By Hunt Palmer
The fall will be a first and a last for West Weeks.
The fifth-year senior will finish his college career with the 2025 LSU Tigers. He’ll also be joined by both of his brothers for the first time.
Weeks and his brother, Whit, have formed the first team inside linebacker duo in fall camp. Both are finally healthy after West missed most of 2024 with an injury and Whit broke his leg in the bowl game.
“It really kind of does (feel like high school),” the older Weeks said. “It kind of brings that kid-like joy to the game knowing you’ve got your brother right beside you.”
Last season was supposed to be the end of the line in college for Weeks, but an injury allowed for a redshirt season. As frustrating as it was at the time, the result has been something of a dream come true. Weeks is five years oldest than youngest brother Zach who reclassified to the 2025 class so he could join his two siblings for a season.
“Whenever Zach messes up, Coach Baker yells at me and Whit,” Weeks said with a laugh.
The older two live together while Zach shacks up in the dorm as all freshmen do. Whit and West are nearly inseparable whether it’s hanging out watching film, eating lunch and dinner, getting out for a hunt or lifting weights.
One follows the other.
“It is really cool because me and him are obviously so close,” Weeks said. “I can almost say what he’s going to say before he’s going to say it. He can do the same for me. Really, we’ve been on the same page a lot. Throughout the summer, him working back and getting more and more reps has been fun to see. I think it is a big advantage for us.”
This could be Weeks’ first season as a full-time starter. He hasn’t started a game on defense since his freshman season at Virginia in 2021. He’s made 90 tackles, with 4.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks in 43 career games.
Much of his time has been spent on special teams.
While Davhon Keys, Kylen Singleton and a host of freshmen nip at his heels, Weeks has continued to run with the first team alongside stars in Harold Perkins and Whit, a pair of preseason all-conference selections returning from injury.
Questions have been raised about both as Whit eases into camp and Perkins re-enters the fold after a torn ACL.
“I think both of them look probably better than they were before because they’ve been putting in so much work since they went down,” Weeks said, “I know both guys are so ready to get back out there I can’t wait to play with them out there.”
Everyone on defense appears to be moving more quickly in the second season under coordinator Blake Baker who also happens to coach the linebackers. LSU jumped from 108th to 61st in total defense last year, and another jump is expected if LSU wants to compete for championships
“One of the biggest things with Coach Baker is causing havoc, so we’re trying to shoot gaps when we can, get in the backfield and make these TFLs,” Weeks said. “I think the biggest difference from last year to this year is last year it was maybe a two-yard gain. We want those all to be TFLs this year.”
The defensive front has been a wrecking ball through a week of camp. They’ve caused problems for LSU’s offensive line and at the same time made life easier on the second level defenders.
“They’re causing so much disruption up front that it helps free everything else up for us. It kind of slows the game down for us. When we’re able to see clearly because of those dudes taking on double teams, disrupting things it the backfield it helps us play fast.”
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