Tag: denver harris

LSU cornerback JK Johnson spotted in cast at practice on Monday

The Ohio State transfer will seemingly be unavailable for at least the near future.

LSU seems to be dealing with a potentially major issue in the secondary.

[autotag]JK Johnson[/autotag], a transfer addition from Ohio State this offseason, was spotted at Monday’s practice wearing a cast and using a scooter to move around. It’s unclear exactly how long Johnson will be unavailable.

In two seasons with the Buckeyes, Johnson appeared in five games and made five starts, all of which came last season. He finished the season with 20 tackles, and now the St. Louis native is reunited with his high school coach in LSU cornerbacks coach [autotag]Robert Steeples[/autotag].

If Johnson is unable to go by the start of the season, it would certainly impact the team’s depth in the secondary as he was expected to compete for a starting spot on the outside alongside fellow transfers [autotag]Zy Alexander[/autotag] and [autotag]Denver Harris[/autotag].

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Fight breaks out at LSU fall practice, according to multiple reports

Kyren Lacy and Malik Nabers were reportedly sent to the locker room, while Harold Perkins didn’t play another snap in the scrimmage.

There was reportedly a fight during LSU’s practice on Monday. The details of the fight are not clear, but among the players reported to be involved are [autotag]Malik Nabers[/autotag], [autotag]Kyren Lacy[/autotag], [autotag]Harold Perkins[/autotag], [autotag]Major Burns[/autotag] and [autotag]Denver Harris[/autotag].

According to Koki Riley of The Daily Advertiser, there were three separate scuffles. He noted that Perkins and Lacy appeared to start the first one.

Per Wilson Alexander of The Advocate, the fight involved punches thrown and players taken to the ground. Nabers and Lacy were sent to the locker room, while Perkins attempted to return to the 11-on-11 scrimmage but was pulled aside by coach [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] and didn’t play another snap after that.

After the practice session, defensive end [autotag]Sai’Vion Jones[/autotag] told the media that Kelly’s frustrated message to the team following the fight was to “respect the brotherhood.”

This is currently a developing story, and we’ll keep you posted regarding any updates.

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5-star 2025 cornerback target trims list to 10

Elite Houston prospect Devin Sanchez has made his first round of cuts.

Five-star Houston North Shore cornerback [autotag]Devin Sanchez[/autotag] holds more than 20 offers, but the elite Texas defensive back prospect has trimmed his list of schools down to 10.

LSU made the cut for Sanchez alongside Ohio State, Alabama, Texas A&M, Florida State, Oklahoma, Oregon, USC, Texas, and Michigan. The Tigers hosted Sanchez for an unofficial visit in the spring, though the bulk of his trips have been to Tuscaloosa.

The Tigers do have one ace up their sleeve, however. Cornerback [autotag]Denver Harris[/autotag], an offseason transfer addition from the Aggies, is Sanchez’s former teammate at North Shore. Sanchez told On3 that the opportunity to reunite with Harris is an appealing one.

Sanchez, who ranks as the No. 7 overall prospect in the 2025 class, currently holds no Crystal Ball predictions from 247Sports. Alabama has a slim lead at 30%, per the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine, but LSU has plenty of time to make up some ground here.

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2023 LSU Tigers Snapshot Profile: No. 12 JK Johnson

JK Johnson started five of the 13 games he appeared in as a redshirt freshman for Ohio State last fall.

Going into the 2023 football season, LSU Wire will be looking at each player listed on the Tigers’ roster.

Over the preseason, each profile will cover where the player is from, how recruiting websites rated them coming out of high school, and what role they will play for Brian Kelly this season.

After losing a lot of production in the secondary from the 2022 team, the Tigers went heavy to the transfer portal to plug the holes. One of the top additions is cornerback [autotag]JK Johnson[/autotag], who was a rotational player with Ohio State as a redshirt freshman last fall but is expected to take a step forward this fall.

JK Johnson Preseason Player Profile

Hometown: St. Louis, Missouri

Ht: 6-1

Wt: 180

247Sports Composite Ranking

Four Stars | No. 1 in Missouri | No. 3 Cornerback

Class in 2022: Redshirt Freshman

Career Stats

Year G Total Solo TFL Sack FF PD INT
2021 (Ohio State) 2 2 2 0 0 0 0 0
2022 (Ohio State) 13 20 16 0 0 0 0 0


Depth Chart Overview

A former top-50 recruit coming out of high school and the top prospect in the state of Missouri, Johnson redshirted his first season at Ohio State after appearing in just two games.

He saw a much bigger role as a redshirt freshman last fall, appearing in 13 games and making five starts. He had minimal production, making 20 tackles while not breaking up or intercepting any passes.

He hit the transfer portal after the season, and he lands with an LSU team that has to replace [autotag]Mekhi Garner[/autotag], [autotag]Jarrick Bernard-Converse[/autotag], [autotag]Colby Richardson[/autotag] and [autotag]Jay Ward[/autotag]. Johnson will likely be in the mix to earn a starting spot on the outside this season alongside transfers [autotag]Duce Chestnut[/autotag] and [autotag]Denver Harris[/autotag], as well as returning contributor [autotag]Laterrance Welch[/autotag].

