I’ve always had an interest in Louisiana, especially New Orleans.
– Nicholas Cage, actor
LSU TIGERS
We’re used to the Tigers dominating at WR by now, and 2025 is shaping up for much of the same. Aaron Anderson returns after winning a starting role last year in the slot. Chris Hilton Jr. was spoken about highly last off-season by OC Joe Sloan before injuries derailed his season, and he will be a player in the mix for a boundary position in 2025. Other returnees include Zavion Thomas, who transferred from Mississippi State a year ago.
The Tigers also brought in two notable transfers, Kentucky’s Barion Brown and OU’s Nic Anderson. Brown is a speedy player who’s great with the ball in his hands but has not yet developed into a great WR yet. N. Anderson is coming from a season-ending injury, which always concerns me about projecting production the following season. TE Bauer Sharp also makes his way over from OU. He and Trey’Dez Green will compete for starting TE duties and will probably end up on the field together at times as well.
At RB, star freshman breakout Caden Durham will be the player with the inside track for starting duties this offseason. Durham shined at times in 2024 as a runner and receiver, and I’d expect he’ll be used in both capacities a lot in 2025. Forecasting 200+ touches for Durham doesn’t feel too unreasonable, but there are also others behind him, including Kaleb Jackson.
And, of course, at QB, potential 2026 #1 overall draft pick Garrett Nussmeier returns for one more year. He was good in 2024 but inconsistent. He’s always been a proficient passer and a willing gunslinger, but his rushing usage leaves much to be desired. Thus, his path to production lies within throwing the ball around 35+ times a game.
That’s perfectly fine because he averaged 40.3 passes per game in 2024, and I don’t see that number coming down much, if at all, in 2025. I know BK wants to run the football better than they did in 2024 (every team BK has coached since 2018 averages over 30 rushes per game, 2024 LSU averaged 28), but I’d still guess that Nuss will be chucking it 35-40 times a game, with several games in-season probably reaching 45+ attempts.
This offense has the potential to produce a CFF-relevant asset at QB, RB, multiple WRs, AND TE in the same season. A stack combination of Nussmeier plus whoever ends up being WR1 should be lethal.
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