Tag: Frank Wilson

What impact will LSU running back Caden Durham make as a freshman?

What impact can LSU freshman RB Caden Durham make in 2024?

The running back spot is an intriguing one for LSU in 2024. The Tigers have no clear No. 1 with several players battling for carries.

You have the veterans, [autotag]Josh Williams[/autotag] and [autotag]John Emery Jr.[/autotag] The sophomores hoping for a breakout, [autotag]Kaleb Jackson[/autotag] and [autotag]Trey Holly[/autotag]. Then you have [autotag]Caden Durham[/autotag], one of the top recruits in LSU’s 2024 class.

Three of the four major recruiting services ranked Durham as a top 10 back in the class. Rivals was the highest, slating Durham No. 4 at his position.

Running back is a position where players can make an impact as a true freshman. There’s a chance for Durham to do that in 2024.

For now, the bulk of the carries are set to go to sixth-year senior Williams and sophomore Jackson. LSU’s offense will rely on the backs much more in 2024 than it did in 2023. Without [autotag]Jayden Daniels[/autotag]’ explosive rushing ability at QB, the Tigers have look elsewhere for their ground production.

LSU will need more than just Williams or Jackson to get through the year. Williams is a solid player, but he’s not a feature back. Jackson has the talent to be a centerpiece, but might still be a year away from reaching his ceiling. Expect a good amount of rotation here.

That means a guy like Durham will get his chance. LSU hasn’t had a true speedster at RB with Durham’s talent in a minute. He has the wheels to take it to the house on any play.

That’s what Daniels had last year and what LSU needs to find again. Last year, 6.7% of LSU’s runs went for 20 or more yards. That led the Power Five. Without Daniels, that will be hard to repeat. But a breakout from Durham can get the Tigers close.

Durham doesn’t need to be a down-to-down back yet. LSU has veterans that know the scheme and know the system. Those guys will carry most of the load.

Durham can function as a true change-of-pace player. LSU can simplify the game and just let him run.

Don’t expect Durham to make a ton of noise early in the season, but he can certainly be a contributor down the stretch.

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LSU’s 2025 running back class is the best in the nation

LSU’s 2025 recruiting class at running back is the nation’s best.

LSU’s 2025 class is strong. It ranks No. 3 in the country overall and its 19 blue-chip recruits are tie Ohio State for most in the nation.

The strength is especially evident at running back, where LSU has the best class in the country.

[autotag]Harlem Berry[/autotag], a class headliner, is the No. 1 RB in country according to On3, ESPN, and Rivals. The lone site that has him off the top spot is 247Sports, but he still sits at No. 2 there.

Berry isn’t the only blue-chip running back in the class. LSU also has a commitment from Louisiana four-star [autotag]JT Lindsey[/autotag]. According to 247Sports, Lindsey is the fifth-best back in the class while the On3 Industry Rankings slate him No. 13 overall.

Running backs coach [autotag]Frank Wilson[/autotag] was one of Brian Kelly’s biggest hires when Kelly arrived in Baton Rouge. LSU’s depth was tested at RB after the head coaching transition, but Wilson has rebuilt the room into one of the SEC’s most talented.

Berry will be LSU’s top running back commit since [autotag]John Emery Jr.[/autotag] signed in 2019.

With young backs like [autotag]Kaleb Jackson[/autotag], [autotag]Trey Holly[/autotag] and [autotag]Caden Durham[/autotag] already on the roster, the room is well-positioned for years to come.

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LSU Spring Football Outlook: The running backs

Here’s where LSU’s running back room stands entering spring practice.

Spring practice is the first real sign we’re moving away from 2023 and heading for the 2024 season.

At LSU, [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] is quickly approaching his third spring practice with the Tigers.

Throughout the spring, I’ll be taking a look at how LSU stacks up at every position. There’s still plenty to figure out at this point, some of which we’ll learn in the spring, but we know where LSU stands personnel-wise at these spots.

Here, we move on to the running backs. With [autotag]Jayden Daniels[/autotag] gone, more pressure will be put on the backfield to produce in the run game. Depth is a concern right now, but there’s potential. Here’s how the RB room stacks up.

