Weâre in a current era of college football where dominant offensive line play rules all. If you happen to have reservations on how true this is, all you need to do is take a look at the 2023 national championship, which featured two Joe Moore Award (top offensive line in college football) finalists â Michigan and Washington. Now, as we look ahead to the 2024 college football season, the LSU offensive line returns some of the best talent nationally, as top-10 returning tackles Will Campbell and Emery Jones Jr still reside with the Tigers.
LSU offensive line returns two of the best offensive tackles in all of college football
When you return four out of five offensive line starters, itâs a luxury. When two of said returners happen to be some of the best offensive tackle talent in college football, itâs almost unfair.
Lucky for the LSU football program and Tiger fans all over the world, this just so happens to be the case for coach Brian Kellyâs squad with incoming juniors Will Campbell and Emery Jones Jr.
Earlier this week, Pro Football Focus released their list of top returning offensive tackles, and notably, the LSU offensive line was well represented thanks to the pair.
Campbell was listed at No. 1 overall, while Jones Jr wasnât far behind, landing at No. 9. Additionally, LSU was the only program with two players making an appearance.
Along with the pair of Tigers, the rest of the list included Kelvin Banks Jr (Texas), Jonah Monheim (USC), Ajani Cornelius (Oregon), Wyatt Milum (West Virginia), Blake Miller (Clemson), Aireontae Ersery (Minnesota), Riley Mahlman (Wisconsin) and Trey Zuhn III (Texas A&M).
With both Campbell and Jones Jr entering their third year of starting experience, itâs almost hard to remember what the Tiger offense looked like without the pair. Now, as weâre entering their draft eligible season in 2024, this could be our final chance to see them compete together on the same team.
Will Campbell and Emery Jones Jr have been stars since their freshman year
It wasnât just recently that the pair of LSU offensive tackles burst onto the national scene. In fact, entering the 2022 season, the high four-star Louisiana-based recruits would come in and immediately take control of starting spots.
In turn, theyâve already put together quite the careers, each having earned All-SEC and All-American honors since putting on the purple and gold.
Now, theyâre no longer just talented freshmen on that 2022 roster. Theyâre some of the most experienced players on the team and will be looked at as leaders heading into what could be a big 2024 season for the program.
With the expansion to a 12-team College Football Playoff, LSU has a major opportunity to make their first appearance since winning it all in 2019. However, it will all begin with the trenches, and Will Campbell and Emery Jones Jr will be relied upon heavily if they have any plans to make a run in the postseason.
Fans will get their first chance to witness the new-look LSU offensive line later this offseason, as the annual National L Club Spring Game is set to take place on April 13 in Tiger Stadium.
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