LSU In-Depth Chart: Cornerback

Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

By Hunt Palmer

Brian Kelly has made some mistakes as LSU’s head coach.

Every coach does. And it’s cost him. The other truth is that he’s worked to correct them as opposed to putting him head down, staying the course and trying to justify them.

One of those mistakes was his initial hire in the secondary.

Corey Raymond was brought back to right that wrong, and he’s in the process. LSU’s secondary play has not been nearly good enough the last two seasons. Ashton Stamps was rushed into duty as a freshman. An ACC transfer didn’t work out. Neither did a former five-star. Zy Alexander was LSU’s best cover man, and he was an FCS transfer who battled injuries.

From 2015 to 2022, a span of eight drafts, LSU had seven cornerbacks taken in the first three rounds of the NFL Draft. LSU has had one corner drafted total in the last four drafts, and it was Jarrick Bernard-Converse, a one-year rental, in the sixth round.

In this era of football, that’s not going to work. LSU must get back to loading up the all-conference team with defensive backs and knocking on the door of more Thorpe Awards. That’s the program’s hallmark

WHO’S GONE

Zy Alexander (Graduation: Signed with Seahawks)
JK Johnson (Transfer; Oklahoma State)
Jyaire Brown (Transfer: UCF)

WHO’S BACK

Ashton Stamps (6’0”, 190, Jr)
PJ Woodland (5’11”, 165, Soph)
Michael Turner (6’1”, 158, R-Fr)
Wallace Foster IV (5’10”, 175, R-Fr)

WHO’S NEW

Ja’Keem Jackson (6’0”, 190, Florida, R-Fr)
Mansoor Delane (6’0”, 190, Virginia Tech, Sr)
DJ Pickett (6’5”, 195, Fr)
Aiden Anding (5’11”, 170 Fr)

WHAT WE KNOW

Ashton Stamps has played a ton of football. He was forced into action on a bad secondary two years ago. He’s made 17 starts over two seasons including 16 in a row. Last season he was third in the SEC in passes defended with 14. Pro Football Focus graded him a 67.5 in coverage last season. He allowed a 59 percent completion rate on 56 targets. He forced 10 of the 23 incompletions. Stamps does not have an interception in his career.

LSU CB Ashton Stamps leads all returning SEC cornerbacks with six pass breakups in man coverage last year pic.twitter.com/uPWXHLiA4y

— Will Rosenblatt (@rozenwill) May 11, 2025

PJ Woodland created some buzz last spring as an early enrollee, but his playing time was sparse when Alexander returned to the lineup. He only played 116 passing snaps last year which is about a quarter of what Stamps saw. Woodland, who was very undersized last season, was flagged three times for pass interference. That tied JK Johnson for the team high. He’s still on the smaller side, though he has put on some weight. Woodland’s best attribute is probably his toughness. That’s how you become the 7-A Mississippi Defensive Player of the Year at 155 lbs.

Michael Turner and Wallace Foster were not overly heralded recruits when they arrived on campus. Turner was profiled as an “athlete” and tipped the scales at 150 lbs on a frame two inches taller than Woodland. He was out at practice on Wednesday as still looks rail thin. Foster was a consensus three-star with a national rating in the 700s.

The four new corners have serious talent.

Mansoor Delane is already working with the first team opposite Stamps. That checks out as he was a 29-game starter for Virginia Tech and finished third in the ACC in interceptions last season with four. Delane is 6-foot, 190 lbs., and physical. He forced eight incompletions last year but was also flagged for four interference penalties. He also allowed a team-high seven touchdowns as a Hokie last year.

Really excited to see Mansoor Delane compete with SEC talent this season. Had kind of a down year in 2023 but bounced back nicely in 2024. The physicality he brings in coverage and as a tackler in space is impressive.

Hope to see him solidify himself as a round 1 guy in 2026. pic.twitter.com/RVg0cz5gxj

— THE DRAFT JUNKIES (@nfldraftjunk) June 14, 2025

Ja’Keem Jackson is a classic Corey Raymond recruit. Raymond identified the 6-foot-1 corner as a fur star prospect out of Kissimmee and signed him. Jackson was a starter initially for the 2024 Gators before an injury cost him the rest of the year. He looks the part, he just hasn’t played much as a redshirt year and an injury year have taken up two thirds of his career. Jackson was running with the third team in the first practice of camp.

DJ Pickett is the headliner. The first thing you notice about Pickett is his elite length. He’s as tall a corner as I’ve seen at LSU since Tharold Simon. He’s almost a helmet taller than the rest of the corners. He looks slender, but at 6-foot-5, he’s 195 lbs. Pickett earned five stars by every service and was a top five corner in the country in his class. He did enroll early, so he’s got a semester under his belt. Wednesday, he worked with the second unit.

Aiden Anding was the top corner in the state of Louisiana last year. The Ruston product is 5-foot-11 and 175 lbs., so he’s got some weight to gain, but he’s a great athlete. Anding was first team all-state in football and basketball as a junior at Ruston and was a top 20 corner in the country by 247sports.

HUNT’S PROJECTION

The shift towards high-level secondary talent has started in Baton Rouge.

Stamps isn’t a star, at least not at this point. He has played a ton of football as the COVID classes have cycled out, and he’s now going to be one of the older guys on the field instead of one of the younger guys.

Delane is slated for the other side. That gives LSU two very experienced corners with reasonably high floors.

Pickett is where the ceiling comes in. We’ve seen elite freshmen make an immediate impact. Patrick Peterson and Derek Stingley were the best. But even Tre’Davious White started 11 games as a freshman and led the team in pass break ups. Eli Ricks was ready to play, too. That’s the company Pickett keeps on the recruiting trail. If he’s ready to play, that may move either of the two veteran corners to the inside and really make a nice trio of cover men for Raymond.

Woodland was running with Pickett and the twos on Wednesday. He and Jackson are the next men up, and I don’t expect LSU to go any further down the depth chart than that.

Last year LSU was 10^th in the SEC in passing yards per game allowed and 12^th in completion percentage allowed. That played a large part in LSU finishing the year 14^th in the league in third down conversions allowed. All of that has to get better.

I think it will be because of the talent level improving and the pass rush potentially being very good.

This group gets a baptism by fire when Cade Klubnik and his returning trio of excellent wide outs take the field. If it looks like Jordan Travis in 2022 and 2023, LSU is in trouble. If it looks really good, LSU may not play a more competent passing attack the rest of the season and might just be back in business as DBU.