Tag: Brian Kelly

LSU offers 4-star safety from Jacksonville, Florida

Simeon Caldwell has received no crystal ball projections, but Notre Dame is a 27% favorite to land him per On3.

[autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] and his recruiting staff traveled to Jacksonville, Florida, to extend a scholarship offer to a 2026 safety.

[autotag]Simeon Caldwell[/autotag] is a 6-foot-3, 185-pound, four-star safety from Jacksonville where he plays for Bolles High School. The Bolles Bulldogs are 6-1 this season after a win over Andrew Jackson last Friday night.

Caldwell has received no crystal ball projections, but Notre Dame is a 27% favorite to land him per On3.

Ratings

Stars National Position State
247 4 97 5 12
Rivals 4 199 12 33
ESPN 4 28 4 4
On3 4 48 4 9
247 Composite 4 81 6 12

Vitals

Hometown Jacksonville, Florida
Position S
Height 6’3
Weight 185
Class 2026

Recruitment

  • Offered on October 9, 2024
  • No visits yet

Offers

Recruitment Projections

  • Notre Dame is a 27% favorite per On3.
  • There are no crystal ball projections at this time.

Twitter

https://twitter.com/Sim_C24/status/1844215174183752081

Contact/Follow us @LSUTigersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Louisiana State news, notes, and opinions.

LSU offers 4-star safety committed to Ole Miss

The Tigers are looking to pull off a flip from their SEC rival.

[autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] and his recruiting staff traveled to Pensacola, Florida, to extend a scholarship offer to a four-star safety.

[autotag]Ladarian Clardy[/autotag] is a 5-foot-11, 175-pound, four-star safety from Pensacola where he plays for Escambia High School. The Escambia Gators are 4-2 with a win over Navarro last Friday night.

Clardy has received crystal ball projections to Ole Miss and the Rebels are a 95% favorite to land him per On3.

Ratings

Stars National Position State
247 4 183 15 22
Rivals 4 215 21 38
ESPN 4 250 16 32
On3 4 207 18 32
247 Composite 4 212 17 33

Vitals

Hometown Pensacola, Florida
Position S
Height 5’11
Weight 175
Class 2025

Recruitment

  • Offered on September 15, 2024
  • No visits yet

Offers

Recruitment Projections

  • Ole Miss is a 95% favorite per On3.
  • There are crystal ball projections for Ole Miss at this time.

Twitter

Contact/Follow us @LSUTigersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Louisiana State news, notes, and opinions.

LSU receives prediction to flip 4-star safety from Houston

The Tigers are trending to flip Jacob Bradford from Houston.

LSU recently received some good news on the recruiting front as the Tigers are projected to flip a four-star safety who is currently committed to Houston.

[autotag]Jacob Bradford[/autotag] is a 5-foot-11, 195-pound, four-star safety from LSU’s backyard. He plays for Catholic High School in Baton Rouge. Bradford is a member of the 2025 recruiting class and he has been committed to Houston since June 23.

LSU currently has the No. 4 overall 2025 recruiting class. The Tigers currently have two safety commits for the class. [autotag]CJ Jimcoily[/autotag] and [autotag]Jhase Thomas[/autotag] are both three-star safeties who are committed to LSU.

There are currently 26 commitments for the class, headlined by three five-star players. [autotag]Bryce Underwood[/autotag], [autotag]DJ Pickett[/autotag], and [autotag]Derek Meadows[/autotag] are the five-star players committed to LSU.

If Bradford were to commit and sign with the Tigers, it would be a big pickup for [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag]. He continues to try to recruit the boot at a high rate.

https://twitter.com/On3Recruits/status/1843038542349717889

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Budding star LSU RB named among On3’s Midseason True Freshman All-American team

Caden Durham already looks like he could be LSU’s best running back as a true freshman.

On3 recently released its midseason True Freshman All-American team and a member of the LSU Tigers is listed on the team.

[autotag]Caden Durham[/autotag], the star freshman running back from Duncanville, Texas, finds himself as the starting running back on the Freshman All-American team. LSU is a team that has struggled to run the ball in the [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] regime but Durham has given the Tigers hope for a future running game.

In four games this season, Durham has 29 carries for 244 yards and three touchdowns. He has also caught six passes for 130 yards and two touchdowns.

Here is what On3 had to say about him.

Caden Durham has provided a much-needed big-play spark to the LSU backfield. The speedster from Duncanville (Texas) High has had a few huge games for the Tigers to this point in the season. He earned On3 True Freshman of the Week honors in week three after rushing for 98 yards and two touchdowns in a close win over South Carolina. Durham followed that up by erupting for over 200 yards and two touchdowns in the first half against South Alabama. The true freshman entered college with well-known big-play ability – he doubled as a track star and ran the 100 meters in the 10.4 second range. With that said, he’s also shown impressive contact balance and the ability to force missed tackles. Given his emergence in the last month, Durham looks to be a staple in LSu’s backfield for years to come. He ranked as the No. 116 overall prospect in the 2024 On300 and rushed for over 2,000 yards and 35 touchdowns as a senior at Duncanville.

