LSU’s defensive front is poised to be very strong in 2023, but if there’s one question mark, it comes at the edge of the defensive line.
Last year’s starting edge defenders in [autotag]BJ Ojulari[/autotag] and [autotag]Ali Gaye[/autotag] are gone, and LSU is likely to turn to transfer additions like [autotag]Ovie Oghoufo[/autotag], [autotag]Bradyn Swinson[/autotag] and [autotag]Paris Shand[/autotag] to fill in the gaps.
However, the Tigers could also look to a pair of true freshman blue-chip prospects to make an impact, as well. On3 recently recognized [autotag]Jaxon Howard[/autotag] and [autotag]DaShawn Womack[/autotag] as potential breakout true freshmen in the SEC this fall.
Here’s what they said about Howard.
Where he ranked in the 2023 On3 Industry Ranking: Four-star, No. 16 EDGE, No. 120 overall prospect
Howard is one of a couple freshman EDGE players for LSU with a shot at contributing this season.
You’ll see the other one shortly.
As for Howard, he’s impressed with his work ethic, approach and intelligence.
He had four tackles and a sack in the Tigers’ spring game.
“You could see his progress and his grit kind of grow throughout the spring to the point where we were like, that was a really good spring for him,” LSU head coach Brian Kelly said during the spring.
Howard’s father, Willie, was an all-conference defensive lineman at Stanford and a 2001 second-round pick of the Minnesota Vikings.
Now for Womack.
Where he ranked in the 2023 On3 Industry Ranking: Four-star, No. 5 EDGE, No. 42 overall prospect
Here’s the other LSU freshman EDGE with a chance to be a factor this season.
Although Womack was limited during the spring while working back from shoulder surgery, On3 ranked Womack as a five-star player and the No. 12 overall player in the 2023 recruiting class.
“I think he has some flexibility as a guy that can play the big end position, but we haven’t ruled out how we play him,” Kelly said during the spring. “Is he a stand-up two-point player in a manner that he’s 100 percent of the time a Jack linebacker? No, probably not. That doesn’t mean that we can’t be in four down and he can’t stand up and drop back in a limited fashion to change the looks up because he is so athletic.
“His athletic ability still lends itself to having some of the traits necessary to put him in a hybrid position.”
With all the transfer additions LSU made to its defensive front this offseason, both of these guys may see a limited role. However, we saw a true freshman make a big impact on the edge last fall in [autotag]Harold Perkins[/autotag], and perhaps one of these two players will be the next one up.