The make or break unit
This time a year ago I called my shot and called the 2024 LSU offensive line “the best unit in the country.” I wasn’t alone in that thought, people who know way more about football than me all felt pretty similarly.
Turns out we were half right. LSU, with its four NFL Draft picks, was one of the best in the country at pass blocking. But when it came to running the ball, the Tigers were inexplicably the worst rushing unit in the SEC.
With Will Campbell and Co. gone, Tigers are essentially wiping the slate clean along the offensive line and it’s the single biggest question on this team. This group is going to have to come together quick because Clemson, LSU’s week one opponent, might have the best defensive line in the country and if the o-line doesn’t achieve cohesion in the next 30 days, the Tigers could be doomed to a sixth straight 0-1 start.
*At Northwestern
**At Virgina Tech
Fall Camp opened on Wednesday, but it looks as if the starting offensive line is shaping up how most of us expected. From left to right the first-team offensive line consisted of, Tyree Adams at left tackle, DJ Chester at left guard, Braelin Moore was the center, Josh Thompson was at right guard, and Weston Davis was the right tackle. That wasn’t the starting five in LSU’s bowl win over Baylor, obviously, but “Tyree Adams: Starting Left Tackle” has carried over into 2025. Adams isn’t going to be Will Campbell (though if he wants to I wouldn’t say no!) but can he be, at minimum, a better than average left tackle in the SEC? He’s got the size and talent for it, now it’s just a matter of harnessing it.
In last year’s preview I wondered if LSU’s offensive line would be better than the 2023 group because I thought the Tigers would be upgrading at center going from Charles Turner to DJ Chester. That didn’t happen.
Chester was the biggest weak link on LSU’s offensive line, though he did earn Freshman All-SEC honors. But let’s be as charitable as possible to Chester: it was his first year starting, he’s playing the most important position along the offensive line, and—most importantly—he was playing outside of his natural position. Does that mean you just end the whole DJ Chester experiment? Of course not, and now he’s working at a spot he’s more comfortable in: left guard. He’ll have to earn the starting job and right now he’s battling with Paul Mubenga, who started the final five games at left guard after Garrett Dellenger went down with an ankle injury.
While I wanted to show Chester some grace we also had to accept the facts: LSU could not run back the Chester at center experiment, and the Tigers dipped into the portal to upgrade. Enter Braelin Moore.
Moore was a two-year starter at Virginia Tech before coming to Baton Rouge. During the spring he and Chester were splitting the starting center duties, now Moore’s all but locked that job down.
LSU’s other transfer, Josh Thompson, has plenty of starting experience at both guard and tackle, but as it stands currently, he’s working as the starting right guard. He made it to Baton Rouge a little later than Moore because of the academic calendar Northwestern uses, but he’s here now and poised to be another veteran presence for a new-look LSU offensive line. Reports out of fall camp said he had a rough day one, but I wouldn’t start hammering the under on LSU’s win total just yet.
You might have noticed that Weston Davis was not one of the starters in LSU’s Texas Bowl appearance. That start was made by Bo Bordelon, but eight months later the former five-star tackle from Texas is getting first shot at the right tackle job.
There was a reason Brad Davis was the only coach retained by Brian Kelly and it’s because he’s one of the top recruiters in the game. Thanks to Davis, LSU’s got four and five-stars across it’s two deep.
LSU’s got some serious talent waiting in the wings, especially along the interior. We may not see them much outside of mop up duty, but I’m buying stock in true freshmen Carius Curne, Solomon Thomas, and redshirt freshman Coen Echols. Curne in particular is a super tantalizing prospect, and was viewed as the No. 2 IOL in last year’s class. Curne didn’t start playing football until 9th grade, and while he’s raw, On3 compares him to future Hall of Fame lineman Jason Peters. Being from Arkansas, Curne is as country strong as it gets, and if you need proof, here he is benching 425.
#LSU signed the No. 1 prospect in Arkansas last December: Carius Curne.
The five-star offensive lineman has generated significant buzz since arriving in Baton Rouge.
Now, Curne comes in at 6’5, 335 pounds heading into Year 1 with the program.
Here he is benching 425 pounds: pic.twitter.com/8GRc9d8mXd
— Zack Nagy (@znagy20) July 9, 2025
What’s interesting is Curne was recruited as an interior player, but opened fall camp as the second string left tackle behind Tyree Adams. Kelly’s not afraid to play freshmen, and Curne might be someone LSU simply can’t afford to keep on the sideline.
Echols seems to be the heir apparent at center (though at the moment he’s RG2) and Thomas was a late recruiting surprise. Thomas was committed to Florida State, but de-committed when Alex Atkins was let go. Atkins encouraged Thomas to look at LSU and now Atkins is coaching him once again in Baton Rouge. Kelly said that Thomas broke a bone in his foot and will miss about a month (ie all of fall camp) so who knows how much his development is delayed by this injury.
Aside from Adams at left tackle and Moore at center, nothing else is set in stone. That said if you wanted to jot down in pencil LSU’s two-deep along the offensive line, this is probably what it looks like from left to right:
- Adams-Chester-Moore-Thompson-Davis
- Curne-Mubenga-Chester-Echols-Bordelon
Like any position group, LSU’s got plenty of younger talent waiting it’s turn like redshirt freshmen tackles Ory Williams and Ethan Calloway, along with incoming freshman Tyler Miller, a four-star tackle from Mississippi.
Maybe it’s the whole “hope springs eternal” preseason thing, but I’m weirdly bullish on this offensive line, and it’s in large part owed to the tandem of Brad Davis working alongside Alex Atkins as the Tigers’ new running game coordinator.
Two things are likely going to happen to this offensive line this fall: 1) they’re not going to be as good of a pass blocking but 2) they’re not going to be as bad of a run blocking unit either.
Call me crazy, but I think LSU’s line improves compared to last year’s team because they can still end up being a top-five pass blocking line, but jump up from 16th in rushing to somewhere in the upper half. They’ve got the talent and the coaching to do it, plus a fifth-year quarterback that can help out the pass protection by getting the ball out quickly.