Brian Kelly and Brad Davis are building LSU into an elite O-line school
Thursday night, Brian Kelly and Brad Davis completed one of the biggest flips of the 2024 class. Weston Davis, 6'4, 285 Ibs offensive tackle from Houston, Texas flipped his commitment from Texas A&M to LSU.
LSU has never been known for putting a bunch of elite offensive lineman into the NFL like schools such as Alabama, Notre Dame or Wisconsin just to name a few. The Tigers have always been known for their skill position guys, and that's why they've been tabbed as "DBU" and "WRU" throughout the years.
While DBU has lost some momentum over the last couple of years, WRU is still going strong with both Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas looking like future NFL stars, but LSU is en route to becoming OLU as well.
In Brian Kelly's first year, he brought in Will Campbell and Emery Jones, two four-star tackles who were No. 4 and No. 6 at their position respectively. Both tackles started as true freshman and were already among the premier players at their position. Now, in the midst of their second season, you could make a case for both of them being top-3 in their respective positions.
After bringing in those two, Kelly and Davis turned around and brought in Zalance Heard, a five-star offensive tackle from Monroe, Louisiana who ranked 3rd in the nation at his position. We've already seen Heard step in and play a big role on the offensive line, and all things considered, he's looked really good at right tackle thus far.
LSU also brought in four-star offensive guard, DJ Chester, in the 2023 recruiting class. He hasn't seen the field as much as Heard has, but in 81 snaps, he's allowed just one pressure according to PFF.
Even though it feels like LSU is set at offensive tackle for the foreseeable future, Kelly and Davis decided they weren't satisfied and went out and flipped Weston Davis from Texas A&M. Next year, LSU will have Will Campbell, Emery Jones, Zalance Heard and Weston Davis at tackle (Emery Jones could very well slide to right guard and Zalance Heard could start at right tackle). But instead of being content with their room, they've already secured a commitment from 2025 four-star tackle, Brett Bordelon, and there will probably be at least one more offensive lineman commit in that 2025 class by the time they step on campus.
So what has caused this shift at LSU that makes it a top destination for offensive lineman? Well one, Brian Kelly has produced a lot of elite offensive lineman in his time at Notre Dame such as Zach Martin, Quenton Nelson and Ronnie Staley. Two, Brad Davis has proven that he's one of the best offensive line coaches in the nation with the way he's quickly turned Campbell, Jones and others into a top-tier offensive line unit.
If you're an LSU fan, this is an exciting time. LSU will always be one of the top destinations for elite wide receivers, and with Joe Burrow and Jayden Daniels' performances in recent history, LSU will likely be a school that continues to produce very good quarterbacks. If they can continue to develop offensive lineman like they have recently, LSU could have a very scary offense for a long, long time.