Has Lane Kiffin TRANSFORMED the LSU Offensive Line in his FIRST SEASON in Baton Rouge?

That's what the Ponderosa is supposed to look like. But this is, I would say, the position group that has the second most eyeballs and pressure on it behind quarterback. Because of just how bad it was last year. You were an awful offensive line. It was just bad last season. And it played a part in that whole dysfunction we talked about offensively. And they went and made the moves. They went and got guys headlined by Jordan Seton, but they built more than just Jordan Seton. They circled Braylon Moore as one of those guys they needed to return. What else, Wyatt, do they have in that room that they went and put together? Because it's not just starters. They added depth. They added experience. A lot of key pieces they brought to that offensive line room. Yeah, of course. So, I think your starting right guard is going to be another transfer from Maryland, Aliou Ba. He's got over 1,500 career snaps. The Maryland offensive line was actually really good last year. They only allowed, I think it was like nine sacks as a team, which was third fewest nationally. Devin Harper comes in from Ole Miss. He's going to be competing for the left guard spot with Bo Bordelon, who had a great spring. I do still think Devin Harper is more of a youth longer play for LSU. I think his true position is at tackle. I think he ends up playing right or left tackle for LSU at some point in his career. But he's going to compete for the left guard spot, obviously super talented. You bring in William Satterwhite for Tennessee. Jaquan Sprinkle from NC Central. Sean Tompkins from Baylor, who is massive, 6'5", 308. I think he's a guy who's going to contend for that sixth man guy in the offensive line if there's, God forbid, some sort of injury to one of the tackles. I think Sean Tompkins might be the next man up there. Darren Stry from Kentucky came over with Wolford, so obviously he likes the potential he sees there. So that's a 6'7", 314-pound guy. He's also going to be able to contend for that sixth man spot. Jacolby Jones came over from junior college, Jamar Jones. And then you got some freshmen, Bryston Martinez. Obviously we talked about him. Ryan Moret. And then one of the more interesting ones that really hasn't gotten a ton of publicity, Solomon Thomas, who's a former five-star player. He was injured for the majority of his freshman season. Karius Kern kind of took over that headline as far as freshman five-star offensive lineman because he started a couple of games. But Solomon Thomas is a guy, the more he develops, the more he gets better with his new coaching staff. That's a guy who I think can push for playing time, not just next season, but this season as well if he can reach his potential. Because he's a former five-star who you flipped from Florida State, and that was a massive recruiting win. So I think that's a very interesting name in this room as well. And I think the most intriguing part to me, before we really continue to dive into the room, on the Solomon Thomas standpoint is when you got him, it felt like you pulled it off because Alex Atkins got let go at Florida State. That's where he was committed. He ends up committing to LSU and Brad Davis. Then you bring in Alex Atkins to help with tight ends and offensive line and those sorts of things. And so the interesting part for me is when Atkins and Brad Davis are gone, right? When they're let go, they're fired, after with the Brian Kelly regime, that whole offense is scraped. Solomon Thomas, to me, would feel like one of those shoe-ins for the portal. The guys that I was committed to, that I talked about the reason why I'm LSU is because of Brad Davis, Alex Atkins, are no longer here. So I'll just see what the next spot is for me. Especially with Karius Kern, it felt like of those two guys, you were going to try really hard to keep Karius Kern. And Solomon Thomas, like you said, he only came to LSU because Alex Atkins got fired at Florida State and then was subsequently hired at LSU. So Solomon Thomas absolutely felt like a guy. He didn't really play in year one because he was injured the whole time. It felt like a shoe-in for the portal. And then it actually flips on its head. It's Karius Kern who goes to the portal and they do a good job of retaining Solomon Thomas. And I mean, based on the early returns from Ole Miss of Karius Kern, it seems like that was a great decision. Right. And that's the thing. Like I've said with a lot of these offensive guys, if they are returning this season, it is not an accident. They let that entire offense leave. Even guys like Karius Kern, a talented former 5-star true freshman that got to play, you would have circled Kern, you would have circled Kyle Parker, you would have thought of these guys as, you know, maybe those are the guys you hold on to, you don't let them go. And they left. They let them leave. The ones that didn't leave, to me, it was on purpose. They wanted to keep Phillip Wright, Braylon Moore, Trey Desgraine, Harlan Berry. And I put Solomon Thomas in that group, and same with Wes Davis, they didn't let them go because they see something. For Solomon Thomas not to enter the portal means that they saw something and he has belief in what they're pitching. And that's the part that has me excited. It does feel like this offensive line room is much deeper than it's been in the past. Sean Tompkins is an interesting one for me, he doesn't get talked about a lot like you said. I mean, he was potentially going to be one of your starting tackles if you don't get Seton. He very well could have been your starting left tackle