By Hunt Palmer
Perhaps no spot on LSU’s roster boasts as much experience and depth as the safety spot. That experience may be a blessing or a curse depending on how you view returning players from last season’s historically bad defense, but either way, it’s undeniable. Major Burns has played in 33 collegiate games with 23 starts dating back to 2020 when he was a freshman at Georgia. Sage Ryan is in his fourth year as a Tiger and started games as a true freshman in 2021. Jardin Gilbert, a White Castle native, returns home from Texas A&M. As an Aggie, he played in 25 games and was the starter for a year and two games before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury in 2023. That trio has 47 starts to its name and figures to be the backbone of the unit initially as Burns moves down to the “star” role. Ryan has spent all of camp at corner but can help at safety in a pinch. How quickly the young talent grows up will likely tell the entire story of the 2024 safety unit.
WHO’S GONE: Greg Brooks, Andre Sam (Graduation), Ryan Yaites (Transfer), Matthew Langlois (Retired)
WHO’S BACK: Major Burns, Sage Ryan, Jordan Allen, Kylin Jackson
WHO’S NEW: Jardin Gilbert (Transfer- Texas A&M), Dashawn Spears (Freshman), Joel Rogers (Freshman), Austin Ausberry (Transfer- Auburn)
The biggest story at safety for LSU is Burns move to Star. He’s 6-foot-2 and north of 200 lbs. He’s not afraid to hit…or talk. He’s just not a great coverage player. He’s been asked to do a lot of that over last two seasons at LSU. This role should allow Burns to play closer to the line of scrimmage, play downhill and play physically. That’s far more suited to his skillset.
Gilbert proved himself to be a starting caliber SEC player while at Texas A&M. He’ll take on some leadership and a vital back-end role with this group. Brian Kelly has said he’s not going to dip heavily into the transfer portal year after year. It’s guys like Gilbert who make the most sense to grab. He’s proven at a spot of need.
Jordan Allen has joined Gilbert with the ones for almost all of camp. He’s a shade on a smaller size at 5-foot-11 and right at 200lbs, but he runs very well. Ryan Yaites and Andre Sam saw more action than Allen last year, but the redshirt sophomore has played in 11 games. We’ll see how long Allen can hold off the youngsters.
Deshawn Spears (formerly McBride) has turned some heads in camp. At 6-foot-3 and 210 lbs, Spears is as physically imposing a safety as is on the roster. It’s a matter of getting him up to speed. Asking a true freshman to be the last line of defense is a tall order. Some of the LSU greats have done it, namely LaRon Landry, Eric Reid, Jamal Adams and Grant Delpit. Those are the elite of the elite in DBU’s historic run. Spears is not in that class in his first camp, but the physical traits are all there.
Speaking of physical traits, Kylin Jackson possesses them as well. Jackson was a standout in last weekend’s practices, a weekend Kelly likened to “moving day” in a golf tournament.
Spears and Jackson figure to be the future of the position. The question is how quickly that future comes.
Joel Rogers and Austin Ausberry provide depth, as well.
LSU was 122nd of 133 teams last year in plays of 10+ yards allowed, 114th in plays of 20+ yards and 111th in plays of 30+. The Tigers simply have to cut down on explosive plays by opposing offenses. That doesn’t rest solely on the safeties, but they played a part. A new scheme and some new roles figure to help. An influx of young talent could, too.
Kelly said Wednesday that there have been very few coverage busts in camp. Only Jayden Daniels and LSU created more 20+ yard plays last season than Lincoln Riley’s USC offense.
A stern test awaits this group in Las Vegas.
