Tag: West Weeks

First impressions of LSU’s newcomers in Week 1

LSU had a lot of fresh faces take the field against Florida State. Here’s how they fared in their debuts.

There were a lot of fresh faces on the field for LSU in the opener. Aside from almost the entire coaching staff, returning starters were hard to find.

LSU’s entire cornerback group was new. [autotag]Jayden Daniels[/autotag] and [autotag]Noah Cain[/autotag] were making their LSU debuts. [autotag]Will Campbell[/autotag] started at left tackle as a true freshman, and we saw highly-touted transfer [autotag]Miles Frazier[/autotag] get the start at left guard.

How these newcomers come into form over the course of the year will determine LSU’s season. They could begin to gel and this team could really start to improve. It also could take awhile, meaning there are more growing pains to come.

Let’s evaluate how LSU’s newcomers fared against Florida State.

Micah Baskerville named to preseason Butkus Award watch list

Baskerville was one of 51 players nominated to the watch list for the award, which is given to the nation’s top linebacker.

LSU linebacker [autotag]Micah Baskerville[/autotag] was named to the preseason watch list for the collegiate Butkus Award on Monday. The fifth-year senior is one of 51 linebackers around the country to appear on the watch list.

Baskerville started all 12 games he appeared in for the Tigers last fall, finishing second on the team in tackles with 83 behind [autotag]Damone Clark[/autotag]. He also had nine tackles for loss, two sacks, four pass breakups and an interception.

Though a full-time starter for the last two seasons and the most experienced member of the linebacker corps, he’ll have to earn a starting position once again this fall. Even with Clark’s departure, the Tigers have a lot of depth with players like [autotag]Mike Jones Jr.[/autotag], [autotag]Greg Penn III[/autotag], Virginia transfer [autotag]West Weeks[/autotag] and incoming five-star true freshman [autotag]Harold Perkins[/autotag].

Regardless of who starts in the off-ball linebacker spots, Baskerville figures to play a major role in the rotation and should be a veteran leader of this defense. He will look to become the second LSU player to win the Butkus Award, joining 2018 winner [autotag]Devin White[/autotag].

The list of 51 will be trimmed further to semifinalists on Oct. 31 and finalists on Nov. 21. The winner is set to be announced on or before Dec. 7. Here’s the full watch list.

Preseason Collegiate Butkus Award Watch List

Darren Anders, Bowling Green
Jeremy Banks, Tennessee
Micah Baskerville, LSU
Seth Benson, Iowa
JD Bertrand, Notre Dame
Tatum Bethune, Florida State
Troy Brown, Ole Miss
Ben Bywater, BYU
Jack Campbell, Iowa
Levani Damuni, Stanford
KD Davis, North Texas
Mohamoud Diabate, Utah
Jamon Dumas-Johnson, Georgia
Justin Flowe, Oregon
Sherrod Greene, South Carolina
Kyle Harmon, San Jose State
Calvin Hart Jr., Illinois
Daiyan Henley, Washington State
Nick Jackson, Virginia
Jestin Jacobs, Iowa
Carl Jones Jr., UCLA
Mikel Jones, Syracuse
Tyrice Knight, UTEP
Carlton Martial, Troy
Ventrell Miller, Florida
Jackson Mitchell, UConn
Jaylen Moody, Alabama
Isaiah Moore, N.C. State
Darius Muasau, UCLA
Donavan Mutin, Houston
Anfernee Orji, Vanderbilt
DeMarvion Overshown, Texas
Deshawn Pace, Cincinnati
Ivan Pace, Cincinnati
Owen Pappoe, Auburn
James Patterson, Buffalo
Bumper Pool, Arkansas
Luke Reimer, Nebraska
Merlin Robertson, Arizona State
Noah Sewell, Oregon
Trenton Simpson, Clemson
Isaac Slade-Matautia, SMU
Mariano Sori-Marin, Minnesota
DeAndre Square, Kentucky
Drake Thomas, N.C. State
Henry To’o To’o, Alabama
David Ugwoegbu, Oklahoma
Edefuan Ulofoshio, Washington
Payton Wilgar, BYU
Dorian Williams, Tulane
Dee Winters, TCU

[mm-video type=video id=01g5sn82rjjs5cstkaaa playlist_id=01eqbz5s7cf4w69e0n player_id=01eqbvp13nn1gy6hd4 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01g5sn82rjjs5cstkaaa/01g5sn82rjjs5cstkaaa-0db9a9e4189e5f7650a3df8fbb5d6a7c.jpg]

[listicle id=36312]

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

Follow Tyler to continue the conversation on Twitter: @TylerNettuno

Virginia linebacker West Weeks announces transfer to LSU

LSU adds another transfer, does it help in pursuit of a certain 2023 prospect?

Virginia linebacker transfer West Weeks has announced he will transfer to LSU. Weeks is a three-star prospect from Virginia 2021 class. He decided to go to Virginia over Colorado, Ole Miss, South Carolina, and others.

Weeks played 11 games for Virginia as a true freshman and compiled 31 total tackles and one sack. He also had five passes defended. Unfortunately, weeks suffered a broken leg in the last game against Virginia Tech.

Weeks is the ninth UVA player to transfer to another program since the end of the season, and 11 more players remain in the transfer portal.

Linebacker is a position of need for the Tigers, with Damone Clark moving on to the NFL. Over the past week, LSU had added six transfer players and now has eight total transfers. LSU has also extended an offer to Whit Weeks, West’s younger brother in the class of 2023. The younger Weeks plays for Oconee County, the same school that produced former starting quarterback Max Johnson.

Weeks looks like a linebacker that can do a little beat of everything, rush the passer, is solid against the and even does well in pass defense. He should do well under new defensive coordinator Matt House.

The Tigers have been hitting the transfer portal hard, looking to upgrade their roster to compete next season. LSU has many new talents coming in and players with high football IQ. With a new and improved coaching staff, the Tigers should be fun to watch for years to come.

[listicle id=35354]

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