°Õ³ó±ðÌýÌýdefense has made steady improvements in the first two years of tenure as defensive coordinator.
Now coach and his staff hope they’re on the verge of taking another step forward on that side of the ball. Continuity will help them do it. So, too, will the few key players they’ve added from both the transfer portal and high school ranks.
“It was really critical to keep (Baker),†Kiffin said on March 31, “because he has done a great job continuing to improve them, and now we want to go to another level and play really physical, dominant defense that creates a lot of havoc and turnovers but at the same time plays with great discipline.â€
Will LSU accomplish that goal? It’s too early to tell. But what is clear, now that the Tigers are done with , is that Kiffin, Baker and the rest of the coaches may have most of their defensive starters in place.
Here’s a projected defensive depth chart based on everything we gathered from spring practices.
Defensive end
Starters: Princewill Umanmielen (Sr.), Jordan Ross (Jr.)
Rotation: Dylan Carpenter (R-Jr.), Lamar Brown (Fr.)
Also: Kolaj Cobbins (R-Soph.), Damien Shanklin (R-Fr.)
LSU’s depth took a hit here when suffered a torn ACL in spring practice. His injury will force the Tigers to rely more heavily on both Ross and Brown as they try to create a more disruptive four-man pass rush than they did last season.
Umanmielen should help that cause. In 2025, only two SEC defenders recorded more sacks than he did (nine), and neither of them played for LSU. The Tigers’ top two edge rushers — Patrick Payton and Jack Pyburn — combined to register only three sacks.
Defensive tackle
Starters: Malik Blocton (Jr.), Deuce Geralds (Fr.)
Rotation: Dominick McKinley (Jr.), Stephiylan Green (R-Jr.)
Also: Richard Anderson (Fr.), Shone Washington (R-Sr.)
Brown and Anderson grabbed most of the headlines when LSU signed its freshman class in December. Perhaps we should’ve paid more attention to , who was one of spring’s . It looks like he’s already earned significant snaps inside the defensive tackle rotation, which is no small feat for an early enrollee. It’s rare for an interior lineman to start during his freshman year.
Linebacker
Starters: TJ Dottery (R-Sr.), Whit Weeks (Sr.)
Backups: Davhon Keys (Jr.), Tylen Singleton (R-Soph.)
will be one of the top storylines of preseason camp. He was limited to individual drills in spring practices because he’s still recovering from a broken foot that abbreviated his junior season. If healthy, Weeks can form a potent duo with Dottery, the Ole Miss transfer who led the SEC in tackles last year. LSU has solid depth behind them, too.
Star
Starter: Dashawn Spears (Jr.)
Backup: CJ Jimcoily (Soph).
Spears decided to enter the transfer portal in December, then . Now he’s set to take over for Harold Perkins at Star — a position that Kiffin thinks is a “really critical†piece of the LSU defense. Baker will ask him to defend the run, blitz and drop back into coverage, so it’s important for Spears to prove that he can step into an every-down role.
Cornerback
Starters: DJ Pickett (Soph.), PJ Woodland (Jr.)
Backups: Michael Turner (R-Soph.), Ja’Keem Jackson (R-Jr.)
Kiffin wishes he had a spring transfer portal window this year, in part because he’d like to shore up the cornerback depth. The Tigers already were somewhat thin at that spot before spring practice, then they lost sophomore to an Achilles tear in a scrimmage. Pickett and Woodland are each capable starters, but if one of them has to miss time, the Tigers will have to rely on someone who doesn’t have much starting experience.
Safety
Starters: Ty Benefield (Sr.), Tamarcus Cooley (R-Jr.)
Backups: Faheem Delane (Soph.), Jhase Thomas (R-Fr.)
The back end of the defense figures to be a strength. Cooley is a returning starter. Benefield has the look of an early-round NFL draft choice. And Delane, the younger brother of first-round draftee Mansoor Delane, is a little overqualified to be a second-team safety. He’s a former top-100 recruit who rotated into Ohio State’s secondary as a true freshman in 2025.
The group also has positional versatility. Benefield excelled around the line of scrimmage last year at Boise State, so he could drop down to Star, and Spears could slide to safety. Baker has options.