Will Campbell pushes LSU's O-Line to be best in country

On Tuesday afternoon, LSU’s offensive line was named to the Joe Moore Award Midseason Honor Roll list that highlighted 23 of the top offensive lines in the country. Even with the recognition, it’s still a group that feels capable of even more.

Since a shaky performance against Florida State to start the season, LSU has been one of the best offensive lines in the country and has built the framework for the Tigers to emerge as one of the best offenses in America this season.

“The recognition is nice, but we want to have it at the end of the year, not right now,” sophomore left tackle Will Campbell said of the Joe Moore list. “I think 23 teams have it right now, but we want to be the one at the end of the year that wins it so we have to keep improving and keep going.”

LSU’s offense ranks among the Top 10 in the country in seven categories – No.2 in total offense (550.4), first downs (27.7), and 3^rd-down conversions (57.5 pct.), No. 3 in scoring (45.3), No. 4 pass efficiency (188.0 rating), No. 7 in passing (337.7), and No. 10 in rushing (214.6).

Setting the tone

At the forefront of all of LSU’s success is its offensive line. Quarterback Jayden Daniels has had time to pick apart opposing defenses, while running back Logan Diggs has thrived behind Campbell and a drastically improved offensive line. The best sign of that is the efficiency in the run game, where LSU is 7th in the country in yards per carry and 11th in yards per game. 

“We definitely enjoy running the ball. That’s one area we’ve taken the biggest stride in from last year is being able to run the ball consistently no matter who it is,” Campbell said. “We want that pressure. On third and five, we’re telling the coaches to run the ball and we enjoy that. Whenever we break big runs it’s very exciting for us, so we do have a little swagger about us with that.”

Starting right tackle Emery Jones went down with an ankle injury against Auburn and is listed as doubtful against Army this week. In his place, true freshman Lance Heard he’s stepped in and is expected to be a quality option for the Tigers moving forward while Jones heals. Heard was a top 15 player in America in the 2023 class and a five-star offensive line prospect.

“Coach Davis coaches everybody as if they’re getting ready to play, so we expect nothing to change,” Campbell said. “It is unfortunate Emery goes down and hopefully he’s ready for the game in a few weeks, but we’ll just take it one game at a time and see how it goes.”

Now LSU prepares for an Army team that prides itself on physicality and winning at the line of scrimmage. Playing a non-conference game in the midst of the SEC grind is a curveball for this team, but with a bye week to follow, there’s enough time to avoid overlooking the Black Knights at home, on homecoming.

For Campbell, he feels responsible with making sure his unit is locked in and ready to set the tone as they have in most games this season.

“Coach Davis tells us ‘You’re one weekend away from getting embarrassed.’ so there’s nothing we’re looking forward to,” Campbell said. “Our focus is on Saturday night against Army and that’s what everyone is focused on in the building because they are a physical football team and they can give us a run for our money if we don’t come out there and do what we need to do, so we need to be locked in.”