NEW BEGINNING
After incarcertion lasting 25 years, Diedre Thomas returned to fight for justice as a paralegal.
Read on page 2
UNDETERRED
From pregnant in prison to professional paralegal: The story of Deidre Thomas
BY MARTIN SULLIVAN @marty_sulli
Deidre Thomas entered prison pregnant, suicidal and poisoned by years of trauma. Through love and education, she made her way out and is now a paralegal.
Mental illness from a young age exacerbated by several toxic relationships landed Thomas in prison early in her adult life. But empowered by the love of fellow inmates and the education provided to them, she quickly transitioned from 25 years of prison to working as a paralegal with the Promise for Justice Initiative, a New Orleans-based legal organization.
PJI believes in the rights of people with convictions and the importance of healing and prison reform, values that are at odds with recent state anticrime legislation backed by Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry.
Born in 1974, Thomas was one of four girls on a Louisiana farm. Her family had complicated relationships, characterized by imposed limitations on any kind of social life. Confrontations were frequent, both verbal and physical.
Isolation and conflict heavy relationships led Thomas to cutting herself at the age of 13.
“I just pretty much shut up, but even though my mouth was closed, there was so much going on on the inside,” Thomas said. “It was almost like there was another person in there screaming to get out.”
After leaving home at 17, Thomas’ mental illness persisted. She had her first child before being hospitalized for suicidal ideation and depression. She lost 30 pounds in two weeks around this time. Following an abortion, Thomas discovered her third pregnancy at 23, just before her arrest. A conflict with the father of her child escalated and resulted in her conviction for attempted murder and second-degree murder.
“She looked like a crazed woman,” her sister Tristin said. “They shaved half her hair; she had been crying and had makeup smeared across her face. She did not look like my sister.”
The severity of her depression on top of expecting a baby climaxed a vague but debilitating darkness while at East Feliciana Parish Jail.
“It was another resident that came and started hand feeding me, telling me about a baby,” Thomas said. “Some days I knew I was pregnant, some days I didn’t.”
After being moved to Louisiana Correctional Institute for Women, Thomas joined a program called Kairos, an interdenominational program to support inmates.
“For these people to embrace me from the time I walked through the door, and keep in contact after that, even after I was released,” Thomas said through tears, “for me that was the major point. Knowing that I’m loved, that I was somebody.”
The group would sing together, eat together and share together. The highlight of the program was called “prayer and share”. Inmates broke into small groups for an hour and a half, following prompts that guided a sharing process. Prompts like, ‘Did you have a time when it was tough to love another person?’. The program established an environment of support, forgiveness and the freedom to release emotionally.
“There was a breaking in me,” Thomas said. “These people didn’t know me, didn’t know why I was incarcerated, didn’t care. They just loved on me, hugged on me.”
A study of 505 inmates found regular Kairos members to have a recidivism rate of 10%, the non-Kairos control group had a recidivism rate of 23.4%.
During her time, Thomas would visit her son for as many as eight hours at a time.
“There was something that my son said,” Thomas recalls. “He told me ‘Mama, if I go to the men’s prison next door can I see you more?’ That crushed me.”
Thomas’ son failed fifth grade twice and her concern for his future grew. So, she made him a deal. If he was in school, she was in school.
Access to education introduced her to law; the ability to influence change made her fall in love with it.
“I think the things that started helping her realize who she was and what she was capable of is when she started winning things in the court through her job as a council sub,” said Stephanie King, a fellow Kairos member.
Yet, Thomas didn’t need a law book to recognize the injustices around her. Due to lack of public knowledge and strategic avoidance of auditors, the prison fell significantly short of standards.
“If you didn’t help them cover it up, you would get some type of repercussion,” Thomas said. “Out of fear, you did what your captor told you.”
Thomas recalls having to walk through sewage, use buckets for leaks, and go months without a kitchen ceiling and a constantly failing air conditioning system. Inmates did not make more than a dollar an hour for their labor, yet were expected to pay up to $12 for feminine hygiene products. The infirmary wasn’t free either;
Thomas recalls inmates coming out still bleeding from the ears and eyes. These kinds of conditions regularly cost lives.
