Heading into the 2025 College Football Season, the LSU Tigers have a ton of hope when it comes to making the College Football Playoff and competing for a National Championship. Brian Kelly and his staff finally went out and embraced the transfer portal bringing in an elite group of players that they hope can push this roster over the top. The Tigers' incoming transfers will look to gel with a group of returnees that has a ton of elite talent with the chance to be among the Nation's best.
When you look at what Brian Kelly and his staff did this offseason, the Tigers roster has very few holes as they clearly addressed their needs. The Tigers added elite talent at wide receiver, edge rusher, defensive tackle, and defensive back to make this roster elite.
LSU's Offensive Line remains this rosters biggest issue
Heading into the 2024 season, LSU's offensive line was its strongest group, returning 4 of its 5 starters. This offseason, the Tigers lost Will Campbell, Emery Jones Jr, Garrett Dellinger, and Miles Frazier to the NFL Draft. While Brian Kelly and his staff added transfers on the offensive line, it's clearly the weak point on the roster.
At SEC Media Days, Brian Kelly shared his optimism about the Tigers' offensive line but, there's also plenty of reasons to feel concerned.
"I'm bullish on our offensive line."Brian Kelly
The lone returning offensive lineman is starting Center DJ Chester who may or may not stick at the center position. As a redshirt Freshman, DJ Chester won the job at center replacing Charles Turner who was the glue of LSU's offensive line before him. Chester returns with a ton of experience but, he was the weak point of the unit last year and will need to improve.
The reason that DJ Chester may not stick at center is because the Tigers went out and landed Virginia Tech center Braelin Moore. The Virginia Tech transfer brings a ton of experience to what will be a new offensive line which will be valuable as he can help the younger players out with calls. While Moore may not have the upside of DJ Chester, the Tigers should benefit greatly from his experience.
Among the transfers Brian Kelly landed this offseason, Northwestern offensive lineman Josh Thompson may be the most important. Thompson brings experience at Guard and Tackle to the Tigers' offensive line, which will make him valuable as Brian Kelly pieces this group together. Thompson will most likely land at Guard, which has been his best position and should help LSU as it looks to finally establish a rushing attack.
The player tasked with filling Will Campbell's shoes at Left Tackle will most likely be Redshirt Sophomore Tyree Adams. As a Redshirt Freshman, Adams appeared in 8 games including the Texas Bowl where he started and impressed at Left Tackle. The sample size for Adams is limited but, when he played it's been impressive.
The starting position at Right Tackle will most likely be decided this Summer or during the season which could be a cause for concern for LSU. The Tigers have recruited at a high enough level over the years that they'll have plenty of options but, without a clear starter there is a reason to be concerned.
If LSU is going to go on a run to the College Football Playoff, this group is going to need to gel and gel quickly. The Tigers open the season on the road in Clemson which is a tough task especially going against Clemson's loaded defensive line with a group made up of new players. The task won't get much easier after Week 1 as Florida is in Week 3 with Ole Miss and Florida in Weeks 5 and 6.
The LSU Offense has everything with elite QB Garrett Nussmeier, an explosive back in Caden Durham, and one of the deepest wide receiver rooms in the Country. The Tigers offense is going to need to find balance between their rushing and passing attack and with a new group, it may be easier to start the year pounding the football.