Tag: Bo Davis

On3 logs prediction for LSU to land 3-star defensive tackle

LSU is picking up steam with one of its defensive tackle targets.

Rebuilding the defensive tackle room is a top priority for LSU head coach [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] and defensive line coach [autotag]Bo Davis[/autotag].

Kelly has stressed the Tigers’ need at interior defensive line on multiple occasions. LSU signed a good high school class and brought in a couple of transfers, but [autotag]Jacobian Guillory[/autotag] is the lone returner with significant experience.

As LSU looks to add more talent to the room in its 2025 class, On3’s Chad Simmons logged a prediction for LSU to land three-star defensive tackle [autotag]Xavier Ukponu[/autotag]. Simmons is the second On3 analyst to predict LSU as the winner after Billy Embody logged an LSU pick last month.

Along with LSU, Ukponu’s shown interest in Arkansas, Texas and Florida throughout his recruitment, but the Tigers appear to be in a good spot.

Ukponu is 6-foot-2, 390 pounds and has three stars from all major recruiting services. Rivals is the highest on Ukponu’s talent, ranking him as the 33rd-best defensive tackle in the class.

LSU’s 2025 class ranks second in the country, according to On3. The Tigers have 11 commits, including [autotag]Bryce Underwood[/autotag], the top-ranked recruit in the country. The class has some offensive firepower, but the staff is hoping to make a few key additions on defense.

Continuing the in-flux of talent into the defensive tackle room is critical for LSU to get back to the standard it once had on the defensive side of the ball.

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Where does LSU go after defensive tackle Damonic Williams commits to Oklahoma?

With Damonic Williams headed to Oklahoma, where does LSUs defensive tackle room go from here?

With [autotag]Damonic Williams[/autotag] committing to Oklahoma, LSU missed on its top defensive tackle target. According to On3, Williams was the sixth-ranked defensive tackle in the portal this cycle and the best available during the spring window.

Earlier this spring, head coach [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] said defensive tackle is where LSU will spend most of its attention in the portal. It remains the Tigers’ biggest need with just two scholarship players returning. The staff liked what it saw from [autotag]Jacobian Guillory[/autotag] in spring practice, but LSU needs another interior defender to emerge alongside him.

LSU hoped Williams would fill that void. Now, Kelly and defensive line coach [autotag]Bo Davis[/autotag] continue the search. And with Michigan State transfer [autotag]Simeon Barrow Jr.[/autotag] trending toward Miami, there aren’t many starting caliber DTs left in the portal.

That means LSU doesn’t have a ton of options. With Guillory entering his fifth year, the Tigers are counting on a breakout. According to PFF, he ranked fifth among SEC DTs in tackling grade last year while racking up 11 pressures.

Guillory’s a good player, but he can’t play every snap. LSU signed a highly-touted group of defensive tackles from high school, but you can’t count on true freshmen to make an immediate impact at that position, especially in the SEC.

Depth is a concern, too. The best defensive lines are able to keep guys fresh through rotating. That’s a luxury LSU won’t have in 2024.

Even if Kelly and Davis manage to find a player in the portal, he won’t have proven Power Four experience. The group LSU has now is the one it will roll into fall with.

The good news is LSU has one of the best defensive staffs in the country. LSU is strong at linebacker and defensive end, which could take some pressure off the interior. But there will be a couple of games this year where offenses try to wear LSU down up the middle.

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LSU makes final 9 for top 150 defensive lineman in 2025 class

LSU made the top nine for a 2025 defensive tackle.

LSU made the cut for 2025 three-star defensive lineman [autotag]Xavier Ukponu[/autotag].

Ukpuno released his top nine, which included LSU along with Arkansas, Oregon, Cal, Texas A&M, Florida, USC, Oklahoma State and Washington.

According to On3, Ukponu is the 69th-best defensive lineman in his class and 140th-rated player in the state of Texas. The On3 Prediction Machine has Texas in the lead, but the Tigers are a close second.

Ukponu would be the first defensive tackle addition to LSU’s 2025 class. It’s a position of need as head coach Brian Kelly and defensive line coach [autotag]Bo Davis[/autotag] look to rebuild LSU’s interior defensive line.

LSU’s 2025 class is among the best in the country, sitting second in On3’s rankings and third at 247Sports.

Ukponu isn’t the only defensive tackle on LSU’s radar. [autotag]Trajden Odom[/autotag], [autotag]Zion Williams[/autotag] and [autotag]Dilan Battle[/autotag] are all set to take official visits next month.

With LSU chasing DTs in the portal, it’s critical to land some high school guys too, creating year-to-year consistency in the room.

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LSU defensive tackle transfer target commits to Auburn

LSU missed on a defensive tackle transfer prospect.

LSU came up short in landing one of its top transfer defensive tackle targets as [autotag]Philip Blidi[/autotag] committed to Auburn.