“It was like seeing a bunch of animals in a bullpen, and waiting to be slaughtered,” Thomas said. “You could be somewhere, and someone would just drop dead.”
After a quarter century confined to this reality, years of education positioned Thomas to become a paralegal following her release on Nov. 1, 2023.
She walked out to her family, dropped her things and hugged her mom with the love of two and a half decades apart. Tears running down her face, she repeated “I’m so sorry, I love you so much.”
Thomas didn’t see her father until Thanksgiving. He was in complete shock, unsure if she was allowed to be there. She embraced him tightly before the weight of their tears pulled them to the floor.
Today, at 49, Thomas works full time in New Orleans. Her perspective informs the mission of PJI in opposing legislation she knows works against inmate reform.
“Do you realize that when you take away peoples hope and their incentive to do right, you’re going to get a hot mess?” King said.
B-16 Hodges Hall
Thomas has changed the lives of women with stories like hers while both in and out of prison.
“How did I lose so much at such a young age?” she said. “I don’t want anybody to have to go through the path I’ve gone through.”
Some of Thomas’ achievements include helping a single mother retain custody of her child while negotiating her sentencing to a house arrest, and preventing an inmate from overstaying her term by seven years after catching an unprocessed audit.
“When she got in, I saw a weak, frail, lost woman, that didn’t know how to express herself to get help,” Tristin said.
“Now I see a fricking powerhouse. The girl has a thing for law.”
Thomas entered her 25-year sentence pregnant and with every intention to end her life.
The unconditional love of other inmates and the empowerment she felt making a difference with law reconstructed her life and self-belief. Once deemed unfit for society, Thomas now works every day to better it.
“Reform is possible, rehabilitation is possible, change is possible,” King said. “But you have to give somebody the opportunity to find it.”
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PHOTO COURTESY OF PROMISE FOR JUSTICE INITIATIVE
NEWS WELCOME WEEK
BY GRACELYN FARRAR @gracelynfarrar
LSU welcomes students back to campus this fall
Summer is over and fall semester has officially begun. Almost overnight LSU’s campus went from a ghost town to a kicked-over anthill crawling with some 7,000 freshmen.
Students are moving into their dorms, trying out The 459 Commons and The 5 dining halls for the first time, walking up and down West Lakeshore Drive and visiting Mike the Tiger’s Habitat. But sometimes all the new students are in the same place at the same time. It’s that time of year again –it’s Welcome Week.
This year, mandatory events like convocation filled the schedule, but there were also plenty of fun, smaller groups that held events throughout the week, like a pickleball demo on Saturday and a day trip to New Orleans on Friday. Tuesday, some students biked to French Truck Coffee or enjoyed allaccess at the UREC Thursday night, where a mechanical bull was the star of the show.
Znyah Williams, a pre-nursing freshman, said the best part of the week was the block party Monday night. She loved “seeing everyone vibing together and meeting new people,” Williams said.
Her roommate Tierany Frazier, a freshman studying biology on the pre-med track, said Welcome Week has made her feel like she’s finding
STUDENT GOVERNMENT
her place at LSU, a sentiment that she initially struggled with coming from a small hometown.
“Bastrop is a very small town, so it’s kind of a culture shock seeing all the different people,” Frazier said. “But I do like the big community. It’s like a small world in itself.”
Tre Odom, a psychology freshman on the pre-med track, liked the Twilight Ceremony Wednesday night. Thousands of freshmen crowded beneath Memorial Tower, where Odom got to listen to the Alma Mater during candlelight cer-
emony and, as Williams put it, “officially become an LSU tiger.”
At Student Government’s silent disco Friday night at the UREC gym, freshman Sydney Neyer taught people the line dance to “Cotton Eye Joe.” Neyeran, an outof-state student, is most excited to get involved with as much as she can this year.
This zeal for involvement is encouraged by SG’s Director of Student Entertainment, Larsen Melton. Melton, a sophomore majoring in journalism, said Welcome Week gives students a chance to accli-
mate to LSU.
