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LSU football defensive end Gabe Reliford was on the verge of a breakout as his true freshman campaign came to a close.
Now, as LSU is about halfway through spring practice, Tigers’ head coach Brian Kelly said Reliford is taking another step.
“Gabe’s a kid that plays with a lot of confidence,” Kelly said, “Obviously, his physicality is a little bit different than the other ends that we have, his size. So when you’re talking about him, he’s a different profile than some of the other ends and edges we have.”
Kelly said LSU wants to take advantage of Reliford’s size when defending the run.
“What we’ve asked him to do is be really physical in the run game and be assignment correct,” Kelly said.
Kelly acknowledged the trade-offs of playing a true freshman. Reliford was learning last year. He had upside, but there were some mistakes. Kelly said he’s past the learning stage now.
“What we’re looking for is a consistent performance, play in and play out, and somebody that’s really, really good against the run,” Kelly said.
LSU wants Reliford to get after the quarterback, too, but the main focus is being an anchor defending the run.
According to PFF, Reliford made five stops defending the run in 2024. His stop rate was 7.2% and his average run tackle came 2.7 yards down the field. Those marks were solid for a true freshman.
According to On3, Reliford was the No. 50 overall recruit in 2024. He’s one of several young defenders that LSU is counting on to take a step in 2025. The Tigers are losing significant production at the defensive end with Bradyn Swinson and Sai’Vion Jones off to the NFL. LSU signed a few edge defenders out of the portal, but LSU needs home grown talent like Reliford to come through too.
Source link : https://lsutigerswire.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/lsu/football/2025/03/25/lsu-football-brian-kelly-gabe-reliford-emering-in-spring-practice/82642465007/
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Publish date : 2025-03-25 14:00:00
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