LSU Football Believes This Cornerback Will Play Integral Role for Tigers Defense

Lane Kiffin and the LSU Tigers are nearing the midway point of Spring Camp in Baton Rouge with the Bayou Bengals beginning to see rotations emerge on both sides of the ball.

Once Kiffin arrived in The Boot, there was a primary focus on attacking the NCAA Transfer Portal where the program quickly inked the No. 1 class in America.

There's a collective buy-in from the LSU program from the donor base and administration to the players preparing to take the field this upcoming fall. It isn't a rebuild. It's National Championship expectations after assembling an elite roster.

"Coaching changing is part of the game. It just had to do with the best decisions for me, and I felt like it was just different here. I wanted to take it to the next level and come here and play for Coach Kiffin.

"He's the same guy. I wouldn't want him to change. I'm pretty sure nobody would want him to change. But he's the same person every day. It's a new environment, a new team that he's coaching so he got to get everybody on the same page. But no, ain't nothing different. He's the same person."

But there were also position rooms that didn't receive a significant boost via the NCAA Transfer Portal with the cornerback unit emerging as a "thin" or "inexperienced" group outside the likes of DJ Pickett, PJ Woodland, and Ja'Keem Jackson.

But Woodland is a player that is generating buzz as a Tiger that's ready to take that next step this offseason into the 2026 campaign.

"My biggest thing is just always trying to get better, so just trying to develop myself, help my teammates better themselves as well, and just keep going," Woodland said this week.

"I always say you can always get better, so I'm just trying to better myself. But with the leadership of Mansoor, coach C-Ray, I'm just following in their footsteps, doing what they tell me to do, and just learning each and every day."

Woodland started all 13 games at cornerback and ranked No. 8 in the SEC in passes defended (11) and No. 9 in pass breakups (9) as a sophomore across the 2025 season.

Now, the Mississippi native is looking to take his game to the next level with expectations rising for the program as a whole.

"It was great to keep Coach Baker, Coach C-Ray, and Coach Olsen. It was great to keep those guys because we are familiar with the defense, so it was a real big motive for us to keep that," Woodland said.

"Understanding the defense, being able to play faster, that was really good for us. With those guys, it was a great decision to keep it rolling, keep pushing with it."

More LSU News:

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Lane Kiffin Reveals Definitive Statement on Will Wade Returning to LSU Tigers

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