By Hunt Palmer
Jacobian Guillory hasn’t seen it all. But he’s seen a lot.
The fifth-year defensive tackle has played for three head coaches, Ed Orgeron, Brad Davis (for a month) and Brian Kelly.
He’s worked under essentially eight position coaches, a staggering number.
As head coach, Orgeron spent a considerable amount of time with the defensive linemen. In 2020, Bill Johnson led the unit. After Johnson’s retirement, Andre Carter took the reins for a year. Orgeron was then fired which led to a new staff taking over. Jamar Cain was the first defensive line coach Brian Kelly tabbed. He bolted for Denver after the 2022 season. Enter Jimmy Lindsey who became ill and had to leave the team prior to the 2023 season. John Jancek filled in for half the year before Pete Jenkins was brought in to help. Finally, Bo Davis has rejoined his alma mater to provide some much-needed stability.
“Bo has had so much experience everywhere he’s been, he’s been countless places,” Guillory said. “The film he shows us is from all over where he’s been. He’s coached taller guys, shorter guys, he’s coached so many guys that when it comes to guys coming in being raw, he already knows, ‘okay, this is what that guy needs’, and he’s catered to them. It’s a slow process, but it’s a process, and every day we get better.”
Davis inherits a group of players from diverse backgrounds.
Gio Paez was primarily a defensive end at Wisconsin. He’ll play tackle. Jay’viar Suggs played at Division II Grand Valley State. He’ll do battle in the SEC this fall. Dominick McKinley is a freshman. He’ll trade Barbe High and Carencro High for Alabama and Ole Miss.
Guillory provides the only long-term presence at LSU.
“I mean, what more could you ask for,” he said. “Playing for LSU, this is what I’ve always wanted and I finally got it, so why not go all out for it? This is my last year, why not go all out with everything I do? The challenge that’s ahead of me, I feel like I’m accepting it, but I know that I still have more to do, just like everyone else in the room has more to do. So when I push myself harder, I know it makes them want to go harder. So just trying to just push myself every day.”
Guillory has been around long enough to understand that the challenge he faces every day in fall camp is going to yield dividends when game time rolls around.
“I tell the defensive line, it’s okay if we lose reps, but you got to think about it like this if you go as hard as you can against the best offensive line in the country, then Saturday nights are gonna be that much easier,” said the senior. “So just keep just keep a level head and keep going. Like you know if you get knocked down pop back up and run to the ball.”
There will be doubters. Only Vanderbilt allowed more rushing yards than LSU among SEC teams last season. And that was with the services of three eventual NFL Draft picks at defensive tackle in Mason Smith, Mehki Wingo and Jordan Jefferson.
It will be up to Guillory and a host of new faces to help LSU restore a proud defensive tradition, specifically on the defensive front.
