MAILBAG: Baseball transfer needs and offensive line thoughts

By Hunt Palmer

The summer is upon us. LSU won’t play a football game for another nine weeks.

I thought it would be a good time to let you, the reader, create a little content. I opened up the X inbox for a little mailbag. You asked about baseball transfer needs, LSU’s offensive line and Jay Johnson’s check book.

Here’s a Monday edition of the mailbag.

In terms of our expectations heading into the season, are we overlooking the fact that we lost 4 major O-Line pieces from last season?

• I don’t think anyone is “overlooking” that. LSU had four offensive linemen drafted in one draft for the first time in school history this year. Will Campbell is one of the best tackles to ever play at LSU. I think almost anyone would agree with that. I do think Garett Nussmeier and Joe Sloan are going to have to operate early on with an understanding that pass protection will take a step back this year. How drastic that step is likely determines how good LSU’s offense becomes. Brad Davis has recruited a lot of guys with a lot of stars by their names. Plus, he added two Power Four starters. That should be enough talent to put a representative product on the field. We’ll find out early. Clemson is loaded in the defensive front seven, and that stadium is going to be loud.

What do you think a “successful” season looks like this year in football? Is it playoff or bust?

• I’m not sure how you could paint a 9-3 season as a success. This is Kelly’s roster and coaching staff, and the donor base went all in with money on the transfer portal. The schedule is tough, like all the SEC schedules. You have to play at Clemson, at Alabama and at Ole Miss. In a vacuum, 9-3 sounds okay, but with the investment in this roster and a returning fifth-year senior at quarterback, 10-2 is the bare minimum. Everyone is on the same page there. Kelly knows it. The players know it. The administration knows it. The fan base and boosters know it. That doesn’t mean sweeping change have to be made if the end result is 9-3, but it will be viewed as a failed season.

How many baseball signees will come from the portal? Will it reach double figures?

• It will not reach double figures. LSU has added Seth Dardar, Brayden Simpson, Danny Lachenmayer and Ryler Smart. I would expect two or three more if Jay Johnson finds the right fits. The search for starting pitching never ends, so I think the staff will keep working to find that. The Ace Reese (Mississippi State) rumors are flying all over the internet. Players must enter the portal by July first, so we’ll have answers to that saga in a matter of hours.

Do you think there is a summer ball plan for Jake Brown to improve hitting against lefties?

• All Brown can do is go play. The regular season isn’t the time to work on things like that. Summer certainly is. Brown will get plenty of at bats against lefties in the summer and fall.

Will LSU give Jay Johnson a pay raise to bring him in line with other “top” college coaches?

• Scott Woodward generally rewards coaches with a raise after a championship. We certainly saw that with Ed Orgeron. Kim Mulkey became the highest paid coach in the country after her title. I would expect a new deal to come Johnson’s way pretty quickly.

Since this is the most returning talent Jay has had after a Natty. What do you think the biggest needs are for the team in 26? Are there any available players in the portal that would fill those needs?

• As I mentioned above, starting pitching is the biggest need. Casan Evans returns, but he may represent the only three SEC starts on next year’s roster if Chase Shores and Conner Ware aren’t back. LSU was in on Landon Mack from Rutgers, but he committed to Tennessee. Joey Volchko is a flamethrower who had mixed results at Stanford and is in the portal. So is former Georgia Bulldog right-hander Nate Taylor who just had a really nice freshman year. There are other names, too. Evans, William Schmidt, Cooper Williams, Zac Cowan, Jaden Noot, Mavrick Rizy, Gavin Guidry, Lachenmayer and Smart is a very strong foundation potentially. That doesn’t even bring the signing class into the picture. We’ll see how the draft impacts that. But you can never have enough arms.

At this point, what overall letter grade would you give LSU athletics on navigating the portal and NIL worlds? And why?

• I don’t know if any school has enjoyed as much high-end transfer portal success as LSU. Jayden Daniels, Paul Skenes, Angel Reese, Aneesah Morrow, Tommy White and Anthony Eyanson have become megastars in Baton Rouge. As far as NIL goes, Amazon literally made a documentary about LSU athletes elevating their brands. Sure, the Bryce Underwood situation stung. No one has landed every recruit they wanted in this Wild Wild West. But LSU has won its fair share. Football, baseball and women’s basketball have all singed the top transfer class in the country at one point. Gymnastics won a title. I’d have to give LSU an A in NIL.