The LSU Tigers are chasing the high of 2019, when head coach Ed Orgeron and quarterback Joe Burrow led a star-studded team to an undefeated 15-0 season and College Football Playoff National Championship Game win.
Now under head coach Brian Kelly, the team has won 29 games in three seasons. Last year, it finished fourth in the SEC with a subpar 8-4 regular-season record.
Brian Kelly Talks Biggest LSU Spring Practice Surprise
With spring practice behind LSU, Kelly talked about the roster he’s built, addressing some younger players as welcome surprises.
“I just think overall, the understanding of how to go out and compete in practice has been really, for me, outstanding for the young guys to pick it up, like the Solomon Thomas‘ and Carius Curne‘s,” Kelly said. “They’ve done an incredible job as young players coming in and understanding how to compete. The DJ Pickett‘s, all of our mid-year freshmen, have come in and really have adapted so quickly. And I guess that’s why they’re mid-years, right?”
Curne and Thomas are the No. 2 and 3 interior offensive linemen in the 2025 recruiting class. Defensive back Pickett is the No. 11 overall recruit for 2025, according to On3. All three are early enrollees to LSU and are adjusting quickly to campus life.
“They’re so far ahead of their freshman counterparts that it really does show why they were able to graduate early from high school, because they were much more mature,” Kelly continued. “Those kids have done an incredible job of really blending in and showing that they belong right away. They’re going to be so far ahead coming into camp relative to being able to compete. That’s been kind of a surprise to me.
KEEP READING: ‘We Expect Him to Win The Natty’ — LSU Veterans Drop Blunt Truth About Brian Kelly’s National Title Pressure
“This is the first class that I’ve had at mid-semester where it’s not like, ‘that guy is so far away.’ It just feels like they’ve been here, and that’s been a bit of a surprise.”
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