LSU defensive end Damien Shanklin is under an ongoing Baton Rouge police investigation tied to rape allegations made by a female student, according to reports from ESPN.
The case stems from an alleged incident last fall involving Kendall Francis, who first made public allegations against Shanklin in September. LSU’s Civil Rights and Title IX office later found Shanklin responsible for “forcible rape,” per the report.
According to police reports obtained by ESPN, Shanklin and Francis both said their initial sexual contact on Oct. 18, 2025, was consensual, but Francis alleged that Shanklin then carried out acts without her consent.
The school handed down a one-year suspension this past summer, which would have kept Shanklin out of all campus activities. That punishment was later reduced after an appeal, allowing him to return to campus as long as he does not run into further legal trouble.
Title IX records obtained by ESPN also said Shanklin told Francis after the alleged incident that he had been suspended from the team. Even so, he appeared in three games after that point.
On the field, Shanklin has been absent from LSU’s recent fall camp and has not played in a game during the 2026 season.
Shanklin’s attorneys, Grant Willis and Morgan H. Johnson of Taylor Porter, pushed back with a statement to ESPN while the police investigation continues.
"What has been portrayed on social media and in the news thus far, is not a full account of all of the facts and circumstances surrounding this situation," Shanklin's attorneys told ESPN. "Mr. Shanklin looks forward to the day when all information surrounding this incident is brought to light and becomes public knowledge."
A former four-star recruit from Warren Central High School in Indianapolis, IN, Shanklin was part of LSU’s 2025 recruiting class. He played in five games as a true freshman last season before redshirting and finished with two sacks. His appearances came against South Carolina, Alabama, Arkansas, Southeastern Louisiana and Houston in the Texas Bowl.
No. 11 LSU hosts McNeese State in its non-conference finale at Tiger Stadium on Saturday.
In Other News...
LSU Has Every Reason To Push Back On ESPN's Latest Outlook
LSU has already given itself a strong early foundation in 2026, opening 3-1 with wins over Clemson, Louisiana Tech and Texas A&M before falling to Ole Miss. That start alone is enough to make the Tigers look more dangerous than a middle-of-the-pack projection, especially with a schedule that still leaves plenty of chances to stack quality wins in SEC play.
Still, ESPNs latest College Football Power Index is treating LSU more like an 8-4 team, with a 4-3 mark in the rest of league play. The numbers also have to account for the injuries that have thinned out the roster, and that uncertainty is what makes the next stretch so important for LSU, which has the rsum to argue with the forecast but not yet the margin for error to ignore it. [Read more 🡒]
LSUs Damien Shanklin Is Back At Center Of A Serious Off-Field Case
Damien Shanklins case has moved well beyond the usual campus-discipline cycle, and the details now hovering around LSU football are serious enough to keep it in the foreground. LSUs Office of Civil Rights and Title IX found Shanklin responsible for forcible rape and initially handed down a two-semester suspension, a ruling that would have kept him away from the team and campus for a meaningful stretch.
An administrative law judge later cut that punishment to four semesters of probation without restrictions, allowing Shanklin to remain in Baton Rouge, and the accuser then publicly criticized the reduced penalty. The fallout has since reached the criminal side, with the East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorneys office opening an investigation and asking for the related reports and evidence, while Shanklins attorneys continue to deny the allegations and push back on how the case has been portrayed. [Read more 🡒]
LSU Fans Now Face A Real Sam Leavitt Debate
Through the first month of the 2026 season, LSU has found itself in the middle of a quarterback conversation it would rather not have had. A Week 4 review of five high-profile passers across college football put Sam Leavitt in the same discussion as names like Arch Manning, John Mateer, Marcel Reed and Bryce Underwood, which tells you how closely the position is being watched and how quickly expectations can shift once the games start counting.
For LSU, the interest is not just about numbers, but about whether Leavitt is tracking the way a program with the Tigers ambitions needs him to. The review pointed to uneven production and the kinds of game-by-game challenges that can leave a quarterbacks reputation ahead of his results, and that is where the tension now sits for LSU fans. The broader question is whether Leavitt is settling into the role or whether the early returns are forcing a real debate about what comes next. [Read more 🡒]