Coach Brian Kelly’s squad takes on the Rebels of Ole Miss tomorrow evening at 5:00 p.m. CST in Oxford, MS. Earlier this week, the media had a chance to speak with some stars on this year’s team, including LSU football freshman linebacker Whit Weeks.
Despite youth, LSU football freshman Whit Weeks has proven to be a reliable piece of the Tiger defense
One of the big questions heading out of the offseason was which freshmen we would see take a step forward.
Through four games, few have been quite as good as LSU football freshman linebacker Whit Weeks. Following an injury to senior Omar Speights, there was a massive hole to be filled, and Weeks was more than up to the challenge.
He wasn’t always expected to make an early impact, though. He had to move his way up the depth chart through fall camp.
“It feels good. Playing in Death Valley’s always been a dream of mine, so playing in front of 100,000 people really is a big difference from high school,” the LSU football freshman said to the media earlier this week. “And coming into fall camp, I was running with the twos, not really running with the ones, but I knew that if my time came, I’d make the most of it.”
Well, his time came, and he’s absolutely thrived in his early impact role. So far, in 2023, he’s recorded 21 total tackles and 0.5 sacks.
So, having beaten just about everyone’s expectations – even passing his brother on the depth chart – how might he be feeling right now?
“It’s a feeling that I’ve never had in my life,” Whit Weeks began. “Running out the tunnel, you can’t even feel your body. Like last week against Mississippi State, the first play, I couldn’t feel my legs because it was my first start, so I was real nervous, of course. And then this week here at home, I knew it was gonna be a totally different ballgame because it’s a different level here than anywhere else. But being out there, once I got comfortable with it, the crowd was loud; it was awesome.”
The Tigers are ready to counter Ole Miss’s speedy offense
It’s good that LSU football freshman Whit Weeks has been enjoying himself so far, as the season won’t be slowing down any time soon. The Tigers have a chance to earn their first ranked victory of the season with Ole Miss on the clock.
On paper, the teams are surprisingly similar. Both are 3-1 with fast-paced offenses, led by former transfer quarterbacks who are more than capable of running the ball.
Because of this, we could be in for a bit of a shootout on Saturday, leading to plenty of fast-paced action for either defense. While that could catch some teams off guard, according to the freshman linebacker, the Tiger defense should be ready.
“Coach House has a really good game plan. They’re a fast offense, so we’ve been working tempo out of practice today, and you really just gotta eliminate the big plays with them.”
No matter what LSU vs. Ole Miss looks like, there’s one goal that both teams hope to accomplish on Saturday: win.
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