LSU’s 2026 season is going to be built on fresh faces, but the Tigers’ biggest leap may come from three veterans who already know the standard in Baton Rouge.
With Lane Kiffin in place and LSU drawing national attention after landing the No. 1 transfer portal class, the buzz around the program has been loud. Still, the Tigers are going to need more than newcomers to turn that hype into something real. Trey'Dez Green, Whit Weeks and Dashawn Spears are the returning names positioned to drive that push.
Green already looked like LSU’s most dangerous weapon last season, even in an offense that had trouble creating explosive plays. At 6-foot-7 with wideout speed, he finished with team highs in touchdown catches, hauling in seven scores along with 33 receptions for 433 yards. Now he’s moving into a system that should put him front and center.
Kiffin has made it clear what he thinks of Green, calling him one of the best tight ends in the country and a freak athlete who creates major problems for defenses. That kind of praise matters, especially with Kiffin and offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr. bringing a track record of getting big production out of tight ends at Ole Miss.
Green’s profile is already rising, too - he was named a Walter Camp Preseason All-American. With a new quarterback learning a rebuilt receiver room, Green looks set up for a season that could put him in the All-SEC conversation.
Weeks made a different kind of statement by coming back. He passed on the 2026 NFL Draft, where he could have been a fairly early selection, to chase something bigger in Baton Rouge.
"College is too much fun to leave, and there is no better place in the country to be right now than Baton Rouge, Louisiana," Weeks said in the caption of his return announcement back in January. "All I want to do is ball in the purple and gold."
His 2024 season showed exactly why LSU wanted him back. Weeks piled up 125 tackles as a sophomore before a broken ankle in the Texas Bowl versus Baylor in 2024 lingered and limited him in 2025.
Now fully healthy for his final year of eligibility, he gives Blake Baker a steady presence in the middle of a defense that returns almost everything. That experience matters in a linebacker room that was already deep, and LSU is counting on Weeks to help anchor one of the program’s best units in recent memory.
Then there’s Spears, who has spent two seasons flashing big-time ability in a smaller role. He’s appeared in all 26 games over the last two years, but he has started only four times. Even so, he’s managed 53 tackles, three tackles for loss and two interceptions.
Kiffin wasted no time making sure Spears stayed in the program after arriving, and the staff has since carved out a role that fits him. Kiffin described him this way: "He's wired right, unbelievable range, great ball skills," Kiffin said about the Dehnam Spring product.
Baker is now using Spears at the star position, where he can do a little of everything - cover, spy the quarterback and attack the backfield on blitzes. That spot has belonged to Harold Perkins Jr. in LSU’s defense, but with Perkins off to the NFL, Baker needed a new answer. Spears was the choice.
After years of showing off his athleticism in spurts, Spears finally gets the full-time job. Following a strong spring practice stretch, there doesn’t seem to be much doubt that he’s ready to turn that opportunity into a breakout season in 2026.
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