.”

Wingo earns the honor after transferring to LSU from Missouri in the offseason of 2022. Last season he served as the anchor of the Tigers’ interior defensive line, earning Second Team All-SEC honors and Third Team All-American recognition after recording 47 tackles six tackles for loss, three sacks, and batting down down four passes.

Playmakers like Leonard Fournette and Tyrann Mathieu come to fans mind when they thing of LSU Tigers sporting the number 7, but Kelly decided to switch things up this season.

“And the number 7 jersey, we went in a little bit of a different direction. And again, I’m quite aware of the history and tradition behind number 7. Defensive backs and playmakers have worn that and certainly respect all those that have worn it and have represented it in such an admirable way and has a great tradition and history,” Kelly explained. “I’m not trying to make new history or new tradition, we just felt our playmaker this year and deserved the recognition even though he was an offensive lineman we think that they’re an important part.”

LSU’s number 7 may not touch the ball this season, but he’ll surely have an impact on clearing the way for ball carriers and keeping the quarterback’s jersey clean in 2023.

“We did not want 7 to be just about a particular position, we wanted 7 to be a part of our team and we felt that playmaker was Will Campbell. So Will will wear number 7 as a patch on his jersey, as we know a offensive tackle can’t wear the number 7. The spirit of the number still is about what it should be and that is somebody that represent the jersey as a playmaker, somebody that is certainly a guy that we can count on and represents our program in a positive way,” Kelly said.

Campbell had an impressive true freshman season for the Tigers last year as one of three true freshman offensive linemen to start for LSU. He anchored their left tackle position and took home a slew of awards to end the season, selected as a Freshman All-America by the Football Writers Association of America and College Football News and was also chosen by the SEC’s coaches as a Second Team All-SEC selection and a Freshman All-SEC team member.

There’s no doubt that there’s more size than usual on the No. 7 and No. 18 jerseys this year for the Tigers, as their big men will look to lead LSU on and off the field as they look to return to the SEC Championship stage.