Predicting LSU’s Starters: Missouri Week

The LSU football team fell to 3-2 overall and 2-1 in SEC play following a 55-49 loss to Ole Miss.

The Tigers dropped to No. 23 in the AP Poll, meaning it will still be a matchup of Top 25 teams when the Tigers travel to Columbia on Saturday to take on No. 21 Missouri. Kickoff is set for 11 a.m.

Will LSU head coach Brian Kelly and the staff shake up the starters following the head-scratching performance on defense in Oxford?

Here’s our best guess as to what the starters look like when the Tigers take the field this weekend.

LSU Offense

QB: Jayden Daniels … Daniels put on a show in Oxford, and now he sits at No. 2 in the NCAA in total yards through five games. The deep ball fans yearned for a year ago is now one of Daniels’ strengths, and he looks the part of what one if the best quarterbacks in college football.

RB: Logan Diggs … Another start, another great game from LSU’s starting running back after he rushed for 101 yards and two touchdowns against the Rebels. Diggs got 19 carries in the game, and the lone other running back to rush the ball was John Emery with three carries. It’s clear at this stage that Diggs is RB1 in Baton Rouge.

WR: Malik Nabers … Nabers put up a career day when he caught all 13 of his targets for 239 yards and pair of touchdowns against MSU. He followed it up with eight catches for 130 yards and two touchdowns against Arkansas. Then, he hauled in all eight of his targets for 102 yards against Ole Miss. Nabers is making his case for college football’s best wide receivier.

WR: Brian Thomas Jr. … There isn’t a better 1-2 punch going right now at wide receiver than Thomas and Nabers. Thomas was brilliant with eight catches for 124 yards and three touchdowns in Oxford, and he now leads the NCAA in receiving touchdowns with eight.

WR: Kyren Lacy … Lacy caught two passes for 51 yards and a touchdown in the loss to Ole Miss. Chris Hilton was also targeted four times, but Hilton is now listed on the injury report ahead of the matchup with Missouri. With his status uncertain, we’ll predict Lacy gets the starting nod.

TE: Mason Taylor … Taylor caught all five of his targets for 61 yards in Oxford. He remains LSU’s go-to tight end on a room that built quality depth – albeit young depth – this offseason.

LT: Will Campbell … There won’t be any movement at this spot as Campbell locks in at left tackle for the second season in a row.

LG: Garrett Dellinger … Through five weeks, there hasn’t been any talks of moving Dellinger out of the starting left guard spot.

C: Charles Turner … Turner has remained LSU’s starting center since he won the job a year ago.

RG: Miles Frazier … Freshman Lance Heard rotated in at right tackle a handful of times in September, which moved Emery Jones to right guard and Frazier to the bench. Still, Frazier has started in every game and is expected to do the same this weekend.

RT: Emery Jones … Jones was LSU’s starting right tackle for the fifth time this season. Unless Heard enters the game and Frazier goes to the bench, Jones will remain on the edge of the offensive line.

LSU Defense

DE: Sai’vion Jones … Jones remains LSU’s starting defensive end, and he logged 72 snaps against Ole Miss. That left backup Paris Shand 12 snaps. In those 84 snaps, the pair combined for one quarterback hurry and 0.5 tackles for loss. It’s not the production the Tigers need, meaning we might see freshman Da’Shawn Womack get some snaps at defensive end at Missouri. Still, Jones is the expected starter.

DT Mekhi Wingo … After five games, there’s still no debate. Wingo is LSU’s best defensive lineman. His spot on the field is non-negotiable.

DT: Maason Smith … Smith’s injury against FSU in 2022 sidelined him for the season, and he’s slowly worked himself back into games after making his season debut against GSU in Week 2. He struggled against Arkansas, but still carried 78 snaps against the Rebels. That left backup Jordan Jefferson with just 15 snaps. There’s a strong case being made that Jefferson needs more playing time until Smith proves he’s rounded back into form. Will that mean a switch in starters? That would be a surprise, but more playing time for Jefferson seems like a must.

JACK: Bradyn Swinson … Who will be the first JACK linebacker to the field? Ovie Oghoufo has been the main starter at the position, but Swinson has been much more productive on the field. Oghoufo has eight tackles and a pass breakup in five games, while Swinson has 12 tackles, five quarterback hurries, 1.5 tackles for loss and two pass breakups.

LB: Whit Weeks … Omar Speights is listed as “questionable” on the injury report following the loss to Ole Miss. Meanwhile, Weeks was fabulous as a true freshman in his first two college starts. Kelly said Speights and Weeks will rotate when both are available, but it might be time to start leaning more on the true freshman.

LB Greg Penn III … Penn had a rough go against the Rebels, but so did most of LSU’s defense. He will be eyeing a bounce back game in Columbia this weekend.

EDGE: Harold Perkins … Can LSU get Perkins back to the form he showed in his true freshman season a year ago? He had nine tackles against the Rebels, but just one tackle for loss and no sacks. The LSU defense certainly needs Perkins to make a bigger impact. What will the staff dial up for the sophomore this week?

CB: Zy Alexander … Alexander made a couple nice plays against Ole Miss, but the entire defensive backfield struggled. Still, we expect Alexander to make his sixth-straight start this weekend.

CB: Denver Harris … Harris didn’t enter the game until the second quarter against the Rebels, but he still logged 67 snaps – more than any other cornerback on roster. Expect Laterrance Welch and Ashton Stamps to see playing time, but if Harris is available, it’s likely he’s the starter.

S: Major Burns … Burns logged a team-high 94 snaps against Ole Miss. Simply put, without Greg Brooks, the Tigers don’t have many other options at safety, and Burns is a multi-year starter.

S: Andre Sam … Sam finished with 93 snaps against the Rebels, driving home the reality that LSU safeties coach Kerry Cooks trusts the pair as LSU’s top safeties. Sage Ryan got the starting nod at nickel and logged 90 snaps. The lone other safety to see time was true freshman Ryan Yaites, who played six snaps. Perhaps we see Yaites on the field a bit more this weekend.

Special Teams Rundown

K: Damian Ramos … Ramos missed his first field goal of the season this past weekend, but it was a 56-yard attempt just before halftime. Other than that, he’s been perfect on extra points and field goals this season.

P: Jay Bramblett … With LSU’s offense clicking Bramblett hasn’t been called upon much this season. In a shootout in Oxford, he punted three times for an average of 43 yards per punt.

KR: Kaleb Jackson … Jackson took out two kickoffs for 33 yards against the Rebels, with his longest return going for 18 yards.

PR: Gregory Clayton … Ole Miss only punted twice, and Clayton was on the field for both returns. To this point, it remains clear the Tigers want Clayton to fair catch the football and hand it back over to one of the NCAA’s most prolific offenses.

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