LSU Football's Brian Kelly Provides Honest Assessment of Tigers Defensive Line

Brian Kelly and the LSU Tigers continue navigating Week 2 of Fall Camp in Baton Rouge with the program upping the intensity on the practice fields.

All eyes are on Garrett Nussmeier and the Bayou Bengals this month with the season opener at Clemson inching closer.

After eight Fall Camp practices, the talk of the town has been the effectiveness of the LSU defensive line.

Kelly and Co. added multiple newcomers via the NCAA Transfer Portal in EDGE Jack Pyburn [Florida], EDGE Patrick Payton [Florida State], EDGE Jimari Butler [Nebraska], DL Sydir Mitchell [Texas] and DL Bernard Gooden [South Florida] with all eyes on the newcomers.

Across the first handful of practices, it's been the defensive line that has stolen the show with LSU's shot-caller evaluating the unit.

“If you look carefully, a lot of the pressures (last season) were from inside out, not outside in,” Kelly said this week. “That’s a great thing. When you have guys that are creating issues from the inside out, the pocket instead of just rushing off the edge, where you can get a hand on them and widen it and step up.”

“Where we’re getting our best success is inside out, and so you’ve got [Bernard] Gooden, [Jacobian] Guillory and [Jimari] Butler who have played a little bit inside. Gabe [Reliford] can also play a little bit inside.

"We can be very dynamic from an inside-out perspective as well. Obviously [Dominick] McKinley is big and long, so when you add that to what we think is four guys that we can play off the edge, you’ve got a pretty dynamic pass rush now.”

Pyburn and Gooden have turned heads in Baton Rouge during Fall Camp with the pair of newcomers having their way with the offensive line to this point.

For Gooden, the South Florida transfer has been the biggest winner defensively during preseason practice with Kelly impressed with his newcomer.

"He's really flashed. He's doing a lot of good things. He brings a high motor, right? He's a guy that brings energy to the group, intensity to the group. I bring up that word again that was mentioned. I think that's bringing up everybody in terms of the competition level," Kelly said on Monday.

"His abilities fit the defensive structure that Blake likes to run, more aggressive, move in the front. And he just has a great sense in terms of getting off blocks. And sometimes that's a hard trait to teach. You just can or you can't. And he's very difficult to block."

Brian Kelly and the LSU Tigers have seen significant growth at defensive tackle this offseason.

- Dominick McKinley
- Ahmad Breaux
- Sydir Mitchell
- Bernard Gooden
- More…

One name that has stood out to the staff: South Florida transfer Bernard Gooden.

“He’s really flashed.” pic.twitter.com/PCDMWI8TMY
— Zack Nagy (@znagy20) August 4, 2025

LSU will return to the practice fields on Saturday with all eyes on the trenches as both the offensive line and defensive line continue evolving during Fall Camp.

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