Blidi began his career at Texas Tech before transferring to Indiana. He hit the portal again after a year with the Hoosiers, this time garnering SEC interest.

According to On3’s Shea Dixon, Auburn made an impression on Blidi, and the buzz around his recruitment signaled Auburn following Blidi’s visit to the Plains.

Per PFF, Blidi was the 15th-best graded defensive tackle in the Big Ten last year while totaling 15 pressures and 11 run stops.

LSU needs to beef up its defensive tackle group and remains in pursuit of some of the portal’s top players, including DTs [autotag]Simeon Barrow Jr.[/autotag] and [autotag]Damonic Williams[/autotag].

Blidi bolsters an already solid Auburn transfer class that ranks 10th in the country, according to On3.

LSU remains well positioned with the seventh-ranked transfer class, but Blidi is a loss given the Tigers’ need at his position.

Brian Kelly said defensive tackle is the only position LSU is after in the spring portal window. [autotag]Jacobian Guillory[/autotag] and [autotag]Jalen Lee[/autotag] are the only two scholarship defensive tackles on the roster who saw time for LSU last year.

Despite the lack of numbers, Kelly feels good about where the position is headed with defensive line coach [autotag]Bo Davis[/autotag] leading the way.

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Simeon Barrow and Damonic Williams offer LSU chance to rebuild defensive line

A couple of big name transfers could allow LSU to rebuild its defensive tackle room.

The spring portal window is open and one position is in especially high demand — defensive tackle. LSU head coach Brian Kelly even went so far as to say this is the only position LSU is looking to add.

Just a few days in, the Tigers already have a couple of key visits lined up. LSU will be hosting [autotag]Simeon Barrow Jr.[/autotag] and [autotag]Damonic Williams[/autotag] in the near future with the hopes of landing a defensive tackle that can make an immediate impact.

Following the spring game, Kelly credited defensive line coach Bo Davis with bringing a different level of talent to campus. We’re seeing more evidence of that here even if there’s a way to go in both players’ recruitments.

As it stands, LSU has one proven player at defensive tackle in fifth-year DL [autotag]Jacobian Guillory[/autotag]. The Tigers need help there is this defense wants to take a step forward.

With Barrow and Williams, LSU has the chance to add an instant upgrade to its defensive tackle group. Relying on the portal is a tricky way to build a team, but LSU’s gotten lucky with some difference makers on the DL entering their names.

It will be tough for LSU to land both of these players, and fans shouldn’t expect that, but even one would go a long way toward shoring up the middle of this defense. Depth would remain a concern, but a starting two of Guillory and Barrow or Guillory and Williams will do the job.

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Brian Kelly details LSU’s new defensive staff hires

The Tigers will have an almost entirely new-look defensive staff in 2024.

It was an offseason full of shakeups on the defensive side of the ball for LSU.

Following the ReliaQuest Bowl, the Tigers fired defensive coordinator [autotag]Matt House[/autotag] and most of his staff. Replacing him is [autotag]Blake Baker[/autotag], who [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] recently commented on during his trip to the Senior Bowl.

“I got a chance to spend a little bit of time with Blake,” Kelly said. “But anytime there is a transition, it is very difficult to commit to anybody because you are bringing in a whole new philosophy and a way of doing things.

“I was impressed with him and then obviously, with the work he did at Missouri. And as an SEC opponent, we got a chance to see him first-hand. Was impressed with his work. His ability to recruit and certainly the relationships he built at LSU when he was here made him a logical choice.”

Joining Baker on the defensive staff are [autotag]Bo Davis[/autotag] and [autotag]Kevin Peoples[/autotag], who will coach the defensive line, and [autotag]Corey Raymond[/autotag] and [autotag]Jake Olsen[/autotag], who will work with the secondary.

It’s a return to LSU for both Davis and Raymond. Both are former LSU players and have been on staff before, with Raymond serving as a defensive backs coach from 2012-21. Baker and Olsen also previously coached at LSU.

“When we talk about the best defensive line coaches in the country, his name keeps coming up,” Kelly said. “I got a chance to spend some time with him and talk to him about returning to LSU. It wasn’t an easy decision for him. He was at a great school and a great program, but I think the ability to come back to LSU was attractive to him. The ability to build something here great was attractive.

“Certainly teaming him with Kevin Peoples, who is an outstanding defensive line coach who sometimes gets into the shadows but is, in his own right, one of the best in the business. I think we’ve got two outstanding coaches there that are going to do a great job.”

LSU will hope this new staff can reverse last season’s defensive woes, which held the team back despite the offense being one of the best in the country.

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Josh Pate optimistic about LSU’s offseason defensive moves

LSU reworked nearly its entire defensive coaching staff this offseason.

LSU boasted one of the best offenses in school history and arguably the best in the entire nation in 2023.