JK Johnson’s Photo Gallery

2023 LSU Tigers Snapshot Profile: No. 10 Denver Harris

Denver Harris was one of the top transfer portal options this offseason.

Going into the 2023 football season, LSU Wire will be looking at each player listed on the Tigers’ roster.

Over the preseason, each profile will cover where the player is from, how recruiting websites rated them coming out of high school, and what role they will play for Brian Kelly this season.

Once again, LSU hit the transfer portal hard to find replacement options in the transfer portal, and arguably the biggest addition in that group is [autotag]Denver Harris[/autotag], a former five-star recruit who saw limited action in his one season at Texas A&M but has a lot of potential to develop on this LSU defense.

Denver Harris Preseason Player Profile

Hometown: Houston, Texas

Ht: 6-0

Wt: 183

247Sports Composite Ranking

Five Stars | No. 6 in Texas | No. 4 Cornerback

Class in 2022: Freshman

Career Stats

Year G Total Solo TFL Sack FF PD INT
2022 (Texas A&M) 5 14 10 0 0 0 3 0


Depth Chart Overview

The former five-star from Houston was a major piece of one of the best signing classes in history for the Aggies, but after a true freshman season in which he only saw the field in a limited role and played in just five games, he’s looking for a new beginning.

LSU has a lot of talent in the secondary, and he may be looking at another season in a more rotational role. However, he will compete with transfers [autotag]Zy Alexander[/autotag] and [autotag]JK Johnson[/autotag], as well as returning cornerback [autotag]Laterrance Welch[/autotag], for a starting spot this fall.

Denver Harris’ Photo Gallery

LSU among many Power 5 programs in hot pursuit of veteran Louisiana DB transfer

The Tigers are one of several Power Five programs throwing its hat in the ring for the recruitment of experienced Louisiana defensive back transfer Trey Amos.

The Tigers are one of several Power Five programs throwing its hat in the ring for the recruitment of experienced Louisiana defensive back transfer [autotag]Trey Amos[/autotag].

Since entering the transfer portal Monday, Amos has heard from programs all across the country and has announced 14 offers on his Twitter account. LSU is among them.

The Tigers have been very active in adding defensive backs through the transfer portal this cycle with pickups like [autotag]JK Johnson[/autotag], [autotag]Denver Harris[/autotag] and [autotag]Duce Chestnut[/autotag]. Adding Amos would be the icing on the cake.

A three-year player for the Ragin’ Cajuns, he started 10 of the 11 games he played in last year, finishing a career season with 35 total tackles and eight pass breakups.

The Tigers will face stiff competition in the race for Amos. Among a star-studded offer list is Florida and his former head coach in Billy Napier as well as Alabama, which seems to have some momentum right now. We’ll see if Kelly can land another Louisiana player through the transfer portal in the New Iberia native.

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Where does ESPN rank LSU’s defense entering 2023 season?

Despite a lot of new faces, ESPN is buying this unit in its latest defensive power rankings for the 2023 season.

LSU returns a lot of talent in 2023 coming off a 10-win, SEC West championship season last fall.

That is especially true on offense, where the team returns starting quarterback [autotag]Jayden Daniels[/autotag], all of its top running backs, its two best pass-catchers arguably in [autotag]Malik Nabers[/autotag] and [autotag]Mason Taylor[/autotag], as well as an offensive line that is young but promising and brings back all but one starter.

Defensively, though, there are a few more questions. The Tigers lost a good amount of production including their two starting defensive ends and much of their secondary. However, coach [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] hit the portal once again to rebuild.

After adding players like [autotag]JK Johnson[/autotag] and [autotag]Denver Harris[/autotag] in the secondary, as well as linebacker [autotag]Omar Speights[/autotag] and defensive line additions like [autotag]Bradyn Swinson[/autotag], [autotag]Ovie Oghoufo[/autotag] and [autotag]Paris Shand[/autotag], this group looks promising despite featuring a lot of new faces for the second year in a row.

Still, ESPN is buying the unit and ranks it as the No. 7 defense in the country entering the season.

2022 future defense power ranking: 9

Scouting the Tigers: LSU’s defense is in a good spot after a solid but not spectacular 2022 season under a new coaching staff. The unit brings back star power, especially with linebacker Harold Perkins Jr. for at least two more seasons. But there are some holes to fill, especially in the secondary and up front, as B.J. Ojulari moves on to the NFL. The return of dynamic defensive tackle Maason Smith, injured while celebrating during the 2022 opener, helps a line that loses both Ojulari and end Ali Gaye. Smith and Mekhi Wingo, a third-team AP All-America selection who had three sacks and six tackles for loss, give the Tigers two interior stalwarts, both with multiple years of eligibility left. Junior end Sai’vion Jones could see a bigger role after finishing third on the team in sacks (4.5) last fall. Jacobian Guillory and Arizona transfer Paris Shand provide depth inside. Ovie Oghoufo, a Texas transfer with 13 career sacks, should help fill the pass-rushing gap.

