Eligible Football Players Returning For The 2021 Season

[LSUDad]

OL and depth looking better as we go! 

[LSUDad]

Andre Anthony becomes 3rd starter on the DL to return

BySHEA DIXON 68 minutes ago 

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Another domino has fallen in the right direction for LSU head coach Ed Orgeron.

With the NCAA granting a free year with no eligibility counted in 2020, LSU senior defensive end Andre Anthony is headed back to LSU for another season.

It's huge news for LSU given how much Anthony progressed after putting his hand into the dirt in the new 4-3 scheme. Anthony had previously played outside linebacker in defensive coordinator Dave Aranda's 3-4 scheme, but the 2020 season saw Anthony lead LSU in sacks with 5.5 across 10 games. That was good for fourth on the team in tackles for loss, and he was second on the team in quarterback hurries with four.

Anthony's reveal that he would return for the 2021 season means he will spend a sixth season in purple-and-gold.

Anthony signed with LSU in 2016 and took a redshirt. He was sidelined the entire 2017 season with an injury, but by the time his third season in the program arrived, Anthony put together a three-year run from 2018 to 2020 where he logged multiple starts in every season.

Entering the 2020 season, Anthony had 23 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks to his credit across three seasons. But he topped those numbers in 10 games this fall, finishing with 24 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss and five sacks on the year. 

Anthony is the third starter from LSU's defensive line who has announced he will return for the 2021 season. Senior Neil Farrell is planning to be back at LSU next year, and junior Ali Gaye - one of the team's most impressive defensive players in 2020 - announced this week that he would return for another season.

The fourth starter from the defensive line is senior Glen Logan, who has yet to reveal whether he will enter the 2020 NFL Draft or remain at LSU.

The Tigers got the good news from Farrell, Gaye and Anthony without having an active defensive line coach in place. Bill Johnson, who coached the defensive line the past two seasons, retired following the end of the season, and the Tigers have yet to name a replacement.

That said, it's likely head coach Ed Orgeron - who once coached the defensive line at LSU before taking over as interim head coach and later head coach - played a key role in recruiting the group back.

In December, Orgeron said the Tigers were trending towards being in good shape with the amount of players who planned to return to the team in 2021 and forgo the opportunity to enter the NFL Draft.

5COMMENTS

"I think we're gonna have more guys staying than have left before," Orgeron said. "I'm going to talk with a number of guys who have the opportunity to come back and I'm hoping we can get most of those guys back."

[LSUDad]

LSU freshman pass rusher reportedly set on returning, not considering transfer

Jake Rill | 3 hours ago

 

 

 

LSU could be losing one of its top freshman players from 2020, as tight end Arik Gilbertrecently entered the NCAA transfer portal. However, the Tigers won’t have the same worry with another one of their top freshman standouts from this past season.

Shea Dixon of 247Sports.com reported that linebacker BJ Ojulari is “locked in” on returning to LSU for his sophomore season in 2021. There had been rumors that Ojulari might consider leaving, as he had also been teammates with Gilbert at Marietta (Ga.) High School prior to joining the Tigers.

Ojulari had 16 tackles (five for a loss), four sacks, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and a pass deflection in 10 games during his freshman season. His best showing came in a win over South Carolina on Oct. 24, when he collected three sacks. Ojulari was named to the All-SEC freshman team following his debut campaign.

Before coming to LSU, Ojulari was a 4-star recruit in the 2020 class. He committed to the Tigers on Oct. 27, 2019.

LSU’s defense is going to have new leadership next season, as the school agreed to part ways with former defensive coordinator Bo Pelini at the end of the 2020 campaign. The Tigers gave up 492 total yards per game this past season, the second most in the SEC, so they’ll seek better results in 2021.

If Ojulari builds off his strong freshman year, then he could potentially help LSU’s defense make positive strides next season.

[LSUDad]

LSU OL Austin Deculus reveals his plans for the 2021 campaign

Adam Spencer | 21 minutes ago

 

Entering the 2020 season, LSU OL Austin Deculus was one of only a handful of returning starters on offense for a Tiger team that lost a ton of talent to the 2020 NFL Draft following a national title campaign in 2019.

By the end of the year, after WRs Ja’Marr Chase and Terrace Marshall Jr. had opted out, Deculus was the lone returning starter on offense for LSU.

On Monday night, Deculus announced he would return to school in 2021 and take one last ride with the Tigers:

[Hatchertiger]

Great to see so many returning this year. 

[LSUDad]

Rosenthal is the last one to decide. 

[Hatchertiger]

Todd Harris coming back for a 5th year!  Great to have his experience back there.

[LSUDad]

LSU senior defensive back Todd Harris announces he will return for another season

Michael Wayne Bratton | 1 hour ago

 

 

 

LSU’s line of scrimmage has received some massive boosts this offseason as the entire starting defensive line and four of five starters on the offensive line have announced they will return to Baton Rouge for another season.

Now we can add another player eager to return to Ed Orgeron’s program for another season as senior defensive back Todd Harris announced his decision to return in 2021

“Unfinished business, let’s WORK,” Harris posted on Thursday.

During his time at LSU, Harris has appeared in 25 games and registered 68 tackles and three interceptions. His 2019 season was cut short due to an ACL injury but he played in all 10 games for the Tigers last season.

