PALMER: Four Predictions for LSU in 2024

By Hunt Palmer

It’s prediction season! I figured I could get in on the fun. We’ve gotten incredible access to the Tigers during fall camp, so it feels like the LSU beat has shoveled out a good bit of content and information.

Anyone who has been paying attention knows what the depth chart looks like and what players have looked like standouts. I’m going to try to reach just beyond that as we approach kickoff.

I don’t know what degree of “boldness” these predictions carry. I do feel like all four have been researched and thoughtfully considered. And they’re probably all wrong.

Here goes nothing…

1. Every LSU home game will be at night

• We already have confirmation that Nicholls (6:30), South Alabama (6:45), Ole Miss and Vandy will be night kickoffs. We also know that none of LSU’s home games are flexed between 11a-3p. All that is left is UCLA, Alabama and Oklahoma. Will I kick and scream if the television overlords make UCLA run around in the Louisiana humidity on a September afternoon? I will not. But I do think they’ll appease LSU with a late start that certainly won’t bother all 28 UCLA fans in the pacific time zone. Alabama is going to be a Saturday Night in Death Valley. CBS did it for a decade. ESPN is going to follow suit. The question mark here will be Oklahoma. It’s rivalry weekend. The Iron Bowl, Aggies-Longhorns, Florida-Florida State. The College Football Playoff implications will dictate the schedule for this day. I just think Tigers-Sooners is going to be at night as opposed to 3:00.

2. Mason Taylor will lead LSU in touchdowns

• That’s a tall task for a tight end, but hear me out. If the running back situation works out the way I think, Josh Williams, Kaleb Jackson and John Emery Jr., are going to share carries and scores. I think Kyren Lacy has had a monster camp, but touchdowns can be a fluky stat. Odell Beckham only had 12 receiving in his three-year LSU career. Taylor’s inability to hit the big play probably hurts here, but I think Garrett Nussmeier is going to go to Taylor early and often this year. If that hold true, especially in the red zone, Taylor could make eight to 10 TD catches.

3. Dashawn Spears will start five or more games

• Right now, Spears is running behind Jardin Gilbert and Jordan Allen at safety. Gilbert is a proven SEC commodity. Allen is not. He did play in seven games at safety for LSU last year, but there is no record of that. The tapes have been burned. The ashes were locked in a safe and blasted into the ether. It’s a new defense, and I think Spears pushes his way to the field. He’s 6-foot-3 and can really run. The opener against Lincoln Riley doesn’t sound like a comfy spot to toss a true freshman into. Get Spears snaps against Nicholls, UCLA and South Alabama. He should be up to speed after the first bye as the Tigers prep for Ole Miss.

4. Zavion Thomas will score on two returns

• The return game has been a black hole for LSU the past two seasons. It started with a pair of Malik Nabers muffed punts in the Superdome against Florida State, but it didn’t end there. Jack Bech botched the opening kickoff against Tennessee a month later. LSU elected to put Gregory Clayton back at punt returner the rest of the way, and he managed 51 yards in 11 games. It was a fair catch clinic. Last year, LSU brought Aaron Anderson in to fix those problems. He muffed the first punt of the season. That was that. LSU only returned seven punts the rest of the season. With an offense that could go get points from anywhere, worrying about big plays and punt returns didn’t make a lot of sense. That was the case last year. This time around, I’d prefer if LSU at least tried to return some kicks. Turns out, Thomas has a history of doing that. He housed a kickoff at Texas A&M in 2023 and a punt against Georgia in 2022. Thomas has the quick and the burners to create some real excitement.

I’d tell you to place your bets on all this, but prop bets on players are illegal in Louisiana. Anyone going to Vegas anytime soon?