Melton organized the silent disco, an event she loved attending her freshman year. She wanted students to “truly just enjoy every single moment.”
“So if it’s dancing and doing the bunny hop really quick with a student, I’ll do it,” Melton said.
However, the most important part of Welcome Week is the inbetween, said Melton.
“I think LSU does a great job at distracting students from realizing
see FRESHMEN, page 4
BY PIPER HUTCHINSON Louisiana Illuminator
As LSU makes its bid for membership in a prestigious academic organization, its librarians have been put on notice to publish more research.
In a meeting last week for all librarians in the university system, LSU administrators informed them their campuses would not hire any more tenure-track librarians and that those on the tenure track or with tenure would have one year to decide if they want to maintain their status and publish more often. Several librarians in the meeting shared details from the discussion with the Illuminator.
The changes are part of LSU’s bid to join the American Association of Universities (AAU), a group of 71 premiere research institutions in the United States and Canada.
To join the association, LSU has to significantly increase its research spending, faculty awards, books published and the number of times its research is cited among other academics.
LSU lags significantly behind AAU institutions in citations, with member organizations being cited an average of 208 times per faculty member in a five-year period. LSU’s
Student Judges? Student Government’s judiciary explained
BY GRACELYN FARRAR
@GracelynFarrar
Student Government acts like the United States government in several ways. The student body votes for a president and vice president, as well as senators to represent each college on campus. Little known to the majority of students, however, is SG’s third branch. Just like the federal government, SG has a judiciary, which The Reveille spoke to last Spring to learn more about this little-known part of SG.
The university court is similar to that of the Supreme Court. There are nine justices, all appointed to the position by the president and confirmed by the Senate. Each justice serves a “lifetime” term; that is, as long as the justice chooses to serve or as long as they stay at LSU.
The judicial branch, affectionately known by SG members as “j-branch”, comes into play when someone is aggrieved by a potential violation of SG code, explained recent LSU graduate Justice Maya Parreira, then an associate justice
and senior in mass communication with a focus on public relations.
The aggrieved person can send a complaint to j-branch, who can decide if the complaint is valid. If it is, the complaint will be sent to either the election court or general court. Both consist of three judges, one of which is the chief justice or deputy chief justice. If the plaintiff or defendant appeals the case beyond the smaller court, the case can be seen by all nine justices in the university court.
Another time all nine justices appear together is for advisory inquiries, which are chances to ask questions for clarification on how the court interprets the SG code, or the “law.” Any student can utilize the court if they are harmed by a SG member in a way aligned with the code.
Most of the cases j-branch sees are during election season.
“People are looking out for people to make mistakes,” said Parreira, who said that confusion is generally the root of the problem in cases that make their way to j-branch.
Previously, justices on the court were composed of grad students, law students, previous student government senators and members of the Freshman Leadership Council, as well as undergraduates who were neither in SG nor were planning on going to law school. In short, j-branch is open to anyone.
“I think it’s really incredible to see the different ways that people think,” said recent LSU Law graduate Samantha Jacobsen, who was then a justice and in her final year of her law school. “Being a law student, even though all law students come from different backgrounds, we’re all studying the same things and talking about the same things. It’s interesting to hear alternative perspectives.”
J-branch isn’t just made of nine justices, though. There is also a j-branch staff, appointed by the chief justice. Last year, Chief Justice Camille Cronin, senior in political science, appointed a clerk of courts, two staff counselors and a court stenographer. While there is no set number of staff positions that must be filled, the Office of
Inspector General is a mandatory position, and acts as a SG detective.
If someone files a case, they can represent themselves or have a friend represent them, Cronin explained, but if they have no one to represent them they can get counsel from one of j-branch’s staff counselors.
“Everyone in the judicial branch is required to be neutral, including the staff members,” Cronin said.
Traditionally on an election ticket staff, candidates will have their own counsel they’ll bring in, she said, although that isn’t always the case.
