LSU football welcomed many new players from the transfer portal during the Spring. The new faces have stirred up some competition in many positions on both sides of the ball. Despite all of the change, they are led by 5th-year senior quarterback Garrett Nussmeier.
Nussmeier looks more comfortable and confident in the pocket as a year two starter. Defensive Coordinator Blake Baker believes he is making the defense better.
“He is a really good player,” Bake said. “He is very smart; He does a phenomenal job understanding coverage.”
Barion Brown is one of the many successes from the portal. He is a senior receiver who previously played at Kentucky. The former Wildcat holds the Kentucky and SEC record for the most kickoff returns for touchdowns (five).
Brown said that Nussmeier coming back for year five influenced his decision to become a Tiger.
“Just seeing the passion he had, and the amount of times they threw the ball [last season],” Brown said. “Nuss is a great guy off the field.”
The competitive atmosphere is something that the players and coaches like. They believe it has strengthened their camaraderie and makes the team better.
“Our depth is so deep on this team,” sophomore tight end Trey’Dez Green said. “This is the best team I’ve ever played for.”
“Everyday we go out there, they know I’m going to give them my best, and they [are] going to give us ours [theirs],” Brown said. “It’s great to have a competitive nature on the team.”
LSU has arguably shown the most improvement from last season in their secondaries. Ashton Stamps returns for his third year, and across the field from him will be transfer Mansoor Delane. Delane has two years of starting under his belt from his time at Virginia Tech.
Stamps believes seniors like him, even if they are new to the team, are great leaders for the younger guys.
“You got Mansoor, you got Ja [Ja’keem Jackson], you know older guys,’ Stamps said, ‘In order to gain their respect you’ve got to do it the right way.”
There is still a lot of rotation going on with offense and defense, so it will be interesting to see who the starters are come August 30th.
