LSU Football Spring Camp Winners: Which Position Group Turned Heads for the Tigers?

Brian Kelly and the LSU Tigers made their way into Death Valley on Saturday for the program's annual spring event with camp nearing the finish line.

Across the last handful of weeks, the Bayou Bengals have worked through double-digit practices with the program beginning to see continuity form between the newcomers and returning pieces.

During Saturday's spring event, it provided LSU fans with an opportunity to get a firsthand look at the 2025 roster in Tiger Stadium.

The buzz throughout Spring Camp has been that one position group has shined: the edge rushers.

Once Saturday's event rolled around with multiple live periods, the EDGE unit stole the show once again.

Kelly and the LSU Tigers retooled the EDGE room this offseason after adding a trio of newcomers via the NCAA Transfer Portal.

The coaching staff in Baton Rouge brought in Florida State's Patrick Payton, Florida's Jack Pyburn and Nebraska's Jimari Butler to up the competition level on the defensive line.

The significant takeaway from Spring Camp for #LSU: The talent in the edge rushers room.

Jack Pyburn: 6’4, 264 pounds
Patrick Payton: 6’5, 255 pounds
Gabriel Reliford: 6’2, 268 pounds
Jimari Butler: 6’5, 260 pounds

Sheer size + strength up front for the Tigers on display. pic.twitter.com/sRys6nUczN
— Zack Nagy (@znagy20) April 12, 2025

"Those guys have been great program players as well. On time, accountable, pushing others. It's been, and I said this before, it's been really fun to watch these guys really just melt into the current culture and standards. I could talk as much about what they do on a day-to-day basis in the program.

"But on the field all of those guys are going to be playing for us and getting meaningful reps and help us. As advertised probably more than advertised because you really don't know how their personalities will play out. All three of them have different personalities, but impact our program."

Along with a trio of transfers, the Tigers return sophomore Gabriel Reliford to round out the two-deep depth chart.

"Gabe's a kid that plays with a lot of confidence. Obviously, his physicality. His physicality is a little bit different than the other ends that we have. His size. So, when you're talking about him, he's a different profile than some of the other ends and the edges that we have," Kelly said in March.

"What we're looking for is a consistent performance, playing in play out and somebody that's really, really good against the run and very capable when we cut him loose to get to the quarterback.

"But I would say that his size, his physicality, his second year in the program, the margin for us in terms of what we want to see is somebody that is just really an anchor against the run."

With a two-deep Depth Chart consisting of Reliford, Payton, Pyburn and Butler, the program sits in an exceptional spot heading into the 2025 season.

LSU will wrap up Spring Camp next week with two additional practices before gearing up for summer workouts in the coming weeks.

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