“This year, I will say, in a lot of the Empower v. Energize cases, one of the candidates– he had counsel, but he did choose to represent himself and file briefs and complaints in quite a few cases,”
see RESEARCH, page 4 see JUDICIARY, page 4
FACULTY
EMILY BOUDREAUX / The Reveille
Freshmen enjoy the event on Aug. 24 at the Welcome Week Carnival near Tiger Stadium on South Stadium Drive.
MATTHEW PERSCHALL / The Reveille
Members of the LSU Student Government Judicial branch sit April 8 inside the Student Union on LSU’s campus.
RESEARCH, from page 3
average citation count per faculty member in the same period was 82, according to a report LSU’s Office of Data and Strategic Analysis formulated.
Few AAU institutions offer tenure to librarians, Haggerty said. However, most other universities in Louisiana, including the University of Louisiana Lafayette, the only other top-tier research institution in the state, provide librarians with a tenure track.
Proponents note that tenure for librarians can play a key role in preserving their academic freedom in an era when libraries and librarians are increasingly under attack.
LSU Provost Roy Haggerty said the university isn’t increasing the requirements for librarians, but rather holding them to their job descriptions, which generally require that 15% of their job is researchrelated.
“It’s not appropriate for librarians to receive tenure,” Haggerty said. “The purpose here, really, is to improve or really add integrity through our … tenure process and for teaching and research faculty.”
“You can’t have a research university without an excellent library,” Haggerty added.
The new plan for librarians is in line with the LSU System’s plan to use the combined weight of all of its institutions to bolster the data it puts forward for AAU consider-
ation.
When asked why LSU’s librarians are not currently meeting that threshold, Haggerty said it was a matter of academic tradition.
“The culture of a library is typically not focused around the production of knowledge,” Haggerty said. “It’s focused around the culture of creating access to knowledge.”
Haggerty said there is not a specific number of publications librarians will be required to meet, but they will instead be measured on the quality of their work, which he added their peers ultimately decide.
Librarians will be invited to participate in writing or rewriting system policies to reflect the new changes.
Tenure changes are not being considered for any other faculty within the LSU System, Haggerty said.
“The purpose of this is to strengthen tenure by increasing the integrity of the way in which we measure teaching and scholarship,” Haggerty said. “So there’s no consideration whatsoever of changing it for the rest of our faculty. Nor would I allow any consideration.”
This is not the first time a university has sought to boost its AAU citation numbers by making changes in its libraries.
Before the University of Nebraska was voted out of the AAU in 2011, it searched for areas of im-
provement and determined its inclusion of library faculty in its total faculty count put it out of step with other universities.
A document detailing the school’s membership review said this practice resulted in an overcount of tenured and tenure-track faculty and harmed its rankings.
Haggerty said he was aware of this, but that it had not come up when the university was deciding how to proceed with its own changes to librarian tenure.
LSU’s librarians who give up their tenure or go off the tenure track will not take a pay cut, Haggerty said. They will be offered three-year contracts after their third year at the university.
LSU will have to make other vast improvements to attain AAU membership, which is by invitation only.
In 2022, LSU ranked 84th overall with $345 million spent on research according to the National Science Foundation. The NSF, an independent federal agency, tracks research and development expenditures at American universities to compile its annual rankings.The NSF rating for LSU includes the main campus, the LSU Ag Center and the Pennington Biomedical Research Center, all based in Baton Rouge. The university hopes to combine all of the system research spending to join the top 50 universities in this metric.
By comparison, the 50th-ranked
institution, the University of Colorado Boulder, spent $611 million on research in the same period.
But according to a National Science Foundation spokesperson, LSU can’t fuse together all of its campuses into a single slot to improve its research rankings.
“Each campus with its own chancellor, president or similar head is considered its own institution, a categorization established in 2010 … That allows for more comparable data between private institutions and multi-campus state institutions,” the spokesperson said.
“We approach the Louisiana State system as we approach all state systems, per those parameters.”
Even if LSU were able to do so, other university systems are likely to follow suit, erasing any ranking advantage LSU gained.
