Reloaded
When’s the last time you came into a football season thinking “oh yeah, LSU’s defensive line is a strength”? It’s probably been a while.
What if I told you Sam Montgomery in 2011 was the last All-American defensive linemen LSU’s had? Or that Drake Nevis was the last defensive tackle to earn All-American honors? LSU also hasn’t had produced a first round defensive linemen since Barkevious Mingo went sixth overall to Cleveland in 2013, and they’ve only had six players get picked in the top-100 over that same span (let’s be charitable and call it seven as Saivion Jones was picked 101st in this past draft).
The point is, LSU’s been a far cry away from their early to mid 2000s heyday. Of course it’s hard to be overly critical of the defensive line’s play when this unit’s had more coaching instability than anywhere else.
LSU has had EIGHT(!!!!!!!!) defensive line coaches since 2020: Bill Johnson in 2020, Andre Carter in 2021, Jamar Cain in 2022, but the 2023 season is when the position hit its nadir. Gerald Chatman served as the interim coach until Jimmy Lindsay took the job. That was until Lindsey fell ill two days into that season’s fall camp, which moved Bob Diaco to fill the void, and then they also dug 84-year-old Pete Jenkins out of retirement to help coach the position. It looked like LSU had finally achieved stability at the position the the Tigers pulled off a coup by poaching Bo Davis away from Texas, but Davis left after the end of the 2024 season to join the New Orleans Saints.
To fill the void this time around, Brian Kelly might have gone a tad bit rogue by hiring former LSU Tiger and 13-year NFL veteran Kyle Williams. From a football perspective it makes a ton of sense, but Williams has never coached at the college level. At least the cupboard isn’t bare because Kelly and staff worked the portal like crazy to bolster this defensive line heading into 2025.
*At South Florida
**At Texas
There’s worse starting points a first year defensive line coach can have than what Kyle Williams is inheriting. The tandem of rising sophomores Ahmad Breaux and Dom McKinley harkens back to the LSU defensive days of yore.
Breaux was originally recruited as an end, but the staff needed him to put on weight and play inside. And play he did, appearing in all 13 games, with two starts. Quite the achievement for a freshman at such a physically demanding position. The thing that stood out most about Breaux is how you never questioned his effort. Plus you won’t have to worry about how he’ll mesh with Kyle Williams, because Williams was his defensive coordinator in high school.
McKinley, on the other hand, just looks different. Glenn Dorsey had it. Drake Nevis had it. Mason Smith, though his career was derailed by an ACL tear, had it. McKinley’s got that, too.
The first half of McKinley’s freshman season was derailed by turf toe, but once he healed up he popped late in the season. McKinley broke through in the regular season finale against Oklahoma with four tackles and a pair of sacks. It earned him SEC Freshman of the Week honors, and let’s hop that he’s in line for bigger accolades in 2025.
If LSU wants a little more experience up front, they’ve got 11 combined years of it with Jacobian Guillory and incoming transfer Bernard Gooden.
Guillory was poised for his most productive year in 2024, but ruptured his Achilles in the second game of the season against Nicholls. If you need someone to just eat up some space, Guillory’s about as good as you could hope for, checking in at 6’2” and 318 pounds. Best case scenario is his size commands double teams, a la Tyler Shelvin in 2019, and allows the linebackers to shoot through the gaps.
Gooden’s only going to be in town for one season, so hopefully he makes the most of it. Gooden’s a little undersized for a defensive tackle, but those are the measurables Kyle Williams prefers. Gooden led the American with 35 pressures and per PFF had a win rate of 9.9 percent.
The tandem of Guillory-Gooden-Breaux-McKinley will clearly be LSU’s main rotation up front, but if the Tigers need to go three-deep, they’ve got some experience in Sydir Mitchell and Shone Washington.
LSU spent a pretty penny bolstering the edge rusher position, and I think there’s a chance this group can be one of the best in the conference, and maybe the entire country.
*At Florida State
**At Nebraska
***At Florida
For the first time since maybe Arden Key, LSU might have a serious difference maker in incoming Florida State transfer Patrick Payton. Payton was a top-10 player in the portal, No. 7 specifically and the No. 2 edge.
Payton came into 2024 as a potential early round pick, but his numbers dipped from a really strong 2023. But, to be fair, everything from Florida State dipped from 2023 to 2024.
On that 13-1 ACC Championship team, Payton started all 14 games and had 14.5 TFLs and seven sacks. On last season’s 2-10 train wreck of a Florida State team, Payton still started every game but had 11 TFLs and four sacks. Either way, he’s the most accomplished pass rusher on LSU’s team (31.5 TFLs, 16 sacks) and he’s going to be motivated to have a strong year, put good film out there for an NFL team, and get drafted high next April.
LSU’s other incoming transfers, Jimari Butler (Nebraska) and Jack Pyburn (Florida), may not have as many skins on the wall as Payton, but they’re plenty experienced. Butler is entering his sixth season, while Pyburn is going into year four. At 6’5”, 265, Butler can be that “big” defensive end that Ali Gaye and Saivion Jones had previously occupied.
Pyburn is a high-effort guy that can play the run really well, but it hasn’t quite shown up in the pass rushing department. Like Payton, Pybrun’s got a lot to prove to the NFL as we head into 2025. Pass rushers are the ones who get paid, not edge setters, and if Pyburn wants to get paid, he’ll need to get after the quarterback more.
Payton, Butler, and Pyburn are all going to be one-year rentals. The future of the LSU defensive end wears No. 19.
Gabe Reliford enters year two with the Tigers and poised for the sophomore season leap. Reliford’s workload increased as last season drew to a close; he made his first career start against Florida, and he played a season-best 44 snaps in the bowl game against Baylor.
Just like the defensive tackles, LSU’s primarily going to rotate those four at end. Redshirt sophomore Dylan Carpenter is likely next in line after that group, and I’m curious to see what LSU has in redshirt freshman Kolaj Cobbins.