Young, explosive talent that’s ready for a breakout season
“We’re going to run the ball. That’s not something we’re hiding or trying to keep quiet. I’m telling everybody right now, we’re going to run the football.”
Those famous last words came courtesy of Will Campbell the Tuesday of LSU’s season opener against USC in Las Vegas. Not only was LSU bad at running the ball, statistically speaking they were the worst in the SEC.
LSU ranked last in the conference in both attempts (373) and yards (1513), and the Tigers were 11th in yard per carry (4.08). The struggles go beyond the raw numbers. How many short yardage situations did LSU squander last fall? How many times did LSU have to settle for a field goal in the red zone because they couldn’t get a push? And remember, this was with four offensive linemen that got drafted in this past April’s NFL Draft.
As is his wont, Brian Kelly sought out fixing the problem by bringing in former Florida State offensive coordinator Alex Atkins as the Tigers’ new tight ends coach and run game coordinator. With Atkins working hand-in-hand with Brad Davis, and Joe Sloan entering year two as the Tiger play caller, expect LSU’s ground game to (pardon the pun) run more smoothly this fall.
And if you haven’t read it or just need a refresher I HIGHLY encourage you to read Max’s breakdown of what an Alex Atkins run game could look like.
Youth ought to be served this fall with Caden Durham poised to enter stardom after a solid freshman season. Despite his 5’9” stature, Durham stood tall and emerged as LSU’s No. 1 back last fall. That track speed we heard so much about coming out of Duncanville definitely translates onto the football field, and if Durham has a crease he’s gone.
Let’s not forget, Durham battled dislocated toes (ew????) last season and still earned Freshman All-SEC accolades. A healthy Durham crossed with hopefully a reworked running blocking scheme ought to lead Durham becoming known as one of the best running backs in the nation.
What we just said about Caden Durham is essentially the exact same thing we said about Kaleb Jackson heading into the 2024 season. Jackson bowled over people in a way that I haven’t seen an LSU back do since Leonard Fournette and for whatever reason it just didn’t happen last season.
Maybe Jackson got a little too big. Maybe the run blocking scheme was completely incompatible with Jackson’s skillset. Maybe Durham is simply a better running back. Or maybe it’s a combination of all those things, but Jackson’s sophomore slump was maybe the single biggest disappointment among an individual player.
But last fall is ancient history, and I’m confident in saying Jackson will have a role for this LSU team as, if nothing else, a short yardage back. Just look at the heights and weights of his contemporaries: he’s 40 pounds heavier than the incoming freshmen Harlem Berry and JT Lindsey, and he’s got 30 pounds on Durham. The best offenses in football are able to diversify and throw a whole bunch of different things at you, and Kaleb Jackson, quite literally, looks different than his fellow running backs. Maybe Jackson is the Lendale White to Caden Durham’s Reggie Bush. Or maybe he’s just a battering ram for LSU. But watch these two plays from his freshman season again and tell me that there’s not a place for Jackson this fall.
Ten years ago, LSU made waves when they signed superstar high school running back Leonard Fournette out of New Orleans. Now a decade later, the Tigers were able to sign a second No. 1 running back recruit out of the New Orleans area, though this one has a different skillset than Fournette.
Enter Harlem Berry. The five-star, No. 1 running back in last year’s class, Berry is one of the more highly regarded backs in the last couple of recruiting cycles. Berry’s path to LSU is a little different than Fournette’s specifically the level of high school football that he dominated. Berry isn’t coming from a New Orleans powerhouse program like St. Aug or Karr or Rummel, instead he spent the last four years dominating at the 1A level with St. Martinville. Whether or not that matters remains to be seen, but the talent is certainly undeniable.
Listed at 5’11”, 190 Berry’s build and skillset might remind you of another beloved New Orleans running back: Alvin Kamara. Like Kamara, Christian McCaffrey, or even former Tiger Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Berry might be just as good of a receiver as he is a running back (52 career receptions for 888 yards and 12 touchdowns). With Durham and possibly Jackson ahead of him on the running back depth chart, plus the absolute glut of talent at wide receiver and tight end, I’m not sure how many touches Berry gets as a freshman, but if he can live up to the hype, LSU might have a star waiting in the wings.
With all the hoopla surrounding Berry, fellow incoming freshman JT Lindsey is the forgotten man in this running back room. If we’re continuing the “Berry is Fournette” analogy, well then I guess that would make Lindsey the Darrel Williams in this scenario. Lindsey isn’t an also-ran or simply the “other” running back in LSU’s class: he was a top-150 overall player and the No. 7 running back in last year’s class.
Physically and skillset wise, Lindsey’s similar to Berry and Durham: a little slight, perhaps, but speedy. Will that prove to be redundant, or is this the type of rushing attack Brian Kelly and staff aiming for? That remains to be seen, but just as I said touches might be hard to come by for Berry in 2025, that same logic applies to Lindsey.