Good morning, Tiger Fans, and happy Independence Day.
On this 250th celebration of our nation, I want to wish all of you a Happy Independence Day and extend a heartfelt thank-you to the men and women in the military who work each day to safeguard the freedoms we enjoy here in the U.S.A. May God bless America.
LSU baseball opened the day with a major portal win, landing Oregon outfielder Angel Laya. The former Duck brings real pop to Baton Rouge after hitting 14 home runs this past season, a freshman record at Oregon, while posting a .296/.396/.538 line with 47 RBIs in 59 games. He earned Perfect Game First Team Freshman All-American honors and is already being talked about as a potential first-round pick in the 2028 MLB Draft.
At 6-foot-3, the San Diego native drew heavy interest from LSU, Texas, Texas A&M and Georgia, which makes this a significant pull for Coach Jay Johnson. Laya has two years of eligibility left and projects as a middle-of-the-order left-handed bat with genuine power. He’s LSU’s eighth portal addition and third outfielder.
On the football recruiting front, the wait continues for safety Jayden Anding of Ruston. There was at least one premature report that he had committed to LSU, but as of now he has not announced his choice, even though he had originally been expected to do so on the Rivals Summer Signing Day show on July first.
The Tigers’ “Don’t Sleep On These Tigers” series also turned to the offensive line, where Bo Bordelon and Aliou Bah are both positioned to matter in a big way.
Bordelon’s path has been a long one. The 6-foot-6, 305-pound fifth-year senior from Raceland spent four years in Baton Rouge behind Will Campbell, Emery Jones, Garrett Dellinger and Miles Frazier, all of whom were drafted.
His only start came in the 2024 Texas Bowl when those four opted out, and he had logged just 136 offensive snaps over four seasons. This spring changed everything.
With eight offensive linemen transferring out and a new coaching staff in place, Bordelon went to work, beat out Ole Miss transfer Devin Harper for the starting left guard job midway through spring practice and kept it the rest of the way. Lane Kiffin even gave him a nod: “He’s just done a really good job.”
Bordelon now enters fall camp projected as LSU’s starting left guard.
Bah brings a different kind of value. The 6-foot-6, 331-pound Memphis native may be the most experienced offensive lineman on the roster after arriving from Maryland, where he started all 24 games over two seasons at right guard.
Before that, he was part of Georgia’s 2022 national championship team. That gives him a resume built on winning programs and 24 straight starts before he ever suited up for LSU.
His strength is pass protection. In 2025 at Maryland, he was part of an offensive line that allowed only nine sacks all season, which led the Big Ten and ranked third nationally.
He posted a 72.3 pass-blocking grade from PFF. The run-blocking numbers are less impressive, but in a Kiffin offense that spreads the field and protects the quarterback, Bah fits the profile of the kind of steady, technically sound interior lineman you want.
Sources have raved about him since he arrived, and he is locked in as the starting right guard heading into fall camp.
And with the countdown to game day at 63 days, it’s hard not to think about LSU’s 63-28 win over Oklahoma during the 2019 championship run. That night became a record book special.
The 63 points were the most ever scored in a College Football Playoff game, and Joe Burrow was in full command before halftime was even over. By then, he had thrown for 403 yards and become the eighth player in SEC history to throw seven touchdown passes in a game.
Burrow finished with 493 passing yards on 29-of-39 passing and eight total touchdowns, seven through the air and one on the ground. Those eight touchdowns set another record as the most by any player in FBS history in a bowl game.
Justin Jefferson, not Ja’Marr Chase, was the big receiving star that night, hauling in 14 catches for 227 yards and four touchdowns, both College Football Playoff records. In that win, LSU also became the first and only team to have a 5,000-yard passer, a 1,000-yard rusher and two 1,000-yard receivers in the same season.
In Other News...
LSU Just Won Another Recruiting Battle Fans Will Love
LSUs recruiting momentum took another noticeable step when a high-end defensive back from Texas decided Baton Rouge was the better fit. The Tigers have been active on the trail in the 2027 cycle, and adding a versatile secondary piece only strengthens a class that already sits inside the top 15 nationally and keeps LSU in the middle of another familiar battle with the Longhorns.
What makes this one especially useful for LSU is the flexibility attached to the players future role, since he is viewed as someone who can help at safety or cornerback. And the Tigers are not done pushing in Texas, either, with LSU still working on another flip target from the Longhorns' board, a sign that this recruiting fight may have more chapters left before signing day. [Read more 🡒]
LSU Recruiting Momentum Suddenly Feels Fragile After One Huge Flip
The early buzz around Lane Kiffins first recruiting push at LSU got a lift when Greedy James flipped from Texas, a move that suggested the Tigers might be able to make quick gains on the trail. LSU has kept pressing for more, too, with the staff working on targets such as highly regarded safety Anding, along with Texas Tech commits Jalen Brewster and Anthony Sweeney as part of a broader effort to stack the class with talent.
Still, the momentum feels a little less secure when a few of the biggest names remain in play for other schools. Anding has drawn attention because of his ties to LSU and his standing as one of the top defensive backs in the state, while the Tigers have also jumped into the mix for Mississippi State commit Julian McDonald, a cornerback who recently picked up an offer. For a program trying to build on one flip and turn it into a run, the next few decisions could say a lot about how durable this surge really is. [Read more 🡒]