LSU faculty will also have to nearly double the number of books published annually to catch up with AAU institutions and triple the average number of awards, fellowships and academic organization memberships per faculty member.
, from page 3
they’re away from home,” Melton said. “But that in-between, where you have to meet people and really grow into yourself and your college experience. I think that is integral to start off the school year right.”
JUDICIARY, from page 3
Cronin said. “And you’re completely entitled to do that. I’m sure people have done that before, but in my time being here, this was the first time I’ve seen that.”
Something that makes j-branch court cases unique is that, while the defendant and plaintiff both get opportunities to speak, the robed justices hear arguments and ask questions.
“What’s really cool is that it’s more of an appellate-style argument, meaning that the justices can interrupt and ask questions,” Jacobsen said, “which I think is a really collaborative and fun process.”
Deputy Chief Justice Sam Staggs, then a senior in theater performance and mechanical engineering, spent three years in the Senate and felt like she’d done everything she wanted to do. She felt she had a good grasp on policy and that she might be more helpful in j-branch.
“A lot of it came from just the love I had for student government as a whole,” Staggs said.
Parreira wants to be a judge, and she said that serving on jbranch has been a great experience. She’s learned legal writing and how to read legal documents from her two years on the court, and she recommends it to anyone, especially those interested in pursuing a future with law.
FRESHMEN
ENTERTAINMENT
The Tailored Tiger Career Closet is back and better than ever
BY TOREY BOVIE
With the start of a new semester, students are looking to make new strides in their careers. During networking events and internship interviews, students want to put their best foot forward. For some professionals, it starts with the look.
The Olinde Career Center has announced that the Tailored Tiger Career Closet is back in action for the fall semester. Tailored Tiger is an on-campus closet that offers professional dress attire to LSU students.
The closet was created as a way to eliminate barriers for LSU students, said Paris Ally, co-director of the Tailored Tiger. Ally said during the Olinde Center’s bi-annual career expo, associates of the center realized that some students weren’t able to afford, obtain or wear business attire.
“It’s a dress-to-impress type
of situation, so we wanted to see how we can make that easy for everyone,” Ally said.
The closet will be open the entire school year and the career center has started taking donations for men and women. For men’s attire, the closet is looking for pants, size 32 or smaller; dress shirts, 15-inch neck or smaller; and blazers, size 42R or smaller.
Ally said there isn’t an official dropoff area yet. But if you are looking to donate, go to the Olinde Career Center, 158 Student Union Bldg., and let someone know you are there to donate to the Tailored Tiger. The closet is currently not accepting shoes, purses, men’s short sleeve button-ups, jeans or polo shirts.
For anyone who would like to pick up clothes, students will be able to make appointments to visit the closet. For more information or to donate, visit or contact the Olinde Career Center.
THIS WEEK IN BR
BY CAMILLE MILLIGAN @camillemill
Free Outdoor Yoga Pelican to Mars
Relax into the new week with free outdoor yoga at Pelican to Mars from 7 to 8 p.m. Pets are welcome to join in on the fun, and there will be a vegan-friendly menu available.
Want to see your event in the Reveille? Email information to editor@lsu.edu.
BR Succulent Workshop Baton Rouge Succulent Co.
Gather your friends and decorate a 12 inch mirror with preserved moss and leaves from 6 to 8 p.m. at a succulent workshop at Baton Rouge Succulent Co. Tickets are $65 and include moss materials. Attendees are welcome to bring their own beverage.
Off Ramp with Filmmaker Q&A
Manship Threater Shaw Center for the Arts
Enjoy a movie screening of the action comedy film “Off Ramp” Manship Theatre from 7:30 to 9 p.m. Wednesday. The movie’s filmmaker, Nathan Tape, will be available after the screening for a Q&A with the audience. Tickets are $12.50 and can be purchased here.
FRANCIS DINH / The Reveille
LSU Olinde Career Center sits Aug. 18, 2022, on the first floor of the LSU Student Union.
THE REVEILLE ARCHIVES
PHOTO
WELCOME WEEK
CARNIVAL
LSU Freshmen enjoy the Welcome Week Carnival on Saturday August 24th.
