Tag: Fitzgerald West

Report: Sage Ryan withdraws from transfer portal

Sage Ryan was spotted at bowl practice Tuesday despite announcing he’d be entering the portal.

LSU took a major loss in the secondary last week as cornerback [autotag]Sage Ryan[/autotag] announced his intentions to enter the transfer portal.

While Ryan said his decision was “effective immediately,” he hasn’t formally entered the transfer portal. And according to a report from The Advocate’s Wilson Alexander, there’s reason to believe he may be second-guessing that decision.

Per Alexander, Ryan participated in bowl practice on Tuesday after missing a team meeting on Monday. This, paired with comments from [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] that everyone who appeared in the last game would be available for the bowl game, would seem to imply Ryan plans to play in the bowl.

Whether he’s contemplating staying at LSU is unclear, but it would be a major boost if he did. A former five-star recruit, Ryan began his career mostly playing safety and nickel but moved to the outside to help with depth issues this season.

He ultimately started nine games, bringing much-needed consistency to the cornerback position, which was down quite a few players by the end of the season.

According to Alexander, defensive linemen [autotag]Tygee Hill[/autotag] and [autotag]Fitzgerald West[/autotag] were the only other scholarship players in the portal who practiced on Tuesday.

UPDATE: Ryan will officially remain at LSU and withdraw from the transfer portal. The news was first reported by Lonn Phillips Sullivan of LSU Odyssey.

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LSU defensive tackle Fitzgerald West enters the transfer portal

Fitzgerald West played on both sides of the ball in his two years at LSU.

LSU’s defensive line depth took a hit as defensive tackle [autotag]Fitzgerald West[/autotag] announced that he would be entering the transfer portal.

A former three-star recruit from Lafayette Christian Academy who played on both sides of the ball in high school, West saw action on both offense and defense as well as special teams while appearing in five games during his true freshman season.

After taking a redshirt year, he moved to focus solely on the defensive line this season, but the result was a decrease in playing time. He appeared in just two games, blowout wins over Grambling and Army, earning a tackle in each contest.

West’s departure only raises further questions about depth along the defensive line, which could be set to lose [autotag]Maason Smith[/autotag] and [autotag]Mekhi Wingo[/autotag] after this season.

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11 LSU players to study abroad in Senegal next week

The selected players will head to Dakar, Senegal, for an eight-day trip.

Eleven LSU players will have the opportunity to study abroad next week.

The players will be heading to Dakar, Senegal, for an eight-day trip that begins on Saturday. The players will return on May 21. It’s the first time that Tigers football players have participated in the study abroad program.

The 11 football players selected to make the trip are running back [autotag]Noah Cain[/autotag], receiver [autotag]Chris Hilton[/autotag], offensive tackle [autotag]Emery Jones[/autotag], receiver [autotag]Malik Nabers[/autotag], linebacker [autotag]West Weeks[/autotag], running back [autotag]Josh Williams[/autotag], defensive tackle [autotag]Mekhi Wingo[/autotag], offensive lineman [autotag]Bo Bordelon[/autotag], receiver [autotag]Javen Nicholas[/autotag], defensive lineman [autotag]Fitzgerald West[/autotag] and long snapper [autotag]Slade Roy[/autotag].

“One of the things that I have tried to do since coming to LSU is to not only set the standards and the process of building a program that graduates champions, but to help our players establish an identity outside of football,” coach [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] said in a release. “To get the opportunity to study abroad is an experience that student-athletes really don’t get the chance to do so for our players to be able to participate in this unique educational program is something that I think will have a lifelong impact on them.

“I want our players to have the opportunity to see things from a different perspective and to really take ownership in their studies and to understand that there’s much more out there than just being a football player. The opportunities of being an LSU football player go far beyond the field so I want to use the study abroad program to help them understand that. This is one of those pieces that we can continue to build on as we work with their identity outside of football and they are excited about it.”

LSU offered a description of the program:

The robust itinerary for this study abroad experience will purposely explore the course themes of race, sports, and civic engagement in a Senegalese context. Student-athletes will have the opportunity to learn Senegal’s Wolof language, engage in a service-learning opportunity with an international NGO, and meet local Senegalese families, among other highly immersive events. The program holistically introduces LSU student-athletes to Senegal’s rich culture and its strong ties to Louisiana.

It’s a neat opportunity for these LSU players, and with spring practice in the books, they will take advantage of some of their precious little down time to have what should be the experience of a lifetime.

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Fitzgerald West details position change from offensive to defensive line

Entering the 2023 season, LSU was looking for some depth on the defensive line. Though that was partially addressed in the transfer portal, a player who was already on the roster could fit that bill: redshirt freshman Fitzgerald West. A two-way …

Entering the 2023 season, LSU was looking for some depth on the defensive line.

Though that was partially addressed in the transfer portal, a player who was already on the roster could fit that bill: redshirt freshman [autotag]Fitzgerald West[/autotag].

A two-way player who played on both the offensive and defensive lines in high school at Lafayette Christian Academy, West appeared in five games as an offensive lineman with the Tigers as a true freshman last fall.

