LSU’s linebacker room has a familiar feel at the top, and Whit Weeks made it clear he’s enjoying the company.
Weeks, who is set to wrap up a four-year run with the Tigers this fall, spoke during SEC media day about lining up next to TJ Dottery. The two give LSU one of the more seasoned linebacker pairings around, and Weeks said the chance to watch Dottery up close this spring gave him a better feel for how the new teammate operates.
"I love playing beside TJ," Weeks said. "Me being hurt during the spring, I kind of got to sit back and watch him and learn how he plays and pick his brain and see the football he plays."
Weeks missed half of 2025 after suffering a midseason injury, but he’s back in Baton Rouge as a projected first-round NFL Draft pick and a key leader on a roster in transition. LSU head coach Lane Kiffin added several important pieces from Ole Miss, and Dottery was one of the biggest.
Dottery arrives with plenty of mileage. He has 1,709 career snaps, started at Clemson, and spent the last three seasons at Ole Miss under Kiffin. He brings two years of starting experience with him, and Weeks said the fit has been obvious from the start.
"He brings energy every single snap and that's a guy who I want to play with," Weeks said. "We've gotten real close off the field as well, so it's fun just having good people around you."
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Lane Kiffin's LSU Exit Drama Is Drawing An Uncomfortable New Comparison
Lane Kiffins move to LSU has already become one of the more awkward coaching transitions in the SEC, and it has only taken a few months for it to draw a fresh comparison. Kiffin accepted the Tigers job after his run at Ole Miss, while Jon Sumrall left Tulane for Florida, creating a parallel set of questions about how a coach handles a new opportunity when the old team still has business to finish.
Both coaches addressed the coaching-search fallout at SEC Media Days, where the timing and the optics were impossible to ignore. Sumrall did coach Tulane in the first round of the playoff before that season ended, while Kiffin was not allowed to stay with Ole Miss for its playoff run after taking the LSU job, leaving the two situations linked in a way that keeps inviting debate about loyalty, leverage and what the job market now asks of coaches. [Read more 🡒]
Two LSU Returners Are Feeling The Heat Entering Kiffin's First Camp
Fall camp is arriving at a pivotal moment for LSU, and the new-look roster is about to sort itself out fast under Lane Kiffin. With so many fresh faces in the mix, the competition for starting jobs figures to be intense from the start, especially along an offense that needs cleaner play up front and more certainty at receiver.
Weston Davis and Braelin Moore are among the returners carrying the most pressure into camp after a difficult season, and Davis in particular has a lot to prove as the Tigers sort through options at right tackle. The same urgency extends to the wideout room, where transfer Tre' Brown is one of several players fighting for early snaps as LSU tries to build chemistry and settle on its first group before the season opener. [Read more 🡒]
