The LSU Tigers hit the road a few days ago and traveled to Houston, Texas for the 2024 Texas Bowl. Over the last few days, the Tigers have been practicing in Houston for their game against Baylor on New Years Eve, but they have been joined by some newcomers who aren't eligible to play on Tuesday.

It's not even January yet, but some of LSU's 2025 freshmen class has already arrived on campus, and three of them made the trip to Houston with the team: DJ Pickett, Harlem Berry and Damien Shanklin.

Brian Kelly talked about having these three guys with the team early, and he said it's a massive advantage for them.

"I think it's a great advantage. It gives us some great insight from our prospective as to where they're going to fit, but it also helps them immensely as they head into the offseason program. They were the biggest and best players of their high school teams by far, but then they come in here and they're like 'ahh, everybody looks like me.'"

The Tigers highest-rated player in the 2025 class, DJ Pickett, has arrived and is already suiting up for practices with the team. One of the top CBs in 2025 was one of the last recruits to sign on signing day, which gave some fans high blood pressure, but I think it's obvious he wants to be here.

With Zy Alexander leaving, the door at CB is wide open for Pickett. Ashton Stamps and Mansoor Delane will likely start, but Delane could move to nickel/safety and open up room for Pickett. The five-star needs to add some weight, but he has elite size and length at the CB position which could force Corey Raymond to play him right away.

Another five-star who's in Houston with the team is Harlem Berry. The Metairie, Louisiana native was the only five-star running back in the class and was one of the earliest commits in 2025. He held steady the whole way and stuck with LSU on signing day despite a late push from multiple schools.

Berry enters a running back room that will lose Josh Williams this year, meaning Caden Durham will be the only real "veteran" left. He and Durham will likely be the main guys with JT Lindsey also getting some good work. The Tigers RB trio looks deadly, and it's great to see Berry already out there with the team.

Another Rivals150 recruit who's with the team in Houston is Damien Shanklin. The four-star edge rusher is the Tigers only defensive end recruit in the 2025 class, but was a massive get for them. They poached him from Indiana, and now he's coming down to Baton Rouge to begin practicing early.

Shanklin is in a defensive end room that has three very experienced players with one year of eligibility remaining. He'll have some work to do to see significant playing time in 2025, but these early practices could help him get on the field as a freshman and then see significant playing time as a sophomore and on.