A
A
an
Freshmen wait for the carousel ride to begin. Mike rides the Ferris Wheel.
Stilt walker parades around the carnival.
Incoming students enjoy the sizzler ride.
Students ride around the carousel.
Freshmen students ride light-up bicycles.
Freshmen students gather for a group photo.
freshman holds up
“L” on a carnival ride.
Freshmen students dance.
pair of freshmen sit in a carnival ride.
A group of freshmen girls dance in yellow lighting.
SPORTS WHAT’D I MISS?
A crash course on all of LSU’s fall sport changes
BY JASON WILLIS & LIZZIE FALCETTI @JasonWillis4 & @lizziefalcetti
In college sports, even when the season ends, things never stop moving.
Especially with the transfer portal becoming the predominant form of team-building in recent years, you’d be forgiven if you’d missed some big news over the offseason.
In each of LSU’s fall sports, significant changes have been made as each team attempts to improve on last season’s performance.
Here’s an overview on what each team has been up to over the offseason:
Football
In a season rife with change for LSU football, one of the biggest changes comes off the field— or, rather, surrounding the field.
Tiger Stadium is undergoing renovation and will have a new video board that measures as one of the largest in the country.
In addition, the stadium has been outfitted with LED-light show capability. All of this is in honor of the stadium’s 100-year anniversary, which LSU will celebrate throughout the season.
As far as the team goes, LSU dismissed the entirety of its defensive staff and is now implementing a new scheme under coordinator Blake Baker.
The offense wasn’t immune to change, either, as the unit is ushering in a new starting quarterback in Garrett Nussmeier, a
FOOTBALL
new coordinator in Joe Sloan, and relying on different wideouts and running backs with the departure of Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas Jr. (NFL) and Logan Diggs (transfer to Ole Miss).
LSU will seemingly have incoming transfers starting at wide receiver (CJ Daniels from Liberty) and safety (Jardin Gilbert from Texas A&M), but there are a number of newcomers that will be in the mix.
Throughout fall camp, it’s become clear that LSU has much better depth across the defense than in the past and will be utilizing many different players.
Also new for the team is the announcement of linebacker Greg Penn III and running back Josh Williams as the recipients of the No. 18 jersey and linebacker Harold Perkins Jr. as the No. 7 recipient.
The No. 18 jersey typically represents the leaders of the team, while the No. 7 represents electric playmakers.
Women’s basketball
The women’s basketball team said goodbye to star forward Angel Reese, now making headlines in the WNBA with the Chicago Sky. Reese was a pivotal part of the revitalization of the program, but now the team turns over a new leaf.
Former starting point guard Hailey Van Lith has also departed the program, leaving the remaining LSU players to step into bigger roles.
Junior guard Flau’jae Johnson, sophomore guard Mikaylah Williams and senior forward Aneesah Morrow will likely lead the way.
Forward Sa’Myah Smith will also return from an ACL injury to shore up the front court. But, the biggest question for the team will be at the point guard position.
Junior Last Tear-Poa could hold it down, but LSU added three transfers—Kailyn Gilbert from Miami, Shayeann Day-Wilson from Arizona and Mjracle Sheppard from Mississippi State—who could all potentially play there.
Men’s basketball
LSU men’s basketball is coming off a solid season, sneaking into the National Invitational Tournament in head coach Matt McMahon’s second year.
Now, the team is expected to make the step into NCAA Tournament contention, despite three starters graduating.
McMahon added several new assistant coaches and brought in a number of potential impact players from the transfer portal in Jordan Sears, Cam Carter and Dji Bailey.
In addition, LSU had its highest-ranked recruiting class since 2021 with the No. 14 class, per 247Sports.
That class includes three fourstar recruits who each offer skillsets that could potentially impact the team immediately.
Consistent offense eluded LSU last year, but the team is hopeful it added enough supplementary
shooting and scoring and that junior forward Tyrell Ward is ready to step into a star role.
Women’s soccer LSU women’s soccer opened up its season with a 3-0 victory over South Alabama on August 15.
