PALMER: Three early LSU Football spring standouts

By Hunt Palmer

Two weeks remain in LSU’s 2025 spring workouts.

The Tigers will participate in an open practice on April 12 to conclude things, but plenty of work has already been done through three weeks. Based on the media’s observation periods and some of the quotes from the players and staff, here are three players we feel are having a productive spring.

Chris Hilton, WR

This is not new for Hilton. His fall camp entering 2024 was excellent. Then came the foot injury that just wouldn’t fully heal. He didn’t play until the Texas A&M game in late October and didn’t start a game until the Texas Bowl.

Hilton is far more than just a speedster now. But he sure can use that speed. The media has been able to see Hilton make a handful of really good plays early in spring including a leaping catch over Ja’Keem Jackson last week for a big play.

Hilton looks healthy. His routes are crisp, and he’s catching everything. If healthy, it’s a reasonable bet that Hilton realizes that potential that has been discussed for half a decade.

That adds a dimension that LSU so sorely lacked in 2024.

Jack Pyburn, EDGE

Pyburn is a proven SEC commodity. His 60 tackles at Florida last season showed his ability against the run. He’s at LSU to build on that and become a complete edge player. Kevin Peoples is in charge of that progression, and it’s showing up early on in Pyburn’s time in Baton Rouge.

Pyburn is a tireless worker. That has been part of his early success. He told reporters last week that he walks around his house practicing pass rush moves.

The other part of Pyburn’s game that the coaches have really loved is his leadership. He’s a great example to younger players in terms of his effort every single day in the weight room and on the practice field. Edge is a loaded position group for the Tigers, and Pyburn figures to have a big role.

Dashawn Spears

Defensive coordinator Blake Baker said this week that no one was harder on Dashawn Spears than him in 2024. While that didn’t yield many on-field result in Spears’s first season at LSU, it’s starting to now.

At 6-foot-3 and 205 pounds, Spears is the most physically imposing safety on the roster. He needs to play like it, and that’s starting to show up. Last week he was spotted both breaking up a pass in one-on-ones and flying up the field to make a play in the running game.

Some of LSU’s best teams have featured elite safety play from players like LaRon Landry, Chad Jones, Brandon Taylor, Eric Reid and Grant Delpit. Spears has a ceiling as high as most of those guys. It’s just a matter of reaching it.

With Jardin Gilbert out recovering from shoulder surgery, plenty of reps are available to Spears. By all accounts, he’s using those to make a move up the depth chart.

He’s got company there with Joel Rogers and Tamarcus Cooley pushing for snaps, but Spears has done a great job.