Back in pads, Guillory reflects on rehab, preparations for year six

When Jacobian Guillory went down with an injury against Nicholls State in the second game of the season, he thought he had just tweaked his ankle. The 6-foot-2, 320 pound defensive tackle went to get it looked at in the locker room as the game continued and was then told it was much worse. Guillor had a torn achilles that sidelined him the remainder of the season.

Since then, his only focus has been on getting back for another year. The Alexandria, Louisiana native has been at LSU since 2020 and is now coming back for year No. 6 in 2025.

“It’s a blessing man,” Guillory said. “When I went down I wasn’t expecting it to be as bad as it was, so just everything I’ve overcome and the battles through the rehab has been up and down. Now I feel close to that 100 percent now.

“I have people in my corner. My family really helped me through the rehab. My son, my girlfriend, my family, everyone at home, I was really grateful to have them by my side.”

With the motivation for a return, Guillory was finally in pads on Thursday and doing individual drills for the first time this spring. Previously, he had been on the side doing workouts with the strength coach, but now he feels he’s getting closer to being a full go.

“I feel great, just working every day more and more,” Guillory said. “Right now they have me with the individuals, so just staying the course. I’ll be back soon, so it’s just keeping my focus. Full go will be in a little while, but when I’m ready I’ll be ready to go.”

Guillory is set to be a pivotal piece for the Tigers’ defensive line in 2025, even coming off of the injury. Returning talent Ahmad Breaux and Dominick McKinley look to blossom in their second seasons, but Guillory is still the veteran who will need to be a key part in the success up front.

New defensive line coach Kyle Williams has been quick to begin instilling his values and his style on the unit and Guillory is seeing results early on.

“What I see in the group is guys who want to come to work and are willing to work every day,” Guillory said. “With Kyle it’s all about our mentality. His mentality is 24/7 and he doesn’t fake it. What you see, him yelling and stuff, that’s legit him. He’s just going to take us to another level mentally and that’s what we needed.”

“Ahmad Breaux, oh my God. Me and Ahmad talked early on and he’s shorter than me and I told him you’d much rather play the short man game and he’s held onto that. He’s the quickest, he runs everywhere, so just upholding him and having that mental part. Once he gets that mental part he’s going to go to a whole new level. I say that about Ahmad, but the whole defensive line is like that. Everybody has their days, but once we get through that mental part it’s going to be a whole new defensive line.”

As for LSU’s defense, Guillory has seen all the highs and the lows over the past five seasons at LSU and now is in the process of trying to help another group of young players and transfers settle in and impact the team. There’s significant pressure on the defense as a unit to step up in year two under Blake Baker and the veterans will remain key in this unit reaching its potential.

“The next step for us is to make that next jump and that’s just for us to be where our feet are,” Guillory said. “It’s the mental part that I was talking about. Those guys are going out there and going to perform, but mentally they’re going to understand the game way more than they did last year and that’s going to make them better football players and ultimately a better defense.”