After coming off an 8-8-4 season in 2023 and finishing 10th in the SEC, the Tigers got to work in the offseason, bringing in new faces from around the country.
Defender Jazmin Ferguson, a junior transfer from East Carolina University, was named a top defender to watch this season by United Soccer Coaches. Shemade a statement in her first game with LSU by heading in a goal off a corner kick.
Ferguson was also named to the SEC Soccer Preseason Watchlist along with midfielder Ida Hermannsdóttir, forward Mollie Baker, defender Sydney Cheesman and forward/midfielder Ava Galligan.
Cheesman transferred to LSU in December from UNC and is a versatile defender who creates scoring opportunities. In her first game in the purple and gold, Cheesman assisted a goal and played 69 minutes.
Head coach Sian Hudson not only brought in strong transfers, but recruited ten freshmen in the 2028 class. Four of these freshmen played in LSU’s opening game.
FOOTBALL
BY JASON WILLIS @JasonWillis4
This article is the second part of a three-part series highlighting the most pivotal position groups heading into LSU’s 2024 season.
For the second edition of this series where I look at what position groups need to see the most improvement from last year, I predictably will stay on the defensive side of the ball – it was the obvious weak point of the team.
Specifically, the defensive line for LSU was pedestrian last year.
The Tigers ranked No. 43 in the nation in sacks and No. 65 in tackles for loss. In addition, LSU was ranked second-to-last in the Southeastern Conference in rushing yards allowed, No. 85 overall.
Though all of those stats have some relation to other units of the defense (and there certainly were a lot of missed tackles on running backs at the second and third levels last year that added to that rushing total), it starts with the defensive line and its impact at the point of attack.
The defensive line was frequently blown back by opposing offensive lines last year.
The unit seemed to struggle mightily with technique, with fans noting that the players seemed
Here’s how LSU plans to use new football helmet headsets
BY JASON WILLIS @JasonWillis4
In April, an NCAA rules panel approved a proposal that would allow college football teams to use wireless communication with players on the field through their helmet.
The move was a long time coming, but it was accelerated by the massive Michigan signstealing scandal where coaches studied opposing teams’ sideline signals to gain an advantage.
Now, those play calls will be transmitted not by yells or funny signs or hand signals from the sideline, but by headset.
The NFL has allowed coaches to communicate with their quarterback wirelessly since 1994 and started allowing one defensive player to have a headset in 2008.
College football, however, has lagged behind, so much so that quarterbacks often arrive in the NFL with trouble remembering
and communicating lengthy play calls.
The issue with implementing the rule was always financial. In February, Steve Shaw, the NCAA rules committee’s secretary-editor, estimated it might cost as much as $40,000 per school, money-smaller schools might not have to spare.
Head coach Brian Kelly expressed his support for the rule to ESPN in October, saying not having headset communication was “silly.”
“We have too many smart people that have looked at this and said we should be doing it and we haven’t taken the time to actually move it forward,” Kelly said to ESPN.
The NCAA went through headset trial runs in more than a dozen bowl games this past year with several different configurations (including matchups where three players per side had headsets).
Now that the rule is in place,
college football has taken a step into the future that will benefit its future pro athletes and potentially quicken the pace of the game.
Coaches can only communicate with one player on the field, and when 15 seconds remain on the play clock, communication cuts off.
How does LSU plan on utilizing the system?
“It just adds a different dimension,” offensive coordinator Joe Sloan said of the new headsets on Wednesday.
The prospect of instant communication means offenses can take the hurry-up offense to another level, forcing defenses to communicate at a breakneck pace where they might give something away or make a mistake the offense can capitalize on.
“What we’re going to use it for is to where we can attack people in different ways, at different tempos,” Sloan said. “Attack the defense operationally.”
So what happens at 15 seconds if the play isn’t in?
Sloan said LSU will have a contingency plan. The team has already practiced for the possibility; for some sessions, Sloan says the coaches will turn off helmet communication so the team doesn’t become too reliant on it.
