By Hunt Palmer
Injuries quickly became the story of LSU’s 2024 season at linebacker.
Harold Perkins Jr. went down with an ACL tear against UCLA. He was lost for the season in September. Whit Weeks was rolled up on in the Texas Bowl and suffered a broken leg. His season ended on a cart.
For Perkins, it was a lost year that leaves lingering questions about his skillset and deployment. For Weeks, it was a season that squarely put him in the mix as one of the top returning linebackers in America, assuming he’s healthy.
The third starter at linebacker has moved on. Greg Penn finished his LSU career in the No. 18. Penn started 40 games at LSU over is final three seasons. He racked up 274 career tackles, 17.5 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks as the middleman in LSU’s defense. He also came for midweek interviews far more often than he didn’t. He also played through broken ribs much of the season.
Penn played ninety special teams snaps and gave it everything he had in the bowl game to finish the job. He did that in style earning the George Wallace Memorial Award, which is given to the defensive player who distinguishes themself by performance, leadership and commitment to team.
He was not drafted which is a rarity for three-year starters at LSU.
In Blake Baker’s second season coaching linebackers, he doesn’t have the most experienced unit, but the high-end talent is there for LSU.
WHO’S GONE
- Greg Penn (Graduation)
- Xavier Atkins (Transfer: Auburn)
WHO’S BACK
- Whit Weeks (6’2”, 225, Jr)
- Harold Perkins Jr (6’1”, 222, R-Jr)
- West Weeks (6’2”, 235, Grad)
- Davhon Keys (6’0”, 230, Soph)
- Tylen Singleton (6’1”, 226, R-Fr)
WHO’S NEW
- Zach Weeks (6’3”, 230, Fr)
- Charles Ross (6’1”, 225, Fr)
- Jaiden Braker (6’3”, 220, Fr)
- Keylan Moses (6’2”, 222, Fr)
- CJ Jimcoily (6’3”, 220, Fr)
WHAT WE KNOW
Whit Weeks is now the face of the LSU defense. It’s a charming, smiley face, but he’ll pop you. Weeks finished 2024 with 125 tackles which was ninth in the country and eighth all-time at LSU in a single season.
When LSU LB Whit Weeks shoots his gun, it’s over ❌@WeeksWhit pic.twitter.com/hFidojk2OZ
— Benjamin Hodge (@benjaminwhodge) July 15, 2025
If you just turn the game on, you can’t miss Weeks. He plays with incredible energy and emotion.
Pro Football Focus grades suggest he’s an excellent overall defender with a 71.7 grade on defense. His strengths, to no surprise, are against the run and in pass rush. He graded 78.7 against the run and an outstanding 79.6 in pass rush. He had three games where his tackling grades were very poor—UCLA (29.1) Texas A&M (32.7) and Florida (35.5). It comes as no surprise that A&M and Florida were able to run for 355 yards and seven touchdowns on 66 carries. That’s 5.3 per carry.
Weeks will be on every pre-season All-American list, and deservedly so. He needs to elevate his game one more level.
It’s three years later, and the discussion about where to play Harold Perkins Jr. continues. He was a terror off the edge as a freshman in 2022, taking over the Arkansas and Alabama games as a pass rusher. In 2023, he played more of a slot/nickel role that often pulled him away from the line of scrimmage. As a freshman, he rushed the passer on 163 snaps to a jaw-dropping grade of 90.9 on Pro Football Focus. That’s an astronomical score. He dropped in coverage 130 times that year. As a sophomore in 2023, he rushed the passer 162 times, almost the same number. He dropped in coverage 291 times, more than double his freshman total. His numbers suffered.
In 2024, he was not off to a great start in terms of production. He’d made 17 tackles without a sack in three and a half games.
Perkins, a two-time All-SEC selection and former freshman All-American, decided to come back for one more season at LSU.
