LSU spring football preview: Areas to watch as LSU returns to the practice field

LSU football returns to the practice field this week as spring practice is officially set to begin Thursday.

Though it wasn’t quite the overhaul seen last spring, LSU enters this spring with plenty of new faces on the roster. The offense returned almost all of its starting production from last season, but the defense saw a lot of turn over.

Key transfers on defense

Ten of LSU’s 12 total transfers came on defense, with the biggest emphasis put on the secondary. LSU lost all but one of its corners from last season, including all of its corners with starting experience.

Much like it did last year, LSU went to the transfer portal to replace its losses, signing four corners. Denver Harris, Zy Alexander, JK Johnson and Duce Chestnut rounded out that list, with Chestnut and Johnson bringing Power Five starting experience.

Harris, a Texas A&M transfer, is a former five-star recruit out of the class of 2022. He played in just five games for the Aggies last season and was suspended indefinitely after a locker room incident at South Carolina.

Alexander transferred to LSU from Southeastern Louisiana where he twice earned First Team All-Southland Conference honors and was named an FCS All-American in 2021. At 6-foot-3, 185 pounds, Alexander brings impressive size and length to the LSU secondary.

The remainder of LSU’s defensive transfers came in the front seven, adding four defensive linemen and two linebackers. The most experienced of those incoming players is Oregon State transfer Omar Speights.

Speights came to LSU as a graduate transfer and tallied 308 total tackles over four years at Oregon State. In 2022, he tallied 83 total tackles and eight tackles for loss, earning First Team All-PAC 12 honors.

Paris Shand, Jordan Jefferson and Bradyn Swinson were LSU’s three biggest editions on the defensive line. Jefferson brings the most experience, having played four seasons at West Virginia, tallying 31 total tackles and three sacks in 2022. At 6-foot-3, 310 pounds, he helps bolster the interior of LSU’s defensive line.

Overall, LSU only returns three starters on defense, so the overhaul was expected. Pertaining to the returners on defense, the biggest question of the spring will be how far along Maason Smith is in his recovery.

Smith missed the entire 2022 season after tearing his ACL early in LSU’s season opener. Signs have pointed to Smith moving along well during the recovery process, so the spring will be a good indicator of how far he is from being fully recovered.

Key additions on offense and notable departures

LSU acquired one transfer wide receiver that may raise the ceiling of the team, even if he doesn’t contribute to the passing game.

Aaron Anderson, a New Orleans product who initially went to Alabama, got injured in his freshman season and never really played. The 5-foot-9, 184-pound wide receiver predicates his game off speed, which could help fill the departure of Kayshon Boutte.

However, Anderson fills one role that may help LSU truly improve. He returned five kickoffs for touchdowns in high school; LSU’s return game struggled last season. Anderson’s legitimate upside as a returner puts LSU in a much better situation than last year.

Anderson had potential to solidify his spot in the wide receiver room, but according to The Advocate, injury took him out of spring training. Nonetheless, he remains the immediate impact offensive transfer out of the group.

This spring training also brings about another important issue; LSU needs to replace the production of Kayshon Boutte and Jaray Jenkins, who both declared for the draft.

There are a variety of ways to fill the holes here. Aside from the aforementioned Anderson, a player that comes to mind is the 6-foot-1, 182-pound junior Chris Hilton Jr. 

Hilton never really saw prominent playing time in his past two seasons, but with open positions, he could take advantage. Despite the lack of opportunity, Hilton’s shown in small doses his athleticism and especially his speed. Look for him to potentially ascend this year, and that ascent may start at spring training.

The freshman early enrollees

Another group to watch this spring is the freshman class that has already enrolled at LSU. Brian Kelly and his staff signed the No. 6 ranked class in the country according to 247sports and 12 of the 24 players in the class have already enrolled.

Dashawn Womack is the highest ranked and lone five-star recruit of the group. Womack, a defensive end from Baltimore, Maryland, was the No. 36 overall player in the 2023 class, according to 247sports. He is another player who has a chance to see playing time early next season with some of the pieces LSU lost on the defensive line.

Javien Toviano and Jalen Brown are the other two top 100 players in the early enrollee class and are both players that were highly touted during their recruitment. As the highest ranked defensive back in LSU’s freshman class, Toviano is a player to watch during the spring and leading up the season as someone who could see early playing time at a position that lost a lot of talent from last year.

Another pair of freshmen to watch is the tight end duo of Mac Markway and Jackson McGohan. Tight end is another position where LSU is relatively thin, so those two will likely both fight for early playing time along with Ka’Morreun Pimpton who will enroll in the fall.

The quarterback room

Despite LSU not having a true quarterback battle on its hands like it did last season, many eyes will still be on the quarterback room this spring. Jayden Daniels is the incumbent starter, and according to Kelly, still who LSU plans to move forward with. However, Garrett Nussmeier is back with LSU for another year, and comes into the spring on the back of two impressive performances to end the 2022 season. 

Nussmeier’s resurgence is expected to have been part of the reason why former LSU quarterback Walker Howard transferred to Ole Miss, as Nussmeier seemed to have solidified his position as the backup option.

With Howard’s departure, this leaves LSU with three scholarship quarterbacks, as early-enrollee freshman Rickie Collins joins Daniels and Nussmeier.

Collins was a four-star recruit out of high school and ranked as the No. 18 quarterback in the country, according to 247sports. Though still raw as a prospect, Collins showed flashes of serious talent during his senior year of high school, showing an ability to improvise and make impressive throws on the run.

The offensive line

One of LSU’s perceived strengths going into 2023 is the offensive line, where all five starters from last season return. LSU also added Maryland transfer Mason Lunsford, who brings two years of starting experience.

Much like last season, though, one of the big questions that remains is who will take the starting center role. Last season, LSU used multiple centers, with Charles Turner taking that role for most of the season. Garrett Dellinger was LSU’s starting center to begin the season, but injuries and trouble with the snap saw him lose that role.

Turner, Dellinger, Marlon Martinez and even Lunsford are all possible players who could compete for that position. However, with Martinez out for the spring with an injury, according to the Advocate, the others may have a leg up early on.