Spring practice is underway for LSU football. This is the first real look we’re getting at the 2025 squad. For a handful of players, it’s their first practice with LSU. Early enrollees and transfer portal additions are making their LSU practice debut.
There’s a long way to go before toe meets leather in the fall, but these next few weeks will be the first real indicator of how LSU plans to use its freshman and transfer portal class in 2025.
LSU has a lot more continuity in 2025 than it did in 2024. Last spring, LSU was replacing coordinators on offense and defense while breaking in a new starting quarterback. Now, QB Garrett Nussmeier returns for his fifth year of college football. Offensive coordinator Joe Sloan and defensive coordinator Blake Baker both return, too.
In places where LSU lacks continuity, the Tigers made up for it with experience in the transfer portal. LSU loses a large chunk of its wide receiver and defensive end production, but LSU added several transfers with Power Four experience at those positions.
Here are five newcomers with breakout potential in the spring.
Offensive linemen Carius Curne
Per On3, Curne was a five-star recruit and No. 2 ranked interior offensive lineman in the 2025 recruiting class.
Don’t pay too much attention to that interior tag, though. Every lineman signed by LSU in 2025 was listed as an interior offensive lineman. That’s how the recruiting services saw those recruits, but it was safe to assume LSU saw one or two as a potential tackle. Curne will have a chance to make his mark on the edge.
Curne is a freak athlete and has the potential to play anywhere on the offensive line. His 33.5 inch arms are below average for NFL offensive tackles, but Will Campbell proved you don’t need long arms to be an elite tackle in the SEC. Curne has the tools to compete for a starting spot as a freshman. He’ll have to make a strong impression in spring practice.
Offensive linemen Josh Thompson
Thompson wouldn’t be a true breakout in the sense he’s already a known quantity. He was a two-year starter at Northwestern before making the jump to the SEC. However, he’s new to LSU and is a key leverage point for this offensive line.
At Northwestern, Thompson played guard and tackle. LSU doesn’t know how it will shuffle its best five up front yet, meaning Thomson could end up anywhere between left tackle and right guard at LSU.
If LSU finds a younger player to emerge at tackle and Thompson can settle in at guard, he has a chance to be one of the best guards in the SEC. LSU needs that after the interior offensive line was a problem point in 2024. A strong spring from Thompson will be the first step in LSU reviving its run game.
Tight end Bauer Sharp
With Mason Taylor gone and Trey’Dez Green not ready to take on a major blocking role, LSU needed a prototype at tight end. The Tigers found that in the addition of former Oklahoma tight end Bauer Sharp.
Nobody will confuse Sharp for a wide receiver, but he was the Sooners‘ leading receiver in 2024. Sharp can add a little in the passing game while being one of the top blocking tight ends in the SEC. If Sharp emerges as a balanced threat, LSU will have personnel flexibility in 2025.
Running back Harlem Berry
Berry was the top ranked running back in the class of 2025. He’s an electric playmaker who can run downhill and create in space. You could say similar things about Caden Durham, who had a breakout year for the Tigers in 2024.
Durham returns and will be LSU’s feature back, but Berry has a chance to be a significant contributor. LSU is losing Josh Williams and needs another running back it can trust. Berry will compete with junior back Kaleb Jackson for a bulk of the RB2 carries.
Berry is one of the most anticipated debuts of the spring. It’s been some time since LSU signed a five-star running back.
Cornerback Mansoor Delane
Like Thompson, Delane isn’t a true breakout. He was a difference maker in the secondary at Virginia Tech. LSU needs Delane to make the same impact in Baton Rouge.
The Tigers are losing cornerback Zy Alexander, who was one of the SEC’s top defenders in 2024 and gave LSU a sense of stability at cornerback for the first time in the Brian Kelly era. Like Alexander, Delane is physical corner who can play man coverage in the boundray.
LSU has flirted with the idea of playing Delane at safety, but if Delane can give LSU elite cornerback play, that’s where he adds the most value. Spring is a chance to see if Delane is going to be the CB1 LSU needs.
Cornerback DJ Pickett
I mentioned LSU’s lack of stability at cornerback the last few years. The Tigers are hoping the addition of five-star cornerback DJ Pickett turns the tide. Pickett joined LSU before the bowl game and made a strong first impression. Spring will indicate if Pickett is primed to be a day one starter at cornerback.
If Delane and Pickett are everything they’re talked up to be, LSU’s cornerback room will be the best of the Kelly era at LSU.
This article originally appeared on LSU Wire: LSU football spring practice: Six newcomers poised for breakout