[autotag]Jayden Daniels[/autotag] won the Heisman Trophy, [autotag]Malik Nabers[/autotag] finished as the nation’s second-leading receiver and a finalist for the Biletnikof Award, and [autotag]Brian Thomas Jr.[/autotag] led the nation in receiving touchdowns.

Despite those pieces, the Tigers finished with three losses and failed to repeat as SEC West champions. The defense was a major reason for that, and the Tigers have retooled nearly the entire staff on that side of the ball, which is now led by new defensive coordinator [autotag]Blake Baker[/autotag] from Missouri.

Josh Pate, host of Late Kick, praised those offseason moves.

“I don’t know that they have the personnel defensively to make it look any better but I think it will look better. I think LSU just made some really sizable defensive moves. [autotag]Kevin Peoples[/autotag], even with [autotag]Bo Davis[/autotag] coming in, even with Blake Baker coming in as the DC, I thought Peoples might be the best pound for pound defensive coach they brought in,” Pate said, per 247Sports.

“All those guys are big time upgrades over what they’ve had. When I say they made moves, that doesn’t mean everybody looks at each other and says ‘alright we’re all on board?’ Everybody has butting of heads in their athletic department. Teams that lose have it, teams that win have it. As long as everyone has the same end goal in mind, disagreement is not the worst thing in the world.”

Pate said that he still questions whether the defense will have the talent in 2024 to compete for an SEC or national championship, but he also said he’s interested to see what the team does in the spring portal window, where it’s likely to add more players with a number of position groups still looking thin.

“They have the sixth best odds to win the college football playoffs this year and that’s with being in the SEC. They have the fourth best odds to win the SEC. They are a top 10 recruiter since Brian Kelly’s been there, they are portaling very well, I don’t that the caliber of defensive personnel this year will be at the level they need it to be to compete for the national title,” Pate said.

“You’ve got the post spring portal window, let’s see what they do but I think the defensive moves they made, will at least have a different effort, a different caliber of LSU defense on the field. They got some really good players there. It is possible to scale performance using the same ingredients that made a meal last year that you didn’t like the taste of at all. You get the right teachers, the right coaches in the room and they took gigantic leaps towards doing that.”

LSU will hope Pate’s optimism is well-founded as the team looks to bounce back from a season that felt like a missed opportunity. It will have to do so without many of the stars from this year’s offense.

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Paul Finebaum lists LSU as a winner of the offseason so far

The Tigers essentially rebuilt the entire defensive staff following the 2023 season.

There’s a lot of time between now and kickoff in the 2024 football season, but with spring practice just around the corner, coaching staffs and rosters are finally starting to come together.

SEC Network host Paul Finebaum recently reflected on which programs are having the best offseason so far. His overall winner was Ohio State, which has landed some high-profile talent in the transfer portal.

However, he also mentioned LSU as a team that has taken significant strides this offseason, praising both the talent acquisition and the coaching staff moves that [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] made.

“LSU has built itself up very well for the future, including next year’s recruiting class by putting some important pieces together this year from a coaching standpoint,” Finebaum said, per On3.

The Tigers essentially rebuilt the entire defensive staff, bringing in Missouri defensive coordinator [autotag]Blake Baker[/autotag] while making some splashy reunions as [autotag]Bo Davis[/autotag] and [autotag]Corey Raymond[/autotag] return to Baton Rouge.

LSU will hope those changes pay dividends after defensive issues held back arguably the best offense in the entire country in 2023.

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Five LSU players primed for a breakout in 2024

These five LSU football players are primed for breakout years in 2023

It’s been a busy offseason for LSU, but with the first transfer window closed, the 2024 signing class nearing the finish line, and the staff finalized, we have a better idea of what LSU football will look like this fall.

We’re still months away from kickoff, but it’s never too early to look at some players who could be prime for a breakout year in Baton Rouge. Some of these guys made an impact last year, but will be looking to take up a notch. Others will be first-time starters looking to make a name.

Let’s jump right in and see who LSU is counting on to take a step forward in Brian Kelly’s third-year.

Bo Davis reportedly solidifies 5-star DL Dominick McKinley’s commitment to LSU

Dominick McKinley’s official visit this weekend reportedly shored things up for LSU.

LSU pulled off a colossal flip on New Year’s Eve, landing a commitment from five-star defensive line prospect [autotag]Dominick McKinley[/autotag].

McKinley, who ranks as the No. 1 player in the state of Louisiana in the 2024 class, was previously committed to Texas A&M. But after a coaching change in College Station, he’ll be staying in state.

He won’t officially sign with the Tigers until February, but it seems he’s locked in. According to On3’s Billy Embody (subscription required), McKinley has finalized his decision after speaking to new defensive line coach [autotag]Bo Davis[/autotag] and is locked in with the Tigers despite the defensive staff shakeup after taking an official visit this past weekend.

McKinley ranks as the No. 27 overall player in the nation, per the 247Sports Composite, and he gives LSU the No. 8-ranked recruiting class in 2024.

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