The Tigers have one of the nation’s best linebacker tandems in Perkins and Omar Speights, an Oregon State transfer who earned first-team All-Pac-12 honors in 2022. The group also boasts junior Greg Penn III, who finished second on the team in tackles last season (78). Junior West Weeks is a solid depth player who had 28 tackles last season. Veteran safety Greg Brooks Jr. will lead the secondary after showing production and playmaking in 2022. Brooks and junior Major Burns project to start at safety. The cornerback spot is a bigger mystery, although LSU has options with transfers Duce Chestnut (Syracuse), Denver Harris (Texas A&M), JK Johnson (Ohio State) and Zy Alexander (Southeastern Louisiana), as well as holdovers such as Sage Ryan, an ESPN top-65 recruit in 2021. LSU also signed Javien Toviano (cornerback) and Da’Shawn Wommack (defensive end). The team’s overall defensive recruiting remains promising.

With the offseason additions plus the return of a budding superstar in linebacker [autotag]Harold Perkins[/autotag], this defense is certainly promising. You can never know for sure how a defense filled with transfers will look until it takes the field, but there will be no shortage of defensive talent in Baton Rouge this season.

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LSU football’s Greg Brooks Jr. plans to uphold ‘DBU’ tradition in 2023

Can LSU maintain its DBU claim in 2023?

LSU is one of several college football programs that considers itself the premier producer of defensive back talent in the country and has adopted the moniker “DBU” to reflect that.

Though that is a point of contention with several other schools, given that the Tigers have produced players like [autotag]Patrick Peterson[/autotag], [autotag]Tyrann Mathieu[/autotag] and [autotag]Jamal Adams[/autotag], just to name a few, they certainly have a case.

This year’s group of defensive backs will feature a lot of new faces after a number of players departed and were subsequently replaced in the transfer portal with players like [autotag]Duce Chestnut[/autotag], [autotag]Denver Harris[/autotag] and [autotag]Zy Alexander[/autotag].

[autotag]Greg Brooks Jr.[/autotag], one of the few returning veterans in the defensive backfield, said this year’s group has what it takes to keep that DBU tradition alive, according to On3.

“It’s great, you know what I’m saying. We gotta keep the tradition going. It’s gonna be a fun year,” said Brooks. “We have a lot of new guys. And I feel like a lot of us are gonna step up to keep that name, upholding this tradition.”

After a portal-heavy rebuild in the secondary last offseason, Kelly had to do so once again. Sustaining success that way may not be easy, but there’s no denying the talent on the roster at the position.

LSU fans will hope Brooks is right and the defensive backs can continue to be a strength.

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Brian Kelly opens up about Denver Harris’ exit from Texas A&M

Kelly spoke about the process that went into Harris’ recruitment following his messy exit from Texas A&M.

When [autotag]Denver Harris[/autotag] left Texas A&M and hit the transfer portal, there was no question about his talent.

He was one of the best available players — a former five-star who fit the bill when he was on the field, too.

But there were questions about his messy exit from A&M. Harris was one of several A&M players disciplined last fall. He went from a freshman phenom to not seeing the field.

LSU needed corners and Harris’ talent was too big to ignore, but in Brian Kelly’s time at LSU, he’s said LSU just doesn’t want to take anyone from the portal – especially if there were issues at the previous stop.

Harris committed to LSU in December, helping to address that need in the secondary.

Kelly spoke about the process that went into that after Tuesday’s practice.

It sounds like Kelly feels whatever happened with Harris at A&M is behind him. Kelly trusts in the culture that he’s building at LSU.

“So far, so good,” he said.

LSU will need the situation to remain that way as Harris figures to be a key part of the defense in 2023.

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LSU State of the Program: Secondary looks to build a foundation

Here’s what to expect from LSU’s secondary this year and moving forward.

Thinking about the lead-up to last season, I think I wrote more about LSU’s new-look secondary than anything else. [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] rebuilding the room from scratch was a major storyline.

A year later, I’m getting deja vu. LSU, once again, has taken to the portal to fill out the secondary.

Several of last year’s additions were on the older side, approaching the end of their eligibility or in the case of [autotag]Mekhi Garner[/autotag] and [autotag]Jay Ward[/autotag], ready to declare for the draft.

[autotag]Jarrick Bernard-Converse[/autotag], [autotag]Joe Foucha[/autotag] and [autotag]Colby Richardson[/autotag] are gone, too.

A few younger players choose to exit through the portal. [autotag]Raydarious Jones[/autotag], [autotag]Jaelyn Davis-Robinson[/autotag] and [autotag]Damarius McGhee[/autotag] will all be playing elsewhere.

There’s no cause for concern yet with some of the portal’s best corners set to wear purple and gold. Here’s what the group looks like in 2023 and beyond.