LSU Freshman Trio is Breaking the Modern College Football Standard

Lane Kiffin is one of the first names people think of when they think of college football, especially after his blockbuster move to LSU late last year.

Kiffin has built an identity around continually building college football's best offenses with transfer portal players. And for LSU in 2026, that identity is truly being put to the test.

But three of LSU's freshman are using fall camp as a chance to earn playing time in 2026 and take some minutes from some experienced transfers. In today's era of college football, that's a rare sight.

The Trio In the Trenches

Richard Anderson poses for LSU media day | @5star_rich - Instagram

Earlier this year, LSU signed the No. 11 high school recruiting class in the country, just a week after Kiffin landed in Baton Rouge for the first time as the Tigers' head coach.

The expectation, as it is for nearly every program across the country in the modern college football era, was that only a handful of the 19 freshman would see meaningful playing time outside of special teams or injuries.

But for three freshman defensive lineman, that expectation will likely be very wrong.

Lamar Brown, Richard Anderson and Deuce Geralds are all likely to be first or second-team members by time the September 5 season opener versus Clemson comes around.

Brown is competing for a spot on the edge, behind Ole Miss transfer Princewill Umanmielen and Tennessee transfer Jordan Ross. For Anderson, he's lining up behind Geralds, who is running with the first team to open fall camp, and Auburn transfer Malik Blocton.

It's semi-rare to have three freshman at any position, and it's even more rare to sign two five stars at one position. But even crazier than that is signing three of the top five players at the same position.

But that's what Kiffin did. All within seven days of spending his first night in Baton Rouge.

"I talked to Ed [Orgeron] about that," Kiffin said when asked about the trio of freshman. "I was kind of thinking all the places over here we've been, and even when we've been together or separate, neither of us has had that."

That's an impressive feat when you consider Kiffin has spent 26 years as a college coach and Orgeron has spent 36 years college coach, 10 of those seasons they spent together.

The Age of Experience

Ole Miss Rebels linebacker Princewill Umanmielen (1) celebrates his sack against the Miami Hurricanes during their Vrbo Fiesta Bowl matchup at State Farm Stadium on Jan. 8, 2026. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

In college football's modern era, the transfer portal has made it so much harder for freshman to break onto the field during their first year on campus.

There's more experienced options available, and as the sport has grown increasingly more professional, experience in the way to go when building a roster.

But transfers also affect the sizes of recruiting classes.

"It's really unique to have nowadays because now they're more spread out usually," Kiffin said about freshman. "Where before you could take more numbers, and so maybe then you hit on some and got that."

But when five Division I transfers arrive alongside four freshman at the same position, there's one difference between the nine guys: experience.

"It's kind of lost a little bit of significant pressure to play them because there's challenges with playing [freshman] too," Kiffin said. "They make more mistakes. And with a challenging schedule, and the way that it's set up now it's more competitive than ever, it's even harder to have some of those games early [in their career]."

But with Brown, Anderson and Geralds, he's embrasing the freshmen's breakouts.

"It's really awesome situation to be in," Kiffin said.

What It's Like Blocking Them

"I've played in the ACC, played against good Clemson teams, played in the SEC," senior center Braelin Moore said. "Those freshmen are developed more than some of the players I played in their fourth year."

If he says it's hard to play against them, it is. He's tallied over 2,000 career snaps at the highest levels if college football across his four seasons at Virginia Tech and LSU.

"Those guys are going to be crazy talented," Moore said. "Their future is so bright."

The future is now though, at least if the fall camp depth chart holds true.

Moore took a chance Monday to touch on each one's game and what it's like to play across from them.

"Deuce [Geralds] is an extremely talented pass rusher," Moore said about the 6-foot-1, 289-pound interior lineman from Suwanee, Georgia. "His bag is endless."

"And then when it comes to Rich [Anderson], he is a powerful dude," Moore said about the 6-foot-3, 339 pound interior lineman from New Orleans, Louisiana. "Can eat up double teams, could just cause chaos in the backfield."

"And then Lamar [Brown] comes to switch up," Moore said about the Baton Rouge native and former No. 1 player in America. "He's an edge rusher, but you know he can also move in the three tech. He has that power, he can work finesse and he can just go right through you."

Brown, Anderson and Geralds will definitely be hard to keep off the field in 2026.

Sign up to our free newsletter and follow us on Facebook and X for the latest news.

Add us as a preferred source on Google