No. 14 Texas A&M Aggies vs. No. 8 LSU Preview: Tigers Defensive Players To Watch

The Texas A&M Aggies will be opening Kyle Field's doors to their SEC rivals, the LSU Tigers, this Saturday, October 26 in the waning portion of the 2024 college football season.

According to ESPNBet, Texas A&M is favored against the Tigers by 2.5 points, but that in no way means they should be slowing their roll with one of their biggest rivals coming to town.

LSU has molded many great defenders in the past, with stars like Patrick Queen, Patrick Peterson, Tyrann Mathieu, and Grant Delpit all enjoying successful NFL careers, and will not be short of defensive firepower when they visit College Station at the end of October.

However, they will have to be on the same page with one another, including coaches. Matt House, the Tigers' defensive coordinator in 2023, moved up to the pros to be the linebackers coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars. However, LSU hired a familiar face to the Tiger defense: Blake Baker. Baker was LSU's linebackers coach in 2021 before heading to Missouri to coordinate their defense for the 2022 and 2023 seasons.

And who knows what head coach Brian Kelly could have up his sleeve during the contest?

Of course, we don't know that, but we do know three key pieces of LSU's defense that the Maroon and White need to take note of before Saturday night.

1) CB Major Burns

For those that don't know, Burns had originally chosen to play for Texas A&M over LSU when time came for college commitment, but ultimately flipped his decision to Georgia, spent one season there, and would then transfer to LSU, where he has been since.

After his 2021 and 2022 seasons were both cut short due to injuries, Burns made his presence felt in the Tiger secondary in 2023, leading the team in total tackles, with 93. And 2024 has been no different, with 39 total tackles through the first seven games so far, and only two pass defenses. Should Conner Weigman attempt a deep ball, the senior cornerback is the first obstacle he should be on the lookout for.

2) LB Greg Penn III

The Tigers' senior linebacker has been praised for his football IQ during his time in "The Swamp," and his 2023 season was a prime example of it. His 89 tackles were second-most on the team, his pair of picks led the squad amongst returning defensive players, he forced a fumble, and sacked the quarterback four times. Le'Veon Moss and Rueben Owens should make sure to steer clear of him when they tote the rock.

3) LB Whit Weeks

Sophomore slump is the exact opposite of how this linebacker's second season is going so far. Weeks currently leads the Tigers with 69 total tackles (37 solo) with seven of those tackles going for a loss of yardage and also notching 2.5 sacks on the year. Oh, and he also has an interception on the season. Weeks has established himself as quite the all-around defender that requires eyes on him at all times.

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