After taking a much smaller transfer portal class than it has in the past two offseasons, LSU is mainly banking on the development of the players already on the roster as it enters the 2024 season.
However, the Tigers could get some help from their incoming true freshmen in the 2024 signing class. At SEC Media Days on Monday, coach Brian Kelly identified three true freshmen who could make a Day 1 impact at LSU: defensive tackle Dominick McKinley, defensive end Gabriel Reliford and receiver Jelani Watkins.
“We have some freshmen that I think are poised and ready to play,” Brian Kelly said, per On3. “We’ve got a defensive tackle in Dom McKinley. We’ve got a defensive end in Gabe Reliford. We’ve got a wide receiver in Jelani Watkins, who is maybe one of the fastest players in the country, that I think are poised, based on our summer workouts, that I think can contribute right away. And that’s just to say a few guys.”
McKinley is an understandable choice. A five-star prospect and the top player in Louisiana last cycle, it was a big recruiting win for the staff to flip him from Texas A&M last winter.
Reliford could also see some action on a defensive line that lacks depth, and LSU linebacker Harold Perkins Jr., who was also in Dallas for SEC Media Days, also spoke highly of him.
“Gabe is somebody that I’ve been watching quietly,” Perkins said per On3. “He’s humble, he puts in the work every single day, he comes in every day and busts his tail to be the best. I’ve just watched him put in the work. He reminds me of myself. Just coming in, not trying to step on anybody’s toes. ‘I just want to be the best. I’m here to take somebody’s spot.’
“So, that’s kind of what he reminds me of myself a little bit in that remarks. Quiet, just trying to put in his work and be great.”
Watkins may have trouble breaking through in a receiving corps that remains talented despite the offseason losses, but his speed as a former high school track star makes him an intriguing potential weapon on offense.
LSU has questions at several positions entering the season, especially when it comes to depth. But if some of these true freshmen are able to contribute right away, it would certainly ease some of those concerns.
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