LSU enters spring camp with renewed depth, competition
As LSU football kicked off spring camp over the weekend for the 2025 season, one of the noticeable differences in the program’s roster that the Tigers lacked a year ago: depth.
Head coach Brian Kelly and his staff are no longer focused on simply filling gaps. Instead, they’re navigating an offseason defined by competition at several positions, thanks to a stronger, more balanced roster.
Kelly didn’t hesitate to highlight the difference in his opening statement of Wednesday’s press conference.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do,” Kelly said after an early spring practice. “These spring trainings — this is just the first lineup out there. We’re moving players in and out. It’s going to be a new rotation on Friday, so you’ll get a chance to see a lot of different guys. The exciting part about it is we’ve got a lot of competition, that’s really been probably the one word that we’ve used more than anything else this spring. We’ve got great competition at a lot of different positions.”
That competition stems from an offseason that saw LSU aggressively bolster its roster through the transfer portal with the addition of 16 transfers after beefing up their NIL efforts. Unlike last spring, when certain position groups lacked quality depth, this year’s roster allows for multiple battles across the board and much more flexibility. Last year, LSU had just one top 150 transfer, but this year the Tigers have nine in the top 150 and a couple more on the cusp.
“We feel really good about the depth of the team and the roster itself,” Kelly added. “It’s really showed itself through the first few days.”
It also helps that to have the 13 early enrollee freshmen on campus partaking in spring ball. RB Harlem Berry, OL Carius Curne, CB DJ Pickett and LB Charles Ross are just a few of those players likely to see early playing time in Baton Rouge.
Defensive coordinator Blake Baker told The Bengal Tiger in February that the transfer portal not only added talent to his side of the ball but brought in players ready to contribute right away.
“I think when you look at what we did out of the portal, in all honesty, I think every single one of them is either gonna be a starter or an immediate contributor,” Baker said at the Lone Star Coaching Clinic. “That’s really what we want — last year, what we didn’t have was competitive depth.”
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It’s a stark contrast from 2024, when LSU leaned heavily on its starters, sometimes out of necessity rather than choice.
“Last year, some guys played a lot more than they should have,” Baker said, “and you run out of tread on your tires by the end of the season. You’re really not getting better unless somebody’s pushing you.”
Baker made it clear that the days of starters playing 70 to 80 snaps a game are over.
“That’s something I’ve had to explain to the whole defense this year — this is different than last year,” Baker said. “You shouldn’t want to play 75 snaps a game. I promise you, it’s gonna pay off for you and us at the end of the season.”
Later this summer the Tigers will also be returning key veteran defensive players Whit Weeks, Harold Perkins Jr. and Jacobian Guillory — all were injured during the 2024 season. Kelly said Wednesday all three should be fully cleared for June workouts.
As LSU works through spring camp, the 2025 Tigers have more than just talent — they have the internal competition needed to push each other every day. And if Kelly and Baker are right about their competitive depth on this roster, plus an experienced quarterback in Garrett Nussemeier, that could be what separates the 2025 team when the fall rolls around.
The 16 Transfers: DB Tamarcus Cooley, DE Patrick Payton, S/CB Mansoor Delane, CB Ja’Keem Jackson, DE Jimari Butler, DE Jack Pyburn, DT Sydir Mitchell, WR Nic Anderson, WR Barion Brown, OL Josh Thompson, C Braelin Moore, TE Bauer Sharp, QB Michael Van Buren, TE Donovan Green, WR Destyn Hill and P Grant Chadwick.