Durham looks to keep his momentum rolling as the Tigers play a pivotal game against Ole Miss this weekend.

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Brian Kelly shares what’s different about LSU’s defense in 2024

Brian Kelly shared his thoughts on the state of LSU’s defense heading into 2024’s battle with Ole Miss.

Ole Miss hung 55 points on LSU in Oxford last year. It was one of the worst defensive performances in program history and the beginning of the end for former LSU defensive coordinator [autotag]Matt House[/autotag].

Following the season, head coach [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] made wholesale changes on the defensive side of the ball, hiring [autotag]Blake Baker[/autotag] away from Missouri to run the defense.

LSU faces Ole Miss again on Saturday. The Rebels’ offense is still dangerous and this provides a measuring stick for LSU’s defense.

Earlier this week, Kelly was asked about last year’s performance vs. Ole Miss.

“Obviously, you’re going to turn on the film from last year, and you’re going to look at it and go, okay, that’s not what we want to be defensively,” Kelly said.

“Players would say from a coaching standpoint and a playing standpoint, we’re much further along. That’s not the same defense,” Kelly said.

Ole Miss racked up 706 yards of total offense against LSU last year. 389 through the air and 317 on the ground.

Kelly said when you’re playing an up-tempo team like Ole Miss, the game comes down to getting lined up and tackling. LSU did neither of those things well last year.

Kelly said that the key on Saturday will be making Ole Miss one-dimensional. LSU can do that by putting pressure on Jaxson Dart and getting Lane Kiffin’s offense off schedule.

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Brian Kelly shares thoughts on Ole Miss potentially ‘faking’ injuries

Ole Miss has faced some scrutiny after a high number of injury timeouts in recent weeks.

Ole Miss secured a big win over South Carolina in week five, but the Rebels left the game facing some allegations of “faking injuries.”

The game featured 11 injury timeouts due to an Ole Miss player going down. Several of the stops came after South Carolina picked up a first-down or generated an explosive play.

South Carolina’s Shane Beamer had some thoughts after the game.

“It’s fascinating to me how many injuries occur for them after the opposing offense makes a first down or has a big play,” Beamer said. “You go back and watch the Wake Forest game, and it happens a lot to the same guy.”

With LSU set to play Ole Miss on Saturday, LSU head coach [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] was asked about the matter. He didn’t say much, but he did note the SEC has a policy in place to deal with fake injuries.

As far as it goes in-game, Kelly said the officials should stay out of it.

https://twitter.com/bhollandsports/status/1843338884916338798?s=46

Kelly’s take makes sense. You don’t want an official put in a spot to declare whether an injury is fake or not. It’s unfair to the official and in a situation where he makes the wrong call, it’s unfair to the player.

But if Ole Miss is faking injuries, it’s something the SEC should look into.

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Ole Miss’ trip to Death Valley gives LSU chance at revenge

LSU has a chance to exercise its demons from 2023 with a win over Ole Miss

Ole Miss dashed LSU’s playoff hopes last year with a shootout win in Oxford. LSU entered the game 3-1 with no margin for error thanks to a season opening loss to Florida State.

Ole Miss led 21-7 after the first quarter and from that point on, it was a track meet. LSU cut the deficit to three and Ole Miss led 31-28 at the half.

LSU’s defense buckled down in the third quarter, allowing just a field goal. That allowed LSU to take a 42-34 lead into the fourth, but the defense gave out and Ole Miss scored three touchdowns to LSU’s one in the final 15 minutes.

LSU dropped to 3-2 and was out of the playoff picture with two losses before the calendar struck October.

The Tigers have a chance to repay the favor on Saturday. Ole Miss enters this one 4-1 with national title hopes. The Rebels were upset by Kentucky two weeks ago but bounced back with an emphatic win over South Carolina on Saturday.

This is a swing game as far as the playoff picture goes. Both teams enter with a questionable loss and lack a signature win. The winner will be in a position to grab a playoff spot while the loser will likely need to win out or get some help.

Lane Kiffin has proven to be trouble for LSU since arriving in Oxford. LSU squeaked out a win in 2020 but was on the wrong end of a blowout in 2021. In 2022, LSU played the spoiler role in Tiger Stadium, staging a comeback to knock off the top 10 ranked Rebels.

If the recent back-and-forth nature of this series continues on Saturday, that’s good news for LSU.

LSU knows it left something on the table in that game last year. When the offense plays like that, it should be enough to win.

Jaxson Dart and Tre Harris carved LSU up in 2023. Both will be there when Ole Miss heads to Tiger Stadium on Saturday. This is a chance for the defense to show the progress it has made.

