Yet another LSU freshman defender earns “Freak of the Week” honors

The strength and conditioning portion of the summer is continuing on for the Tigers, which means some of the younger players on roster are finally starting to dip their toes into college level training. One of such players is that of LSU freshman defensive lineman Gabriel Reliford, who has impressed quite a bit early on, most recently receiving “Freak of the Week” honors.

LSU freshman defensive lineman Gabriel Reliford earns latest “Freak of the Week” honor

Heading into the 2024 college football season, the Tiger defensive line group needs all the help it can get. Lucky for them, this freshman class looks like they have the potential to be truly special, particularly on the work ethic side of things.

Already this offseason, it’s been reported that 6-foot-6, five-star defensive tackle Dominick McKinley is all the way up to 316 pounds. As good as that is, he’s not the only LSU freshman defensive lineman making waves ahead of fall camp.

Earlier today, it was announced that Louisiana-based four-star Gabriel Reliford has become the latest first-year to earn “Freak of the Week” honors.

Mature and Hardworking

The fastest DE on the team at 20.9 MPH. @greliford9 is the Freak of the Week. pic.twitter.com/xBo6NcpanI

— LSU Football (@LSUfootball) June 28, 2024

Fellow freshman defender PJ Woodland was awarded the honor alongside sophomore cornerback Ashton Stamps just last week. With Reliford becoming the most recent awardee, it only goes to show that this year’s group of first-years came ready to work from the moment they stepped foot on campus.

“Gabe is about 275 pounds and can touch 21 miles an hour, which is extremely impressive,” associate development coach Kyle Seger said about Reliford over the past week. “He’s also extremely mature for a young player in the program, so he comes in everyday with the right mindset, attacks everything that’s in front of him, and he’s a great teammate to those around him.”

💪💪💪

Just the start for the freshman pic.twitter.com/QfjspUoQGX

— LSU Football (@LSUfootball) June 28, 2024

Officially listed as a 6-foot-2, 255-pound defensive lineman coming out of high school, the Evangel Christian Academy product was rated as the No. 202 recruit in the entire class of 2024, according to On3, as well as No. 18 at his position.

Having already put on 20 pounds from his recruiting profile, the talented Louisiana-based defender has shown an impressive willingness to improve this offseason, and may even find his way onto the football field earlier than anticipated in 2024.

He’ll compete in a relatively wide open defensive line room that includes veterans Bradyn Swinson, Da’Shawn Womack, Dylan Carpenter, Paris Shand and Sai’vion Jones, as well as fellow newcomers CJ Jackson and Kolaj Cobbins. While it won’t be easy, there’s certainly a path for the former four-star to make an early impact if he continues to show improvement over the course of the remaining offseason.

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