LSU’s interior defensive line picture looks different than many expected, and Dominick McKinley is suddenly fighting to keep his place in the mix.
The junior tackle entered preseason camp listed as a starter or No. 2 on several depth charts, but when practice opened during the media viewing portions on Wednesday, he was on neither unit. LSU’s first-team tackles were junior Auburn transfer Malik Blocton and true freshman signee Deuce Geralds, the No. 4 ranked prep defensive lineman out of Collins Hill High in Suwanee, Georgia, after both turned heads in spring drills. On the second team, the tackles were junior Clemson transfer Stephylan Green and true freshman signee Richard Anderson, the No. 1 ranked prep defensive lineman from Karr High in New Orleans, who also took part in spring practice.
McKinley, listed at 6-foot-6 and 297 pounds, arrived at LSU as the top prospect in Louisiana out of Acadiana High in Lafayette. He signed in 2024 as a five-star recruit, ranked No. 18 overall and the No. 5 defensive lineman. As a true freshman, he played in 10 games without a start.
That early depth chart squeeze means the next few weeks matter for McKinley if he wants to stay in the rotation.
The Tigers already know what he can do when he gets rolling. In 2025, McKinley became a steady part of LSU’s interior line rotation, appearing in all 13 games with two starts.
His first career start came in the week 2 win over Louisiana Tech, and his other start came at Vanderbilt. He finished that season with 12 tackles, 2.0 tackles for loss and a sack, plus a quarterback hurry and a batted pass.
One of his biggest moments came against Florida, when he logged two tackles, including a sack for a 1-yard loss. He also picked up half-tackles for loss against Ole Miss and Arkansas, and he closed the year with three tackles against Houston in the Texas Bowl while playing a career-high 48 snaps.
Across the season, he totaled 370 defensive snaps, with other heavy workloads coming against Ole Miss, Vanderbilt and Florida.
His freshman year offered a glimpse of the disruptive player LSU hoped it was getting. McKinley played in 10 games and worked into the tackle rotation midway through the season, appearing in the final 10 games.
His best performance came in the win over Oklahoma, when he posted four tackles and two sacks, earning SEC Freshman of the Week honors. Those sacks accounted for 8 yards in losses and came on consecutive Oklahoma possessions in the fourth quarter.
He also played a season-high 23 snaps in wins over Ole Miss and Baylor in the Texas Bowl, recovered a fumble in overtime against Ole Miss, and had a sack for a 5-yard loss in his first collegiate game and Tiger Stadium debut against UCLA in week 4. He added two tackles and a quarterback hurry against Vanderbilt.
In all, he played 146 defensive snaps and 35 on special teams.
LSU’s scouting report on McKinley still points to a big, athletic interior defender with the length and movement skills to bother both the run game and the pass game. The note, though, is simple: he needs to start living up to his billing more.
The profile of his high school résumé shows why LSU expected so much. McKinley was the top player in Louisiana in the Class of 2024 and a consensus five-star defensive lineman.
He was ranked No. 13 nationally by the On3 composite and No. 3 at his position, while Rivals.com had him as high as No. 12 overall and No. 2 at his position, with ESPN also ranking him No. 2 at defensive line. At Acadiana High, he helped lead the Rams to the Division I Select State Championship Game in 2023 and earned First-Team 5A All-State honors as a senior after recording 71 tackles, 15 quarterback hurries and 11 tackles for loss.
As a junior in 2022, he posted 86 tackles, 18 tackles for loss and 10 sacks under coach Matt McCullough.
LSU’s own biography describes McKinley as a player who emerged as a key contributor on the defensive front in 2025 and is expected to remain a major part of the defense as a junior in 2026. The Tigers say he has appeared in 23 career games with two starts, has 19 tackles, 5.0 tackles for loss and 2.0 sacks, and earned SEC Freshman of the Week honors in 2024 after his four-tackle, two-sack game against Oklahoma. He is majoring in social sciences.
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