if you don't go get Jordan Seton. And that's a key piece to have as a swingman. Same with William Satterwhite. A guy that was at Tennessee, has some experience playing center, can play those interior positions. He played 188 offensive snaps last season at Tennessee, and appeared in eight games at center. And so he is the projected backup center, but also another option at guard. I can't talk about how big of a move it was keeping Braylon Moore, and then bringing in those two key transfers to me and Seton and Ba. It's going to be interesting to see the development of Bo Bortelon. I think that was the biggest surprise of spring camp, was Bo Bortelon's a guy that you were playing at tight end. He wore two numbers for you, because he was either playing tackle or guard, or he was lined up as a blocker at tight end in 89. And now, he's kind of jumped Devin Harper at that left guard spot, and he's got it right in front of him to go win that starting left guard position at 6'6", 305 pounds. You've seen the development of that young man on display since he's gotten to LSU. He was the Iron Tiger last year in the offseason, because if you look at him coming in as a freshman, he looks like a freshman, and then you look at him now, and he looks like a vet. You've been to war in back. He's a monster. So, the offensive line is the thing after quarterback that I think everyone's going to have their eyes on at fall camp, because there's a lot of pressure on it. If I'm going to ask the room, same first question I've asked with every position group, what is your number one question going into fall camp when it comes to offensive line chat, you can list your questions as well. I would go with the ability to run block. I think Braylon Moore, especially Jordan Seaton, Aliou Ba, are really good pass protectors, and they showed that last year. I'm very confident in the coaching staff's ability to, whoever is at left guard, they're going to be between Jordan Seaton and Braylon Moore, which helps you out a lot. Weston Davis, like we talked about, they obviously see something in him. He's so super talented. I think they can figure it out from a pass protection standpoint. My biggest thing is you have to have the ability to run block. If not, you get into a situation from 2024 where that offensive line for NFL guys, pretty good in pass protection, not bad at all, really good in pass protection, could not run block a lick. And it really deterred your offense towards the end of the season, because the defense now knows that all you can do is throw. And Jordan Seaton, as much as he was the best offensive lineman in the portal, there are some questions about his ability to run block. There were some people at Colorado who didn't think he did a good job, whether that be his technique, his footwork, his just general want to run block. If you can't run the ball, that seriously deters your offense, and running the ball does not start with your running back. Running the ball starts up front with the offensive line. If you're unable to do that to the level that a Lane Kiffin offense needs to, you're not going to be as good offensively as you need to be to get to where you want to go at the end of the season. I would like to see the continuity of the offensive line, a lot of new pieces, a lot of people that played well individually, also on a lot of teams that didn't play for anything. And so now you're coming to LSU and the eyes will be on you, and I think that as opposed to it being in a situation that you come into where it's people looking for the offensive line to make a mistake, it's now such a breath of fresh air that people are going to be rooting for you to see the offensive line come together, see the continuity. You have, like I said, you're Stalwart and Braylon Moore, you know what you have in Seton, and so pieces around that, whether it be veteran guys that have been at LSU, like Bo Bortleman that could win a job, and whether he wins the job or not, you know he's going to play. And it's guys like that that are going to be like your swing guys, see who wins the spot at guard, right guard, right tackle, obviously the development of Weston Davis. You would like to see, like I think that was the guy that everybody wanted to probably show the door, right? Where it was, oof, like I can't believe he didn't hit the portal, and now, well, a whole new coaching staff evaluated him and said, we'd rather you stay. And so that's where it becomes, okay, I know what I saw last year, but let's get fresh eyes on it with a fresh scheme and a fresh staff, and the guys that are on it, I'd like to see them all come together as, what, five fingers make a fist, that would be the offensive line. Gauntlet. Oh, infinity stones, I thought you should doord me. I would say, I can't really relate this to endgame, I guess Ironman died when he snapped his fingers. He did. I would say the health, like how, this isn't really a question right now because they're all healthy, but going through the season, and you pick up some injuries because it is the offensive line, like, hopefully you don't, right, hopefully you stay 100% healthy the whole season, but like, they will get nicked up, they will be dealing with things during the games, they will have to come out for some plays, maybe some have to miss some games, like how does the depth respond, and like, does it leave an absolute gaping hole in your offensive line? Like, we've seen that in the past, where like, LSU, one offensive lineman goes down and there's an absolute gaping hole in the offensive line. Why, gaping hole? Because it's just a ******* gaping hole. And so hopefully, you know, you