{"id":75699,"date":"2025-07-26T16:30:59","date_gmt":"2025-07-26T20:30:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/?p=75699"},"modified":"2025-09-20T14:46:53","modified_gmt":"2025-09-20T18:46:53","slug":"can-the-lsu-offensive-line-pave-the-way","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/2025\/07\/26\/can-the-lsu-offensive-line-pave-the-way\/","title":{"rendered":"Can the LSU Offensive Line Pave the Way?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Tigers return the league\u2019s most proven quarterback, have added perimeter weapons, and expect to field one of the best offenses in the nation in 2025. Despite the additions and high hopes, the LSU offensive line must perform at a high level for the team to reach its playoff goals.<\/p>\n<p>Brad Davis coached one of his most talented offensive line groups of his tenure in 2024. Four of the five starters heard their names called in the draft. But the on-field performance didn\u2019t always correspond with the talent, especially in the running game. The LSU offensive line is one of the most important unknowns entering the season. Now, we\u2019ll closely examine each position.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>The LSU Offensive Line<\/strong><\/h2>\n<h3><strong>Returning Contributors<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cfb\/players\/dj-chester-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">DJ Chester<\/a> provides an example of how Brian Kelly wants to build these teams by recruiting and developing from the high school level. He came to LSU as a four-star recruit in 2023, learned and developed, then claimed the starting center position as a redshirt freshman in 2024. Admittedly, he struggled at times as a starter, but we\u2019re not down on him. First-time starters will face adversity. He\u2019ll improve and start again, even if it\u2019s not at center (more on that later).<\/p>\n<p>Redshirt sophomore <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cfb\/players\/tyree-adams-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Tyree Adams<\/a> has been the staff\u2019s most trusted reserve tackle for the past two seasons. He\u2019ll finally get the starting nod at left tackle, now that three-year starter Will Campbell has moved on. While he might not have the ceiling of his predecessor, Adams gives the Tigers a quality starter and continuity from inside the program at the position.<\/p>\n<p>Due to an injury to Garrett Dellinger, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cfb\/players\/paul-mubenga-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Paul Mubenga<\/a> entered the starting lineup at left guard as a redshirt freshman in 2024. It took time for Mubenga to adjust to the speed and physicality of the SEC. To his credit, he looked much more comfortable <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/2024\/12\/31\/lsu-outscores-baylor-to-win-texas-bowl\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">in the Texas Bowl<\/a> against Baylor than he did earlier in the season <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/2024\/11\/17\/lsu-grasping-for-answers\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">at Florida<\/a>. Mubenga could start at guard, but his role will be impacted by the newcomers.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>The Portal Giveth<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Virginia Tech transfer <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cfb\/players\/braelin-moore-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Braelin Moore<\/a> is the reason we hinted at Chester changing positions. The junior started at center for the past two seasons in Blacksburg before transferring to LSU. PFF graded him as one of the best centers in the ACC. Moore has powerful hands, and his experience lends to his ability to pick up defensive line stunts. We expect him to eventually win the starting job at center, which would push Chester to one of the guard spots.<\/p>\n<p>Josh Thompson is another critical portal addition for the Tigers. He has extensive experience at right guard and right tackle for Northwestern while earning All-Big Ten honors in 2024. He did not allow a sack in the 402 pass plays in which he was on the field last season. Thompson is a fifth-year senior who adds valuable experience and proven production to the group.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Tiger Cubs<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>We expect redshirt freshman and former five-star Weston Davis to take the reins at right tackle. There\u2019s no questioning the 6\u2019-6\u201d former basketball player\u2019s measurables and athleticism. We\u2019ll see how much a year in the program has prepared him for the future NFL draft picks he\u2019ll routinely face, starting in week one against Clemson.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cfb\/players\/ory-williams-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ory Williams<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cfb\/players\/coen-echols-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Coen Echols<\/a> both redshirted last year and should contribute at the guard spots. Echols ran with the first team at guard in spring practice. Carius Curne was one of LSU\u2019s most prized recruits in the 2025 class, and he\u2019s already physically ready to play. He received significant time as the second-team left tackle in the Spring. Jacksonville native Solomon Thomas was another big win on the recruiting trail, and he\u2019ll start his career as a tackle.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Projecting the Starters<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><strong>LT \u2013 Tyree Adams<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>LG \u2013 DJ Chester<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>C \u2013 Braelin Moore<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>RG \u2013 Josh Thompson<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>RT \u2013 Weston Davis<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>We chose not to project a full depth chart, because the most game-ready options could back up several positions. But Mubenga, Echols, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cfb\/players\/bo-bordelon-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Bo Bordelon<\/a> will serve supplementary roles as guards. Thompson has proven that he can kick out to right tackle if needed. Expect at least one of the true freshmen in Curne and Thomas to also get snaps at tackle this season.<\/p>\n<p>This year\u2019s offensive line isn\u2019t as star-studded as last season\u2019s group. However, there are plenty of proficient fronts every year that don\u2019t have top-10 draft picks. This line has a good mixture of Power Four experience and high-ceiling youth, but its biggest drawback is the lack of experience as a unit. The problem is there&#8217;s no time to waste.<\/p>\n<p>Davis will face one of his biggest challenges at LSU in developing cohesion in the unit quickly, with so many new faces in big roles. The Tigers face Clemson in one of the biggest games of week one. All four of Clemson\u2019s starting defensive linemen project as draft picks, with at least two of the four going in the first round. LSU then faces Florida in its third game, and the Gator front had its way with the Tigers in 2024.<\/p>\n<p>Help is on the way for Davis, as former Florida State offensive coordinator Alex Atkins has now joined the Tigers as the tight ends coach and run game coordinator. Atkins led successful units at Florida State and predicated his approach on counters, which would contrast with the zone scheme runs LSU leaned on last season. A better run game (it can&#8217;t get any worse) in 2025 should help keep the Tigers out of obvious passing situations, which is always a plus. But we won&#8217;t really know what LSU has until August 30th at Clemson.<\/p>\n<p>Main Image: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Tigers return the league\u2019s most proven quarterback, have added perimeter weapons, and expect to field one of the best offenses in the nation in 2025. Despite the additions and high hopes, the LSU offensive line must perform at a high level for the team to reach its playoff goals. Brad Davis coached one of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4690,"featured_media":75706,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10906,7,35645,35636,3],"tags":[9979,8667,34931,36,244,38,8336,34753,86,825,20,1525,5559,34930,10487],"class_list":["post-75699","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cfb","category-acc","category-clemson-tigers","category-florida-state-seminoles","category-sec","tag-alex-atkins","tag-brad-davis","tag-carius-curne","tag-clemson-tigers","tag-florida-gators","tag-florida-state-seminoles","tag-garrett-dellinger","tag-josh-thompson","tag-lsu-tigers","tag-northwestern-wildcats","tag-sec","tag-solomon-thomas","tag-virginia-tech","tag-weston-davis","tag-will-campbell"],"modified_by":"Michael Kovacs, ADMIN","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75699","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4690"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=75699"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75699\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":75707,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75699\/revisions\/75707"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/75706"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75699"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=75699"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=75699"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}