By Hunt Palmer
Over the course of the last 20 years, the H-style goalposts shifted in Baton Rouge.
Not literally, they still face north and south. But figuratively, the football program began to look towards national championships as opposed to a sunny Florida bowl game. From 1959 to 2003, that may not have felt realistic. For two decades, it’s been required.
So, when Alabama ran over LSU like a Mack truck on an empty Dasani bottle in November, my focus turned to the national championship prospects for 2025.
They weren’t good.
The entire offensive line was likely to be replaced considering the guards were out of eligibility and the tackles were future pros. The center was and is likely to move to guard.
The quarterback had a decision to make. His top two targets were on the way out.
We’ve written and spoken about the lack of NFL talent on defense the last two years. Bradyn Swinson and Sai’vion Jones were leaving, and Harold Perkins felt like an early draft entrant.
Add in upcoming road trips to Clemson, Ole Miss, Alabama and Oklahoma, and you’ve got the recipe for three or four more losses.
Brian Kelly was insistent that the program would be built on the foundation of elite high school recruiting and development. The transfer portal would be there for necessities.
With that mindset, it wasn’t inconceivable that a Rickie Collins-led offense behind a bunch of redshirt freshmen offensive linemen would be accompanying another pedestrian defense replacing its entire front four.
Then something changed.
It may have been Ole Miss’s dismantling of Georgia. It may have been Bryce Underwood leaving LSU at the altar. It may have been a dismal November that collapsed in the form of a three-game losing streak.
Whatever it was, it ignited a fire in Kelly to overhaul the roster. And he has.
Over the last three weeks, LSU has likely added 10 starters to its 2025 team.
Gabriel Reliford with have to fight off Power 5 transfers in Jimari Butler, Jack Pyburn and Patrick Payton.
Nic Anderson is Nussmeier’s new No. 1, and Barion Brown’s potential is enormous.
DBU adds Mansoor Delane’s all-American accolades and Ja’Keem Jackson’s high-level talent.
Braelin Moore is the new starting center, and Josh Thompson’s 30-plus starts at tackle in the Big 10 are on board.
Most importantly, Nussmeier decided to return to pilot the ship.
That arduous schedule remains for the 2025 Tigers, but the level of proven talent on the roster has multiplied, and what looked like another wasted season all of a sudden looks promising.
Nothing is guaranteed. Ole Miss’s roster boasted real NFL talent and a veteran quarterback in 2024, and the Rebels still lost to Kentucky and wasted the year and the money. But make no mistake, Ole Miss was good enough this season to beat anyone in America. How often have the Rebels been able to say that?
Not since the Eisenhower Administration.
LSU is similarly pushing its proverbial chips in with this portal class. Undoubtedly the LSU donor base has stepped up in a major way. Will that happen again in 2026? Will it need to with revenue sharing on the horizon? I don’t have those answers today. What I do have is a renewed outlook on 2025.
LSU is a contender.
Many a contender has failed to lift the belt. But it’s better to be in the ring than in the crowd.
Over the next two weeks, expect LSU to land another pair of potential starters on the offensive line and at safety. That work is not done.
On the backs of what could be 11 or 12 new starters, the 2025 Tigers should be the most complete roster Kelly has assembled at LSU. Four weeks ago, he said, “we’ll see you at the national championship.”
That was laughable as the season ended. It’s not anymore.