don't see that, hopefully the depth can respond, hopefully the depth is a high enough quality to where like, it really doesn't throw you off, I remember against A&M, center goes down, DJ Chester shifts over to center, and now Garrett Nussmeyer has to make every read, every protection call, has to do everything at the line, and then not to mention, like, he's already doing a lot, so when you ask him to run the ball, do all these different things, he's not able to because he has to focus on what's in front of him to start the play, and that's how you run into maybe three interceptions in a game. I think little things like that can really change a game, and one game can change your season, so I think how the depth responds and if this offensive line can stay healthy is going to be very important. That was very deep. A couple of plays can change the game, and one game can change your season. One gaping hole, very deep, you know. Very deep. Oh my lord. Spread it wide open. Especially for the run game. Your mind is way too dirty, dude. You've got a dirty mind. Just a gaping hole three times within five minutes. Five seconds. On purpose. What makes you think of something else? Because of you. I think of the Grand Canyon. That's a crevice. Made by aliens. Also, it would be interesting to see how, like I said, the continuity that also goes with the quarterback who has not been around yet in terms of cadence, all of these things that we saw last year that were just mind-numbingly incompetent. Just from the top down, it became so much of it. We were laughing about it two days ago when we came in here and everyone was talking about time out. Oh my god. That ---- was not funny. It is now. Yeah, but in the moment, it's as frustrating as it can get. You can't snap the ball. You can't get a play in. It was me and you standing in Clemson Stadium at halftime after you ran a screen play with no time outs on fourth down and fumbled it. And we were like, what are we doing? Out of a time out. I thought this got figured out. And it didn't. And so that is interesting. There's a lot of moving pieces, obviously, with an offensive line in general. But especially this season with all the new faces, new quarterback, new system. That's the part I'm the most intrigued to see going into fall camp as well as into the season is the system, the scheme. That is my confidence in how much better this group is going to be is that there is a scheme. You know who you are. Last season and the season before, really, you were an offense that had a scheme but not the players to fit it. You wanted to run a zone read type offense, but you had a quarterback that wouldn't run and wouldn't pull it. So everyone knew if it looks like he's about to hand the football off, he's probably handing it off. And if the running back gets it, just pin your ears back and go get him. And there's been holes in the offensive line to point out in the last couple of seasons. That's the intriguing part for me is that going into fall camp, you would say right tackle and left guard are the spots I'm going to circle. Extremely confident in center, right guard and ba, and left tackle and seating. It's what happens at right guard between Harper and Bordelon, and then is it still Weston Davis at right tackle? And if so, what does that look like? That dude's going through it in that stadium. Right after that. It was unbelievable. What are you doing? But I would contend that game is the best your offensive line looked because you had a plan and a scheme going into it that you did not have the remainder of the season. And this season, you know, with Kiffin, with Weiss, with Wolford, with Kevin Smith, with Joe Cox, with Jordan Sawyer, with George McDonald, this entire offensive staff, you have a scheme, you have a system, you have an identity offensively. That was the word we used with Roe and Kev nonstop. After game one, you thought you had one. After game two, you didn't have anything. After game three, you were scratching your head more. After game four, you were banging your head into the countertop. After game five, you were ready to just quit. Because you had no identity, and the question marks only got bigger as the season went on. I would say you did have an identity, I'd say you didn't have an identity. Amen. And this season, before seeing a snap, you have an identity. Because you have a coaching staff on the offensive side of the ball that comes with one. A really good one. And that's where, like, you look at a guy like Wesson Davis and you go, you know what? I'm going to give you a chance after how bad it looked last year, because one, you shouldn't have been a starter last year. You're a redshirt freshman, you got put in an impossible position at right tackle. Two, they're betting on you, they see something. Three, there's a new system, there's new coaching, there's new life in that building, offensively. All the points that we laid out on our question marks going into fall camp offensive line are massive. The continuity between the five or the six, the continuity between them and the quarterback, who steps up at right guard, I mean left guard and right tackle, can you stay healthy? All of those things are massive. You can only get better from last year. And that's not just because you brought in better players, because you did. You upgraded big time at left tackle. Big time at left tackle. No offense to Tyree Adams, but Jordan Seton's the best in the country. Potential first round pick, top ten. At right guard, you got much better in Aliouba. Your center was your best offensive lineman. He stayed, he's healthy. Right tackle, left guard, the ones you