Brian Kelly elaborates on roles for co-offensive coordinators Joe Sloan, Cortez Hankton

Joe Sloan will call the plays, but Brian Kelly said Cortez Hankton will still have a “major role.”

LSU will have a new offensive play-caller in 2024 after previous offensive coordinator [autotag]Mike Denbrock[/autotag] left the Tigers to return to Notre Dame in the same role.

Rather than bring in an outside candidate, [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] opted to promote from within. Quarterbacks coach [autotag]Joe Sloan[/autotag] and receivers coach/passing game coordinator [autotag]Cortez Hankton[/autotag] were tabbed as the interim co-offensive coordinators for the ReliaQuest Bowl, and Kelly recently removed the “interim” tag from both their titles.

Visiting Senior Bowl practice on Thursday, where former LSU players [autotag]Charles Turner[/autotag] and [autotag]Jordan Jefferson[/autotag] are participating, Kelly spoke to the media and addressed the roles those two coaches would occupy.

Sloan will be the primary play-caller, though Hankton will also have a “major role” Kelly said per On3’s Matthew Brune.

“Joe will take the chief responsibilities and certainly be the play caller,” Kelly said. “Cortez will have a major role as well but at the end of the day if you don’t like the play call you can see me or you can see Joe. I think we’ll have a clear delineation in terms of the roles. Both of them are outstanding. Joe will be the play caller, he’ll handle the quarterbacks and I think it’ll be a team approach. We’ve got great coaches. [autotag]Brad Davis[/autotag] does a great job with the offensive line, [autotag]Frank Wilson[/autotag], Cortez certainly, [autotag]Slade Nagle[/autotag] is an experienced offensive coordinator from Tulane who’s done great things and gives us an experienced play caller as well. I think we’re gonna lean on the group and Joe will get the lead in play calling.”

Both Sloan and Hankton are key recruiters for the Tigers, and keeping them on staff was a must, especially with the makings of an elite 2025 class. Now, we have some clarity on how the roles will be separated between the pair.

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LSU’s Frank Wilson ranked as a top five recruiter in 2024 cycle

LSU’s Frank Wilson was one of the top recruiters in the country this cycle.

When [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] was hired at LSU, one of the first things he did was bring back running backs coach [autotag]Frank Wilson[/autotag].

Wilson was at LSU from 2010-15. During that time, he was one of the top running backs coaches and recruiters in the country.

Wilson is doing more of the same in his second tenure, ranking as the fourth-best recruiter in the country, according to 247Sports.

Some of LSU’s top recruits can be attributed to Wilson, including five-star defensive tackle [autotag]Dominick McKinley[/autotag] and four-star running back [autotag]Caden Durham[/autotag].

Wilson is credited as the primary recruiter on nine of LSU’s commits, with five of them ranking as blue-chips.

Quarterbacks coach [autotag]Joe Sloan[/autotag] is also looking to finish off a strong cycle, currently ranking as the 10th best recruiter in the country.

Looking ahead to the 2025 class, Wilson is off to another hot start and currently ranks as the top recruiter in the country next cycle.

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LSU promotes Joe Sloan and Cortez Hankton to co-offensive coordinators

LSU removed the interim tag from Joe Sloan and Cortez Hankton, promoting them to full-time co-offensive coordinator roles.

According to 247Sports’ Matt Zenitz, LSU head coach [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] knows who will be calling the plays in 2024.

LSU is promoting [autotag]Joe Sloan[/autotag] and [autotag]Cortez Hankton[/autotag] to co-offensive coordinators, removing the interim tag the two had during the bowl game.

After [autotag]Mike Denbrock[/autotag] left for Notre Dame, Sloan and Hankton were seen as the favorites for this job. A 35-point showing against Wisconsin only cemented their status.

The move makes sense with LSU’s offense coming off a historic year. Sloan developed [autotag]Jayden Daniels[/autotag] into a Heisman winner and a potential top-three draft pick.

Hankton’s group, the wide receivers, were among the nation’s best with [autotag]Malik Nabers[/autotag] leading the country in yards per game while [autotag]Brian Thomas[/autotag] led in touchdowns.

Sloan and Hankton will continue to work with their respective positions despite the promotion.