Davhon Keys had to step up when Perkins went down and West Weeks was dealing with an injury. LSU didn’t have anywhere to turn but to the true freshman. The former four-star prospect out of Texas started final four games of season. He finished with 31 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and a sack and a half. He was also credited with three pass breakups and a pair of quarterback hurries. His biggest highlight was a 41-yard pick six against Baylor where he was in the right place at the right time for a tipped ball.
LSU PICK SIX!!
Freshman LB Davhon Keys gets the tip and takes it to the house! Tigers up 14-0 in the first quarter. pic.twitter.com/65Yx7QfOLX
— Matthew Brune (@MatthewBrune_) December 31, 2024
Keys has the size to play in the middle at north of 240 lbs. As is always the case, a freshman rushed to the field is more prepared in year two than he would have been otherwise.
West Weeks had a decision to make after lats season. He missed eight games but thanks to the new redshirt rule stating bowl games don’t count, Weeks was able to maintain his final season of eligibility. He decided to spend that at LSU at least a little bit in part due to his youngest brother Zach joining the team to form a Weeks trio at linebacker for one season in Baton Rouge. The oldest Weeks has made 21 tackles in three seasons at LSU mainly as a special teamer.
Tylen Singleton is a former four-star prospect out of Many, LA., who played on LSU’s kickoff unit last season. He’s a little bit light, be he can really run.
Then you have the five freshman linebackers, two of whom enrolled early.
Charles Ross II is probably the headliner there, and he was rated the highest by the recruiting services. Ross was clocked in the 4.4s as a high school senior. He ran a 10.36 in the 100m in the state track meet at 225 lbs.
Rivals and On3 (when they were separate) both tabbed Jaiden Braker as a top ten linebacker in the class. Keylan Moses, Dylan’s younger brother and the other early enrollee, has been committed to LSU since November of 2023. He was a top 10 player in Louisiana playing both ways like his brother did. CJ Jimcoily and Zach Weeks are both out of state prospects who have 6-foot-3 frames. Zach is listed as the largest of the three brothers on the roster.
HUNT’S PROJECTION
LSU needs to stay healthy here.
Whit Weeks, Perkins and Keys give LSU an excellent core. Beyond that, it’s very unproven. The freshman class is massive in numbers, and with the headliners returning, LSU didn’t go to the portal at linebacker. It’s the only spot on the starting 22 that wasn’t addressed outside of running back.
The biggest question mark here is Perkins. He’s going to play the star role where LSU really struggled last year. His athleticism needs to be used in space primarily. That means on the edge and in coverage around the line of scrimmage. When he played on the inside last year, he caught way too many blocks. And he doesn’t need to be in coverage 70 percent of the time. It’s Baker’s job to find the balance where Perkins can be unleashed to make game-changing plays.
#LSU LB Harold Perkins Jr gets around the edge and Puts pressure on #USC QB Miller Moss and forces 4th Down#LSU Will Take Over After The Punt
— SportsCastProductions (@SportsCastProd) September 2, 2024
Whit Weeks is the furthest thing from a question mark. He’s a star. He needs to be a tiny bit better on his reads. A couple early in the season cost LSU, namely one at South Carolina, but we’re nitpicking here. Weeks is going to make 115 more tackles this year and will be an early round draft choice.
WHIT WEEKS
📺 ABC pic.twitter.com/b3k6erZ9kx
— LSU Football (@LSUfootball) September 2, 2024
Keys is the guy who could take this linebacking corps from great to elite. If he blossoms into an all-league player, LSU might have the best group in the conference. Keys runs well for his bulky stature, and he was only dinged with one missed tackle on the season by Pro Football Focus.
Beyond those three, West Weeks is a limited option with a ton of experience. The rest are completely green.
If Whit Weeks or Keys went down, West Weeks would be called upon. If Perkins did, a safety would likely come down to help. Singleton and the five true freshmen will battle for Baker’s approval over the next six weeks to see how the rest shakes out.
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