got circled, you got to figure out, but I just don't see how they don't get better with the new system, the new coaching, and the new energy. It's got to feel so much better to come into work, at practice, when you've got a new life around you. You've got a system that doesn't put too much pressure on you. Because it should be quick decisions. It should be one, two reads for the quarterback. You're not going to have a quarterback that drops, you know, five step drop, and is standing back there like a statue, and you don't know what's going to happen. You're having to hold a guy for, you're going to have to keep him in front of you for five seconds. That's not going to happen. Now you've got a quarterback that can move a little bit, that's got hopefully a really good pocket presence, but also a scheme that doesn't put that much pressure on you as an offensive lineman. That's why my biggest question, scheme-wise, is can you bear down, same with what Wyatt's point was with the run blocking. It was my number one question for the running backs. It goes for the offensive linemen. Can you, when the defense knows, hey, they're going to hand this football off and go get a yard or two, you couldn't do it against USC in 2024? It's the reason you lost that game, because you literally could not get a third and one. You could not do it at all last year. Can you say, you know what, Jordan, Bowe, Braylon, Aliyah, Weston, or whoever else, get me one yard of push, create some sort of lane for Barry, Jones, or Durham to go get to. Deuce. Deuce Geralds as well. Like, create some sort of push to go get a first down. I know we laugh at the Deuce Geralds thing, but. That's what's going to happen. If you can't do it, Lane will find a way to. He's done it everywhere he's been, where he had offensive lines. J.J. Pegues. Yeah. If this is what works, and it's like, y'all can't get a yard, I will put a defensive tackle in here on all this. Harold Perkins will play running back. Yeah, he would have. Yeah. That's what I love about Lane, is it's like, just because it's not conventional doesn't mean I'm not good. I don't care. There's nothing off the table. We can't get first downs, this is how we're going to get a first down. If Heath could have thought of the tush push, he would have. But also, when you talk about the offensive line, the thing that, Lane, what does he like to do offensively? And I wanted to see how this offensive line is able to do that, because I think that's why you see Jordan Seton looking the way that he does. Not only is he in good shape, he had to be in that shape. You need to shed a couple. And I think everybody has, because when I look at time between plays in college football, where does Ole Miss rank for you, sir? Gotta be top five. Top three. These are all splitting hairs. They are 14th. Okay. In the country. But it's probably not that far off from one. Which is 21. But I'd say that to say, what do you think LSU was in the country? Ole Miss was ranked 14th in times per play. 114th? Yes. Actually? Yes. Like, on the nose? Nailed it. I mean, of course, I believe it. Because you had to start huddling again, basically, between plays. 112th in 28 seconds. You're basically, if you call the timeout, that is a delay of game, because it's 25 seconds. Right. When it's 40 seconds, you're 12 seconds away from a delay of game. You're set at 12 seconds. You're going through your checks at 12 seconds. That's why you have to delay a game and burn timeouts. Just complete dysfunction. And that's the intriguing part, because you bring that up, the speed. That's why I think Weston Davis is so intriguing, and why they held on to him, because the one thing he can do is he can move extremely well. He is a very, very talented, athletic, wise, go watch his high school basketball film. He can move. Oh my god. Like, that's the most intriguing part about Weston. The problem was, does he have that kind of mean streak in him to go and push somebody over and use that big body he's got to make it happen? I mean, what is it? What's his measurables? Weston Davis? Is he like 6'7"? No. I mean, like, he's... Nice. I mean, he's a... 6'6", 3'15". I mean, he's put together, right? And he can move extremely well, I think that's why they were intrigued by him to hold on to him, because he kind of fits that offense a little bit better. And that's what will be intriguing to see, that scheme, and how well it works. Sorry, this blows my mind. LSU, last year, time between plays for away games. Don't even. 29.5 seconds. I mean... So you're getting your game on the line with 10 seconds left? Just completely... Dysfunction is the only word I can think of to use. You can't get a play in. Like, that is... That's why... Like, there will not be a bigger change than the 2025 offense to the 2026 offense for LSU football. It is literally LSU, like if they went from 2011 LSU offense to 2019 LSU offense in one year. Like... Lane went faster on the road. Of course! You have to! Don't let the... I'm clearly not... Don't give the chance... Don't give the crowd a chance. Yeah, you... To get involved. You don't think that they love sitting and staring at Garrett Nussbaumer go like this for 30 seconds? Yeah. It's like, y'all are... This is... No, think about... You were the people in the Coliseum when the Lions come out. Yeah. The only positive aspect about LSU taking forever to get to the ball was it gave the defense a little bit longer of a break because they were only going to be out for three plays anyways. So LSU's defense... Yeah, that's true. Maybe that was the strategy. That's true. Let's let these guys get some... Some breath. Eat some clock.