By Hunt Palmer
Will Campbell may be the greatest tackle in LSU history. He’s in the discussion, at the very least.
The Neville product won the left tackle job as a true freshman two weeks into a new staff’s spring and never relinquished it for three years. He became a consensus All-American and the fourth pick in the NFL Draft.
He started 38 games as a Tiger, and 35 of those came with Emery Jones at right tackle. LSU went 26-9 in those games. Jones became a third-round choice of the Ravens. Jones played every snap in 24 of 25 games against SEC competition over three years.
Simply put, Campbell and Joines form the best tackle duo in LSU history when you combine how quickly they got into the starting lineup, longevity, durability, production and draft position.
That’s what LSU is replacing in 2025.
WHO’S GONE
- Will Campbell (NFL Draft – 1th, #4 New England), Emery Jones (NFL Draft – 3rd, #91 Baltimore)
WHO’S BACK
- Tyree Adams (6’7”, 310, R-Soph)
- Weston Davis (6’7”, 317, R-Fr)
- Khayree Lee (6’6”, 305, R-Fr)
- Ethan Calloway (6’7”, 310, R-Soph)
WHO’S NEW
- Josh Thompson (Grad, Northwestern, 6’5”, 301)
- Carius Curne (6’5”, 320, Fr)
- Tyler Miller (6’6”, 335, Fr)
- Soloman Thomas (6’4”, 325, Fr)
WHAT WE KNOW
Campbell and Jones anchored a line that protected for the sixth-most pass attempts in college football, and only 13 teams in college football allowed fewer sacks. On a per drop back basis, Garrett Nussmeier was the cleanest quarterback in college football.
Also, LSU was the worst rushing offense in the SEC.
Tyree Adams was LSU’s sixth offensive lineman in 2024. He was the starter at left tackle in the bowl game when Campbell opted out. Jones didn’t play either, and Miles Frazier moved from his right guard spot out to right tackle. Adams’s Pro Football Focus grades weren’t stellar, 53 overall, 53.5 run blocking, 48.4 pass blocking.
He’s got a great frame and two years under Brad Davis and behind Campbell. He took nearly every rep with the first team at left tackle in the spring.
Weston Davis took nearly every rep as the first team right tackle in spring. The former five-star prospect out of Beaumont, Texas, was a basketball player up until his sophomore year in high school. He’s an exceptional athlete with raw skills. He got some time at left tackle in the Texas Bowl.
Khayree Lee and Ethan Calloway are long, rangy prospects who did not play a snap last year as true freshmen.
Of the newcomers, Josh Thompson and Carius Curne got the closest looks in the spring.
Thompson started 12 games at right tackle for Northwestern two seasons ago before moving to guard. He was graded a 55.1 in the running game and a 62.4 in the passing game for that season. He’s not as long as the guys like Adams, Davis or Lee, but he’s got a ton of college experience.
Curne has zero college experience, but he was an early enrollee, a decorated one. On3 dunned him the top interior offensive lineman in the class of 2025. LSU looked at him at left tackle most of the spring. He’s 6-foot-5 which is a couple of inches short of “ideal”, but Curne is an exceptional mover with elite strength. He’s making waves in the weight room with his bench press ability and has been filmed doing back flips in the football facility at 320 lbs.
Soloman Thomas joins Curne as a five-star signee in this class, and Tyler Miller was a basketball standout and top six player in Mississippi on the gridiron last year.
HUNT’S PROJECTION
The left spot is Adams’s and the right spot is Davis’s as camp approaches. That’s the plan right now.
Adams has been groomed as Campbell’s successor for two seasons, and Davis got that treatment last year for Jones. They both have prototypical size but no real playing experience.
It’s difficult right now to project anything but a step back at tackle for LSU, especially early in the season. Campbell is going to start for the Patriots in seven weeks.
How big that step back becomes is a massive storyline. Nussmeier is not built to evade pressure on a consistent basis. He needs a clean pocket. He doesn’t need it for a long time. Few college quarterbacks got rid of the ball more quickly than Nussmeier last year. But he needs time to let his weapons break free.
Right now, it’s a real possibility that the next two men up are Thompson on the right side and Curne, the precocious freshman, on the left. Asked on After Further Review with Matt Moscona about a breakout player on the offensive line back in early July, redshirt freshman Ory Williams immediately singled Curne out.
Remember, Davis and Kelly plugged two true freshmen into the lineup three years ago. That’s not unprecedented.
My prediction is that Adams and Davis do hold the spots down and play at level somewhere just below Campbell and Jones. In the Texas bowl, without either Campbell or Jones, Nussmeier was not sacked and threw for 313 yards and three scores.
LSU figures to be among the conference’s leaders in passing this season, and the tackle tandem, whoever is it comprised of, will have to be a huge part of that.
As far as the running game goes, it has to improve. That’s been a massive point of emphasis for everyone involved in the offense from Joe Sloan down to Davis to the linemen to the wide receivers blocking on the perimeter.
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