Here's the top player from every team on LSU's schedule (2024)

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USC QB Caleb Williams was the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft, so the Trojans don’t have the same star power they did last year, especially on offense. But this is a Lincoln Riley team, so you can still expect a handful of playmakers.

Zechariah Branch is the one to keep an eye on. Branch was a five-star and the No. 4 overall recruit in the 2023 class. Last year, he made waves on special teams and was one of the nation’s most electric return men.

Branch is sure to remain a weapon on special teams, but USC is hoping he can make a similar impact on offense. Last year, Branch caught 32 passes for 320 yards and two scores. In the regular season finale, he caught six catches on six targets. Both numbers were career highs for the freshman.

He put up decent numbers against USC’s lesser opponents, so the next task is finding consistency. Branch has all the talent in the world and figures to be a focal point of the USC offense.

LSU’s FCS game will come in Week 2 against Nicholls. The player to watch here is Nicholls safety Tyler Morton.

Morton was an FCS All-American last year and All-Southland First-Team. He played his high school ball at Destrehan, a place LSU has dipped into for recruits before.

FCS opponents don’t present the same talent level as their FBS counterparts, but there are always a few guys with pro potential. Morton is one of them.

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Sanders is new to South Carolina but he’s a familiar face for LSU after spending his first three years at Arkansas. He arrives in Columbia as the Gameco*cks try and figure out their offense in a post-Spencer Rattler world.

Sanders carried it 400 times for 2,253 yards in his career at Arkansas. Yet, only 12 of those carries and 46 yards came against LSU. Sanders didn’t record a rush in 2021 and missed the 2023 contest.

When he was healthy in 2022, he was one of the best running backs in the SEC. That’s the form he’ll look to return to this fall.

Gameco*ck defensive tackle Tonka Hemingway has an argument for this spot too. According to PFF, Hemingway was the third-best graded defensive tackle in the SEC last year.

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It’s a year of turnover for the Bruins with a change at head coach. Chip Kelly is out and DeShaun Foster is in. A position where you’ll see some continuity is wide receiver. UCLA returns Logan Loya and J. Micheal Sturdivant.

Neither blew up the stat sheet in 2023, but both rank in the top 10 among returning Big Ten receivers in yards. Loya caught 59 passes for 654 yards and five touchdowns while Sturdivant caught 36 balls for 597 yards and four scores.

Getting both back was key for Foster in year one. LSU will be a heavy favorite in this game, but UCLA’s receivers will test LSU’s young secondary.

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South Alabama also saw a change at head coach and like UCLA, they promoted from within. Major Applewhite takes over here, but he loses a couple of key offensive contributors.

The Jaguars maintain star power on the defensive side of the ball. Jaden Voisin is back after earning first-team all-conference honors last year.

Voisin picked off four passes and broke up six last year. He made 24 stops and forced a fumble. This is one of the top playmaking defensive backs in the country.

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You could make an argument for a few guys here, but after what Harris did to LSU last year, he was hard to ignore.

The former Louisiana Tech receiver caught 8 passes for 153 yards and a score against the Tigers. It wasn’t just the production that killed LSU, but several of those catches came in big moments that would have turned the game if they had gone the other way.

Harris projects to be an all-conference receiver this fall as he enters his fifth year of college football.

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It’s a make-or-break year for Sam Pittman at Arkansas. As he looks to turn around the offensive line, the focus of his coaching background, the Razorbacks have a star on the defensive line.

Former LSU defensive end Landon Jackson transferred to Arkansas amidst LSU’s coaching transition in 2021. He’s turned into one of the SEC’s most effective pass rushers and is seen as a potential first-round pick next spring.

Jackson’s seven sacks is one of the SEC’s best marks among returning players, though three of those came in one contest against Alabama.

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Weigman might not be the Aggies‘ best player just yet, but I’m doing some projecting and factoring in positional value.

His year was cut short last year, but Weigman led the SEC in QBR in Week 1 and Week 3. It’s a small sample, but his 90.9 PFF passing grade was second only to LSU’s Jayden Daniels.

Weigman’s breakout performance came against LSU in 2022, so the Tigers know what he can do. If he puts it all together this fall, he’ll be on NFL radars by the end of the year.

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Malachi Moore is one of the most experienced players in the SEC. He took a starting job as a true freshman in 2020 and has played 2,334 snaps over four years. He stuck around for 2025, despite the Tide’s change at head coach.

When it comes to nickelbacks, few are as impressive as Malachi Moore. He has five career picks to go along with 14 pass breakups. It’s a new defense for the Tide with Kane Wommack taking over at DC, having a versatile, playmaking nickel like Moore is big.

He can tackle, too, recording 19 stops and a forced fumble last year.

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The Gators lost RB Trevor Etienne to the transfer portal, but they should be fine after holding on to Montrell Johnson.

Johnson ranked sixth among SEC RBs with 3.53 yards after contact per attempt last year. He was a factor in the receiving game, catching 30 passes for 236 yards and four touchdowns. In the SEC, only Kentucky’s Ray Davis posted more yards out of the backfield.

LSU fans have probably seen enough of Johnson. In 2022, he scored twice against the Tigers. He followed it up last year with 135 total yards against the Tigers’ defense.

As always, there are a lot of unknowns with this Vanderbilt team. However, the Commodores have an anchor at center on the offensive line with Steven Losoya III.

Losoya is new to Vandy after transferring from Mississippi State. He began his career at Middle Tennessee but started every game with the Bulldogs last year and has two years of SEC experience. This will be his sixth year of college football. That’s the level of experience you want at the center position, especially on a team like this with shifting parts.

Syndication: The Oklahoman

In 2022, Brent Venables’ first year, the Sooners allowed 30 points per game and ranked 99th in scoring defense. That’s not typical of a Venables defense and last year, OU took a massive step forward. Cutting nearly a touchdown off its points allowed and ranking in the top 50 in scoring defense.

A couple of key players that made that happen are back this fall, headlined by safety Billy Bowman and linebacker Danny Stutsman.

Bowman struggles as a tackler at times but is an elite playmaker in coverage. He picked off six passes last year after recording three in 2023. That’s not the only way he can create turnovers and he has two career forced fumbles to his name.

Stutsman leads what could be the best linebacking unit in the SEC. His 48 run tackles last year rank second among returning SEC linebackers, only trailing South Carolina’s Debo Williams.