However, he’s moving back to the defensive line entering Year 2. He’s dropped weight, and he detailed the change to WAFB’s Jacques Doucet.

“I like it,” he said of the change. “I’m used to it. I’ve been playing it almost all my life so it’s natural for me. I’d say the transition though, learning plays and stuff, it’s not too hard for me. I pretty much know the scheme, so I know pretty much my assignment every play.”

West also said he wants to add some muscle to his frame before the start of the season after dropping a considerable amount of body fat.

“I want to gain a little more muscle,” he said. “Probably like 10 pounds of muscle before the season. It’s not hard. I want to gradually do it, though. I lost a lot of body fat, but I want to gain some muscle before the season starts.”

West only saw a limited role in his first campaign in Baton Rouge, but with his versatility and transformed frame, he could prove to be a key contributor on defense as LSU looks to defend its SEC West title in 2023.

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Elite Louisiana prospect opens up committment

Ju’Juan Johnson has reopened his recruitment after the former Colorado commit took a visit to Boulder.

One of LSU’s top targets has reopened his commitment.

Four-star DB [autotag]Ju’Juan Johnson[/autotag] decommitted from Colorado following a visit over the weekend.

According to the 247Sports Composite, Johnson is the sixth-best prospect in Louisiana’s 2024 class. From Lafayette, Johnson has earned offers from many of the country’s top programs.

LSU was in hot pursuit before Johnson committed to Deion Sanders at Colorado. With the recruitment back open, LSU could hop right back in the race.

We’ve seen several LSU recruiting battles play out in a similar way before. A top prospect commits to go out of state before flipping to stay home later in the cycle.

[autotag]Ja’Marr Chase[/autotag] is one example. More recently, we saw it with QB [autotag]Rickie Collins[/autotag] last year.

LSU has a strong connection with Johnson’s high school, Lafayette Christian Academy.

LCA’s head coach is [autotag]Trev Faulk[/autotag], a former LSU linebacker and cousin of LSU legend [autotag]Kevin Faulk[/autotag].

Current Tigers [autotag]Sage Ryan[/autotag], [autotag]Jordan Allen[/autotag] and [autotag]Fitzgerald West[/autotag] were all LCA prospects.

It’ll take some time to get a feel for where LSU stands with Johnson, but the Tigers have as good a chance as anyone to keep the blue-chip prospect at home.

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Brian Kelly breaks down LSU’s defensive line depth in 2023

Here’s how the depth is shaping up on the defensive line as spring comes to a close.

With [autotag]Dashawn Womack[/autotag] and [autotag]Maason Smith[/autotag] getting back to the practice field, LSU’s defensive line is looking healthier.

However, don’t expect to see them out there on Saturday.

“It’s just not something that is worth the risk,” Kelly said when discussing potentially playing Smith, who is coming off a torn ACL, in the spring game.

With LSU thin all spring on the defensive line, several players got more reps this spring. Kelly believes that’s helped LSU improves its depth. On four-star freshman [autotag]Jaxon Howard[/autotag], Kelly said he benefited from extra work that wouldn’t have been there if LSU was fully healthy.

On the interior, [autotag]Jacobian Guillory[/autotag] also impressed Kelly, getting plenty of reps at several spots up front. [autotag]Paris Shand[/autotag], the Arizona transfer with a chance to take over for [autotag]Ali Gaye[/autotag], has also made strides.

“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,” Kelly said.

Kelly also cited [autotag]Tygee Hill[/autotag] and [autotag]Fitzgerald West[/autotag] as two guys who benefitted from the available work.

The main takeaway: Kelly likes the depth LSU has up front.

Smith and [autotag]Mekhi Wingo[/autotag] are surefire starters up the middle, but it’s wide open outside of that.

It’s also worth noting this group has been working under interim defensive line coach [autotag]Gerald Chatman[/autotag] as LSU looks to replace [autotag]Jamar Cain[/autotag].

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Soon-to-commit 4-star athlete from Louisiana has new favorite

A late contender has emerged as the favorite to land Johnson.

Prime time has come knocking for [autotag]Ju’Juan Johnson[/autotag], and for the first time (that I can remember) in his recruiting process, Colorado is projected as a 97% favorite to land the four-star athlete.

Johnson will be committing on Saturday at noon CT, and it appears that it will take a miracle for LSU to keep him home, but stranger things have happened. If there is anyone who can flip him, it’s [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag].

Kelly landed two players from Lafayette Christian Academy in the class of 2022, [autotag]Jordan Allen[/autotag] and [autotag]Fitzgerald West[/autotag]. Since coach Deion Sanders got the job at Colorado, he has been going crazy on the recruiting trail.

Sanders brought Colorado their highest-ranked recruiting class since 2008. For the second straight year, he landed the No. 1 cornerback in that year’s recruiting class (Travis Hunter and Cormani McClain). There is still a lot of time before the 2024 national signing day, but all signs are pointing toward Boulder, Colorado.

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