This allows LSU to keep Sloan and Hankton on staff for the time being. That’s a big win given the recruiting success the two are having. Most notably, Sloan got a commitment from [autotag]Bryce Underwood[/autotag], the top QB and No. 1 overall prospect in the 2025 class.

Offensive line coach [autotag]Brad Davis[/autotag] and running backs coach [autotag]Frank Wilson[/autotag] are also set to return, which gives LSU plenty of continuity on the offensive staff, even with Denbrock gone.

LSU’s officially announced its hires on the defensive side, too. For the most part, the staff is set, but LSU will look to add a tight ends coach, the group Denbrock worked with.

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LSU coaches check in on five-star 2025 quarterback commit Bryce Underwood

Joe Sloan and Frank Wilson reportedly flew to Michigan to check in on the top player in the 2025 class who committed to the Tigers on Jan. 6.

LSU has landed the No. 1 quarterback (and top overall prospect) in the 2025 recruiting class in Belleville, Michigan, gunslinger [autotag]Bryce Underwood[/autotag]. But there’s a long time between now and early signing day in December, and as we’ve seen in the past, securing a player’s commitment is just the first step.

The Tigers are trying to keep things solid with Underwood as the search for an offensive coordinator to replace the departing [autotag]Mike Denbrock[/autotag] continues. [autotag]Joe Sloan[/autotag], who is currently serving as the interim co-offensive coordinator alongside receivers coach and passing game coordinator [autotag]Cortez Hankton[/autotag], visited Underwood in Michigan on Friday.

The news was reported by On3’s Shea Dixon.

Sloan was joined by running backs coach and assistant head coach [autotag]Frank Wilson[/autotag]. The pair had been in northern Louisiana the previous day visiting a pair of Shreveport prospects.

According to Dixon, it’s the first time LSU coaches had visited Underwood since he committed on Jan. 6. If he ultimately signs with the Tigers, he’d be the highest-rated recruit the program has ever landed.

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LSU coaches visit pair of blue-chip 2025 Louisiana prospects

Tigers staffers visited with a pair of four-star Shreveport prospects on Thursday.

Two members of LSU’s coaching staff were in Shreveport on Thursday visiting with two of the top targets in the 2025 recruiting class.

Running backs coach/assistant head coach [autotag]Frank Wilson[/autotag] and quarterbacks coach [autotag]Joe Sloan[/autotag] — who is currently the Tigers’ interim co-offensive coordinator — spent time with four-star Calvary Baptist Academy offensive lineman [autotag]Devin Harper[/autotag], according to On3’s Shea Dixon.

The duo also visited Harper’s teammate and fellow top-200 prospect, four-star running back [autotag]James Simon[/autotag] during their time in North Louisiana.

Harper ranks as a top-130 prospect and the No. 3 player in Louisiana, per the 247Sports Composite. He recently released a top 10 that included the Tigers in addition to Ole Miss, Georgia, Texas Tech, Texas, Oklahoma, Mississippi State, Alabama, Arkansas and Tennessee.

There are currently no Crystal Balls for Harper, but On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine has the Tigers as the hefty favorite over Ole Miss at 98.9%. The Tigers are also the favorites for Simon and hold a high confidence Crystal Ball prediction, which was placed in December.

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Bryce Underwood’s commitment solidifies LSU atop the QB market

Bryce Underwood’s commitment solidifies LSU’s spot atop the QB market

Not that long ago, LSU was stuck in quarterback purgatory.

Throughout the [autotag]Les Miles[/autotag] era, LSU was stacked on defense and loaded up on skill position players. But that QB spot, it was tricky.

After [autotag]JaMarcus Russell[/autotag] was the best quarterback in the conference in 2006 and [autotag]Matt Flynn[/autotag] led LSU to a national title in 2007, Miles struggled to find a signal caller that moved the needle.

Sure, guys like [autotag]Jarrett Lee[/autotag] and [autotag]Jordan Jefferson[/autotag] won a lot of games and in another era, they would have made perfectly adequate QBs, but the sport began to change.

As the sport grew more and more friendly to offense, you needed a professional quarterback. That doesn’t mean you needed [autotag]Cam Newton[/autotag], but at least someone like AJ McCarron, who was a Heisman finalist and remains in the NFL today.