LSU fired its entire defensive staff following the season and the Ole Miss loss played a large part in sealing their fate. A good performance here would stand in stark contrast to the display put on in 2023.

The Tigers are coming off a bye and get a home game at night in Death Valley. It’s hard to ask for a much better situation than that.

These are the games that will come to define Brian Kelly’s tenure at LSU. There’s a chance here to exercise those demons from last year and demonstrate real progress towards Kelly’s ultimate goal at LSU — a national championship.

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Brian Thomas Jr. honors LSU WR coach Cortez Hankton before scoring blazing touchdown for Jaguars

Former LSU receiver Brian Thomas Jr. honors LSU coach before taking 85-yard TD to the house.

LSU put a trio of stars into the NFL this year with [autotag]Jayden Daniels[/autotag], [autotag]Malik Nabers[/autotag] and [autotag]Brian Thomas Jr.[/autotag] going in the first round of the 2024 NFL draft. All three are off to strong starts, continuing to hold up LSU’s reputation of producing top-tier NFL talent.

Thomas, in particular, is putting on a show. Now with the Jacksonville Jaguars, he has 22 catches for 397 yards on the year. On Sunday, he set career highs, eclipsing the 100-yard mark for the first time in his young NFL career with 5 catches for 122 yards and a score.

Before the game, Thomas wore a shirt paying respect to [autotag]Cortez Hankton[/autotag], Thomas’ wide receivers coach at LSU. The shirt featured images of Hankton from his time with the Jaguars.

The highlight of the day was an 85-yard touchdown in which Thomas hit 22.15 miles per hour, the fastest measured time for any ball carrier this season.

Thomas made a living off the deep ball at LSU and that hasn’t stopped now that he’s in the NFL.

Thomas’ blend of size and speed made him a tantalizing prospect for NFL teams. Entering 2023 at LSU, Thomas wasn’t projected to be an early-round pick. But after a strong year and an impressive performance at the NFL combine, Thomas was quick to make a rise up the draft board.

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LSU benefits from crazy Week 6 in college football

LSU stands to benefit from chaos around the sport in Week 6.

LSU didn’t play on Saturday, but the Tigers are feeling the impact of a chaotic college football Saturday. A wild day in the SEC busted the conference race wide open, raising the stakes for LSU in its approaching showdown with Ole Miss.

No. 1 Alabama and No. 4 Tennessee both fell on the road to Vanderbilt and Arkansas, respectively. The Crimson Tide were in the driver’s seat coming off the win vs. Georgia, but now the margin for error grows thin. The same could be said for Tennessee, who was on a roll after going on the road to beat Oklahoma two weeks ago.

For a team like LSU which is 1-0 in conference play but has a nonconference loss on its record, the chaos is good. LSU didn’t play, but it moved up in the standings. As far as playoff resumes go, Alabama’s and Tennessee’s losses are both worse than LSU’s loss to USC, even with the Trojans falling to Minnesota.

This LSU team isn’t dominant. It was always going to need some help to make the College Football Playoff and the muddier the picture gets across the sport, the more paths there are for LSU.

On Saturday, LSU welcomes Ole Miss to town. It’s LSU’s biggest test since the season opener and we’ll find out just how much progress LSU made over the last month and change. A win, and LSU is right back in the national picture.

LSU has the chance to buy back the margin for error it lost against USC. At 10-2, I’d like LSU’s chances of making the 12-team field. LSU can beat Ole Miss and afford to drop one later in the year. If LSU loses, it probably has to win out.

But after Saturday, it’s clear that few resumes will be perfect this year. That’s good news for the Tigers.

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LSU offers 4-star wide receiver from Knoxville, Tennessee

The Tigers are looking to steal a 2026 wideout from Tennessee’s backyard.

[autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] and his recruiting staff traveled to Picayune, Mississippi, to extend a scholarship offer to a 2026 defensive lineman.

[autotag]Tyreek King[/autotag] is a 6-foot, 165-pound, four-star wide receiver from Knoxville where he plays for Knoxville Catholic High School. The Knoxville Catholic is 3-3 this season after a loss to Montgomery Bell Academy last Friday.

King has received no crystal ball projections, but Tennessee is a 51% favorite to land him per On3.

Ratings

Stars National Position State
247 3 – 44 6
Rivals 4 94 19 3
ESPN 4 166 29 3
On3 3 272 40 9
247 Composite 4 183 31 6

Vitals

Hometown Knoxville, Tennessee
Position WR
Height 6’0
Weight 165
Class 2026

Recruitment

  • Offered on September 27, 2024
  • No visits yet

Offers

Recruitment Projections

  • Tennessee is a 51% favorite per On3.
  • There are no crystal ball projections at this time.

Twitter

Contact/Follow us @LSUTigersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Louisiana State news, notes, and opinions.