The 2025 LSU football team is highly talented. It might be the best team Brian Kelly has ever had since being hired in Baton Rouge. The Tigers have a loaded offense, but the difference maker this year needs to be their defense after their recent struggles on that side of the ball. It starts with Harold Perkins Jr. and Whit Weeks, but they missed the last practice.

The two junior linebackers missed practice on Monday for different reasons. LSU football head coach Brian Kelly said that Harold Perkins Jr. missed practice due to “load management,” while Whit Weeks missed practice for personal reasons. Perkins was back practicing while Weeks missed it again on Tuesday. Kelly explained to the media that neither situation is serious.

“He had some things he had to take care of,” Kelly said regarding Perkins' absence.

“We're not going to have him practice five days in a row until we get into game week,” Kelly said Friday. “So today was his day off.”

Koki Riley of the “New Orleans Times Picayune” also said about Weeks: “Weeks has missed time at camp as he works his way back from a dislocated ankle and broken fibula, two injuries he suffered against Baylor in the Texas Bowl in January. LSU has been careful not to put too much on his plate before the start of the season on Aug. 30 at Clemson.”
Brian Kelly was quieter about Weeks's situation, but since he was injured at the end of the year, it makes sense that the Tigers would be more cautious about him.
Harold Perkins Jr. missed most of last season after tearing his ACL early in the 2024 season in the Tigers' win against UCLA. He is primed for a massive bounce-back opportunity this season.
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Whit Weeks is primed to be one of the best middle linebackers in the country this year. He is a tackling machine and had a massive 2024 season. He had 120 tackles, 61 solos, 3.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, and one interception. He is in line for an even bigger year as he tries to improve his NFL Draft stock.
Harold Perkins Jr. burst onto the college football scene in 2022 as a dominant rusher off the edge as a true freshman. These last two seasons, LSU football has been using him more in coverage, but after his injury, it seems like he is back to being a rusher on top of being in pass coverage.
Brian Kelly has dominated recruiting on the transfer portal and the recruiting trail, leading to this season. Thanks to Weeks and Perkins at linebacker, the defense should be much better, too.