LSU didn’t have that. Zach Mettenberger’s 2013 campaign was a step up, but it became an outlier. In 2014, LSU sat dead last in the SEC in passing yards and completion percentage. The passing attack remained near the bottom in 2015 too.

In 2016, it got a little better with [autotag]Danny Etling[/autotag], but LSU was still in the bottom half of the conference in passing yards and completion percentage while getting shut out in the Alabama game.

Miles was fired after four games in 2016. [autotag]Ed Orgeron[/autotag] took over and he knew the deal. He had to find LSU a quarterback.

Well, he did just that. [autotag]Joe Burrow[/autotag] transferred in and went on to win 25 games, a national title, and a Heisman trophy.

For the first time in years, LSU had a game-changer at quarterback. The narrative was flipped.

Burrow left and even as LSU struggled as a team in 2020 and 2021, the passing attack did alright.

Then [autotag]Jayden Daniels[/autotag] arrived with [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] in 2022. All Daniels did was become one of the most dynamic players in the country, helping LSU upset Alabama in 2022 and winning a Heisman in 2023 with a historically productive season.

That brings us to the present, where LSU just got even richer at the QB position. QB [autotag]Bryce Underwood[/autotag], the top player in the 2025 class, committed to LSU last Saturday.

It’s the first time in this era LSU’s landed a quarterback like Underwood. LSU’s signed some legit blue-chips, including [autotag]Garrett Nussmeier[/autotag], but this is the first time LSU’s landed the guy. I’m talking about someone with the hype of Trevor Lawrence or Justin Fields.

Five years ago, LSU wasn’t even competing for these types. The true five-star QBs were all going to Alabama and Clemson, places with a track record of legit offenses.

With Underwood’s pledge, LSU’s 2025 class includes the top quarterback, wide receiver and running back. When recruits think of LSU now, they think of offense.

With Nussmeier on deck for 2024, the trend should continue. Offensive coordinator [autotag]Mike Denbrock[/autotag] is gone, but LSU’s staff remains well-positioned with assistants [autotag]Joe Sloan[/autotag], [autotag]Cortez Hankton[/autotag], [autotag]Frank Wilson[/autotag] and [autotag]Brad Davis[/autotag].

That’s what Underwood is buying in on. Recruits now see a program that’s developed two Heisman quarterbacks in the last five years.

LSU is out of quarterback purgatory, and perhaps there’s no bigger signal of that than Underwood’s commitment.

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LSU can’t afford to lose Dominick McKinley again

LSU is getting another shot at the state’s top recruit.

The 2024 recruiting cycle is entering its final stages. The bulk of top recruits will sign on Wednesday as the early signing period begins.

But it won’t end there, with a handful of prospects electing to wait. One of the players that will remain on the board is the top recruit in the state of Louisiana, [autotag]Dominick McKinley[/autotag].

By all accounts, everything originally pointed to McKinley signing early with Texas A&M, where he remains committed. But the firing of Jimbo Fisher, followed by the exit of Aggie defensive line coach Elijah Robinson, has reopened McKinley’s recruitment.

LSU went in-home with McKinley last week, with [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] and [autotag]Frank Wilson[/autotag] making an appearance.

It appears to have been a successful visit. Whatever Kelly and Wilson said was enough to lock McKinley in for an official visit in January.

This is significant, considering McKinley was yet to use an official visit on LSU.

Not only would McKinley be the top-ranked player in LSU’s class in a year where it struggled to land five stars, but he addresses a need.

LSU’s future at defensive tackle is uncertain. The Tigers didn’t sign a single high-school DT last year and Mekhi Wingo and Maason Smith could be off to the NFL.

The defense was in dire straits this fall and needs help across the board. McKinley could provide some support right away.

LSU’s fared well recruiting Louisiana this cycle, but McKinley would be the cherry on top. He’s the top-ranked player in the state and would give LSU 11 of the top 13 players, according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings.

The class doesn’t come down to what one prospect decides to do, but LSU’s lost the state’s top player more often than it should in recent years.

LSU missed on McKinley the first go-around. The changes at Texas A&M offered LSU another chance. The Tigers can’t afford to mess it up again.

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