NFL Draft Deadline Winners: LSU Football Among the Programs Bringing Back Talent

Brian Kelly and the LSU Tigers have reconstructed the roster in Baton Rouge with the program shifting focus towards the 2025 season.
Kelly and Co. saw multiple underclassmen enter the 2025 NFL Draft and forgo their final seasons of eligibility, but the Tigers remain in an efficient spot heading into the upcoming season.
Jan. 15 marked the deadline for underclassmen to enter the 2025 NFL Draft with LSU seeing Will Campbell, Mason Taylor and Emery Jones depart Baton Rouge.
But with the return of signal-caller Garrett Nussmeier and other critical pieces, the LSU program has been deemed an "NFL Draft Deadline Winner" by 247Sports.
"LSU was always bound to lose a couple of projected first- and second-rounders at the end of the year, and nobody will fault Will Campbell and Emery Jones Jr. — two of the top offensive tackles in college football — for leaving a year early," 247Sports' Carter Bahns wrote.
"Getting quarterback Garrett Nussmeier and linebacker Harold Perkins Jr. back for 2025, though, would have come as a surprise as recently as a couple of months ago. Nussmeier looked like a potential first-round pick early in the season before he ran into trouble in SEC play, and Perkins brought All-American experience to the defense before his season-ending injury. They will be the leaders of a Tigers squad poised to surge next fall."
LSU will have a mix of key returning players alongside double-digit Transfer Portal additions with the Bayou Bengals eyeing a College Football Playoff appearance in 2025.
Which Tigers are the most important returnees?
The Three Biggest Returnees:
No. 1: Garrett Nussmeier - Quarterback
LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier revealed last month that he would be returning to Baton Rouge for the 2025 season with unfinished business in the purple and gold.
Nussmeier, the Tigers' starting signal-caller in 2024, will look to build off of a productive redshirt-junior campaign for the Bayou Bengals this fall.
The Lake Charles native bypassed the 2025 NFL Draft where he had the chance to be a Top-5 quarterback taken in April.
Instead, he'll return to LSU for his final season of eligibility under Brian Kelly.
It's a monumental decision for Nussmeier with the Tigers retaining their cornerstone to the program for one more season.
“This year was a huge growth year for me,” Nussmeier said after the Oklahoma game. “I said in September I hoped I would be a better player by the end of the year than I was then and I think that has proven to be true. Our team got better throughout the year and there were things we had to fix and we improved. I’m happy for us and our team and for me personally, I continued to grow my game and I look forward to continuing to do that into the offseason.”
Now, he's a name to watch for the 2025 Heisman Trophy, according to CBS Sports' Blake Brockermeyer:
"I love his gunslinger mentality and reminds me a little of Brett Favre in that regard. He has a big arm and can throw into high windows. I expect he will be surrounded by a solid supporting cast in 2025 and should put up big numbers and on big stages.”
Nussmeier will look to develop this offseason after piecing together a 2024 campaign where he totaled 3,738 yards, 26 touchdowns and 11 interceptions in 12 games played.
No. 2: Aaron Anderson - Wide Receiver
LSU wide receiver Aaron Anderson will be the Tigers' most productive offensive piece returning for the 2025 season.
The Louisiana native is fresh off of a breakout campaign in 2024 after becoming one of Garrett Nussmeier's top weapons on offense.
It's been an interesting ride for Anderson. After signing with the Alabama Crimson Tide in 2022, he elected to redshirt in his lone season in Tuscaloosa.
After one year, he made the move to return to the Bayou State where he was used sparingly as a redshirt-freshman in 2023. He tallied 12 catches for 59 yards and zero touchdowns.
Then, in 2024, it all came together for the coveted wideout. Anderson pieced together a breakout season this fall after tallying 53 receptions for 784 yards and five touchdowns.
What led to the monstrous season for Anderson this year? Brian Kelly chimed in earlier this fall:
"It's everything he does in his life," LSU head coach Brian Kelly said in September. "It's going to class, being on time, his practice habits, framing the ball, catching the ball, it's just everything. It's the natural maturity that comes with being in the program."
It's been no surprise for Kelly and the LSU coaching staff.
"You could see it coming. We had a sense this was going to begin to show itself for him and there would be more production because his process is so much better," Kelly said. "I think that is going to continue for him."
No. 3: Harold Perkins - Linebacker
The star defensive piece adds an element to the Tigers' defense that has head coach Brian Kelly and other key components to the roster eager at what's to come.
Perkins took Baton Rouge by storm during his true freshman campaign with the Tigers in 2022.
A player shot out of a cannon on every snap, Perkins quickly emerged as a player NFL scouts would be keeping tabs on during his college career.
Following a stellar campaign in Year 1 with the program, there was slight regression in 2023 after the LSU coaching staff struggled to find his ideal role.
Then, fast forward to Perkins' junior campaign in 2024 and it had an abrupt ending with the star linebacker suffering a torn ACL early in the season.
A player who was receiving first round buzz in the 2025 NFL Draft, despite Perkins' usage remaining a question mark, it was a brutal blow for the program.
Now, Perkins has made his decision: Return to LSU, continue rehabbing and prepare for a senior season where he can boost his 2026 NFL Draft stock.
He's finishing the early stages of his recovery, according to head coach Brian Kelly, with a focus now on getting back up to speed.
"He's doing really well in his recovery talking to Owen Stanley, our athletic trainer," Kelly said in December. "He's been in the building quite a bit now that he's passed the early stages of the repair. Now, it's about hard work."
More LSU News:
LSU Adds Commitments From Seven Top-100 Transfers in the Portal
LSU Dishes Out Offer to No. 1 Quarterback in America
Nick Saban Calls LSU Quarterback Garrett Nussmeier a "Sleeper" Ahead of 2024 Season
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