Watch: LSU Football Freshman BJ Ojulari Training Hard in Georgia With Potential Return to Campus Looming

As states being to open back up, some of LSU's most prominent up and coming stars are doing everything they can to prepare for a return to campus. Among the many is four-star edge rusher BJ Ojulari, a player that caught the eye of the coaching staff from an early stage in the shortened spring camp.

As an early enrollee with the program back in January, it didn't take long for the 6-foot-3, 220-pound edge rusher to leave an impression on coach Ed Orgeron in particular. One spring practice in fact.

"He's just so athletic," Orgeron said back in March. "Today in pass rush, he had two wins against the first team. He came up and under. He's very strong. He's very mature. Great student. Making straight As. Hard worker. He just has all the makings of being a great end. He's perfect for the 4-3."

It's not far fetched to think Ojulari could receive ample playing time as a freshman. He will be competing with Justin Thomas and TK McLendon for snaps but defensive coordinator Bo Pelini said Wednesday during the "Coaches Caravan" he'll be one of those "special" talents with the program.

“Up front, we’re going to be physical and aggressive," Pelini said.

It sure seems like Orgeron agrees as he also said during Wednesday's caravan hosted by the TAF that he envisions one of the best pass rush units the program has ever had.

"Depth chart is better than it's been. We're 4-5 deep in some situations. I'm excited about BJ Ojulari," Orgeron said. "I'm excited about Jaquelin Roy. I'm excited about the camp Andre Anthony was having. Tyler Shelvin is back, Jacobian Guillory. I think we're going to have a nice rotation and a better pass rush than we've ever had. This group is going to have to lead because it's a 4-3 front, as you know, four guys got to dominant."

When Ojulari does ultimately return with the rest of his Tigers teammates, potentially as early as June 1, he'll do so with Marietta High School teammate Arik Gilbert. The two were standouts with the Blue Devils program, winning a state championship in 2019 for the first time since 1967-68.

Gilbert, of course, is one of the most highly touted prospects of the entire 2020 class, ranked as the No. 1 tight end ever by 247Sports. The freshman tight end was projected to miss all of the spring recovering from a shoulder injury but was seen earlier this month training as well.

Gilbert is such a unique player that Orgeron recently said in an interview on "Off the Bench" that he envisions the Tigers being able to use Gilbert in a "Calvin Johnson like" role.

"The guy you've gotta look at is Arik Gilbert, I'm considering Arik Gilbert as a wide receiver," Orgeron said. "I can't wait for him to come back. Obviously we can use him at tight end but we can split him out at "X" and we can get some mismatches with this kid, especially in the redzone. He's going to be a nice target there for Myles Brennan.

"We can use some of the same plays with Arik that Scott [Linehan] ran with Megatron, I'm not saying he's going to be Megatron but he's a good player."

LSU has spent the last few weeks hammering home the offensive and defensive schemes with its players, with Orgeron saying the coaches are on their third go around installing the various schemes. The challenge for new guys like Ojulari and Gilbert will be tooquickly grasp the schemes on the field.

If all goes to plan, there's no reason why both shouldn't be major contributors for the Tigers in 2020.

Editor's Note: Thanks to Brooks Austin, publisher of Dawgs Daily, for getting this video content.