If you were unaware, the NCAA has given all players the option of using the 2020 season as a free season of eligibility. That has given seniors like Harris the option to return in 2021.

Seniors that return in 2021 will not count against a program’s 85-man scholarship limit, meaning Harris — and the rest of the LSU seniors set to return — won’t be taking a younger player’s scholarship.

This news should only add to the momentum gained by the Tigers heading into the 2021 season as Orgeron’s program will look to bounce back from the 5-5 season in a big way in the fall.

[houtiger]

9 hours ago, LSUDad said:

Seniors that return in 2021 will not count against a program’s 85-man scholarship limit, meaning Harris — and the rest of the LSU seniors set to return — won’t be taking a younger player’s scholarship.

I did not realize this, and that seems HUGE for LSU, since we self imposed a loss of 4 scholly's for two years.  Those Sr.'s returning and not counting will make up for one of the years.  It will help with experience and numbers.  Harris did not look fully recovered early in the season, but as the season went on, it appeared to me he was getting back to his old self.  I thought he would leave.  I have also heard sometimes it take 2 years to FULLY come back from an ACL, and maybe Todd can feel he's not 100% and the year would give him a better shot at being a high draft pick.

[Eq4bits]

 

[LSUDad]

LSU gets 20 of 22 starters back from the end of the season

BySHEA DIXON 117 minutes ago 

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January 18 marked the final day that NCAA players could declare for the 2020 NFL Draft, and the final 24 hours brought even more good news for the 2021 season in Baton Rouge.

 

LSU left tackle Dare Rosenthalannounced he would return to school for the 2021 season, choosing to bypass the chance to enter the draft pool.

 

And he wasn’t the first name in the trenches to do so.

 

Earlier this month, LSU’s other four starting offensive linemen all announced their plans to return for the 2021 season, giving the Tigers all five starters back in the trenches on that side of the ball. Rosenthal and Austin Deculus return as the team’s top two tackles, while Ed Ingram and Chasen Hines are back both at offensive guard. Center Liam Shanahan, who spent his first season at LSU in 2020 after transferring in from Harvard, will also be back in the starting lineup next fall.

 

With Cam Wire earning multiple starts at both tackle and guard in 2020, the Tigers also bring back the top swing man on the unit, and younger players like freshman Marlon Martinez have already gotten their feet wet with game action, which gives the Tigers some of the program’s most-experienced depth on the offensive line in years.

 

And the same goes for the defensive line.

 

Earlier this month, all four starting defensive linemen from the 2020 season announced they would return in 2021. That means the Tigers get back both Andre Anthony and Ali Gaye as defensive ends, while Glen Logan and Neil Farrellboth return as defensive tackles. Deculus, Shanahan, Anthony, Logan and Farrell are all seniors who are taking advantage of the NCAA’s free year of eligibility, which came after the sport’s governing body voted not to count the 2020 season towards any athlete’s eligibility. In a normal year, all five would have exhausted their eligibility and been unable to return to the team in 2021, but instead head coach Ed Orgeron gets five veterans back in a year where the Tigers will continue to battle to build back up the roster, which has seen more than 30 scholarship players gone from the 2019 roster to now.

 

“It feels great,” Orgeron said on Tuesday during his weekly spot on 104.5 ESPN’s Off the Bench with T-Bob Hebert. “I told them about three-quarters of the way into the season that recruiting is coming to an end, but the most important recruiting we have is the men in that room. And we have a chance to have an excellent foundation for a great team next year if most those guys decide to come back.”

 

Now, LSU gets 20 of the 22 starters back from the final game of the season. The lone starters gone from the roster are senior safety JaCoby Stevens and senior linebacker Jabril Cox, who both announced their decisions to enter the NFL Draft. Wide receiver Racey McMathwill also enter the draft, following in the footsteps of a handful of the opt-outs from the season, which includes a pair of receivers in Ja’Marr Chase and Terrace Marshall Jr., cornerback Kary Vincent Jr., and defensive tackle Tyler Shelvin.

 

LSU also returns plenty of youth on the defensive line that should give the Tigers the ability to work a deep rotation in the trenches. Beyond the four starters back from 2020, the Tigers also have a pair of freshmen with a year of playing time under their belts in BJ Ojulari and Jaquelin Roy, and both had some big moments during their debuts this past fall. And with a signing class that includes players like five-star defensive tackle Maason Smith, Orgeron has plenty of options to turn when it comes to playmakers along the defensive line.

The Tigers also welcomed nine early-enrollees to campus this past weekend, with “Football School” beginning on Tuesday for the staff and players. Orgeron said Top 100 wide receiver signee Deion Smith will be limited as a result of an injury suffered at the end of his high school career in Mississippi, while Texas four-star quarterback Garrett Nussmeier will also carry a lighter load as he recovers from a hand injury suffered in the high school playoffs.

[houtiger]

That sounds GREAT with all of the starters on the offensive and defensive line returning.  Compliment to O and the staff for keeping them down on the farm.  The biggest surprise to me is Ed Ingram returning; he started as a freshman, missed a year due to legal problem, came back and played well.  I thought he was  a goner.  To me, Rosenthal returning is a good move for him and LSU.  The guy needs to grow up and take care of his business off the field before going into the NFL draft, and he can make himself some more money.  This all has to be so important for the football program to keep the number of scholarship players up.  We got pulled too far down with the opt-outs last year.  All the returns may put us even where we are supposed to be.