In that sense, LSU and other teams will have to marry their existing systems with the new technology; the old signaling system needs to be in place for those final 15 second scenarios.
LSU is in a uniquely advantageous position to navigate these situations where communication breaks down because redshirt junior quarterback Garrett Nussmeier is so experienced with the team’s system.
“He’s played a lot of football and been here for a long time,” Sloan said. “He’s been used to getting plays in in that manner.”
Teams across the college football world are all starting at
ground zero and innovating how they’ll utilize the new system.
Sloan said LSU will be looking at what others do and generally leaning into the evolution of the concept as teams across the country find new ideas.
Other new rules for this college football season include allowing tablets for instant video review on the sideline and a twominute warning at the end of each half.
Sloan said coaches will use the tablets to reinforce their coaching principles where they see mistakes, but not to the point where it takes away from the intense gameday atmosphere. He was clear that LSU wanted to avoid “paralysis by analysis.”
As far as time management with the two-minute warnings, Sloan said he’d be deferring to Kelly on that.
“He’s awesome at that stuff, so I’ll let him figure that out,” Sloan said with a laugh.
D-LINE, from page 9
to line up so far from the line of scrimmage that it was difficult to have leverage or a good get-off.
In addition, the coaching staff was a rotating door. Former defensive line coach Jamar Cain took to the NFL, and his replacement, Jimmy Lindsey, dealt with health issues that kept him away from a significant role for most of the season.
That left John Jancek, originally meant to be the team’s special teams coordinator. When the unit struggled to begin the season, LSU brought in legendary defensive line coach Pete Jenkins to help as an analyst.
It worked to an extent; LSU allowed three of its four lowest rushing outputs after Jenkins joined and had multiple sacks in all but one of its final eight games after doing so just twice in the first five.
However, it wasn’t a long-term
FALL SPORTS, from page 9
This team, combined with awarded returners and promising recruits, will fight every week to prove their way to the SEC Tournament, aiming to go further than the first round.
Volleyball
LSU volleyball took a step back last season in head coach
solution, and LSU is still looking for more from the unit in this upcoming season.
What’s changed?
On the coaching side, Lindsey, Jancek and Jenkins are both now gone. To fill the void, LSU lured away Texas defensive line coach Bo Davis, who played at LSU from 1990 to 1992.
Davis’ intensity as a coach is a welcome change for the unit, which needed energetic leadership.
Head coach Brian Kelly said at SEC media days that bringing Davis into the fold was one of the most important additions of the offseason.
“The sales pitch was to rebuild the pride and tradition of LSU’s defensive line,” Kelly said.
“He wanted to be the architect of bringing that back.”
On the personnel side, LSU lost a slew of defensive tackles to the transfer portal. But, most significantly, it lost starters Maason
Tonya Johnson’s second year and had a number of players transfer out.
However, the important pieces like star sophomore outside hitter Jurnee Robinson are still in place.
The roster is also now almost entirely handpicked by Johnson, with just one player remaining from previous head coach Fran Flory’s tenure.
Smith and Mekhi Wingo to the NFL Draft. That decimated both the team’s depth and top-end talent at the position.
With the vacuum, LSU engaged in a very public search for defensive tackle help in the transfer portal and missed on several of its top targets.
In the end, the Tigers added Wisconsin transfer Gio Paez, Grand Valley State transfer Jay’viar Suggs and JUCO product Shone Washington.
LSU will also welcome freshman edge Gabriel Reliford and freshman defensive tackle Dominick McKinley, who will fight for rotational roles.
The Tigers will also have another subtraction from its defensive line in a sense. With Harold Perkins Jr. now a full-time linebacker, his spot on the edge will need to be filled.
The outlook
In fall practice, the LSU defensive line steadily improved.
That provides an opportunity for Johnson to have full ownership of this team, but also full accountability. This season is a pivotal one to prove that the program is headed in the right direction.
LSU added a large recruiting class that was ranked No. 19 in the country by PrepDig. Several freshmen are expected to com-
In the first few practices, LSU’s offensive line, the strength of the team, seemed to dominate in oneon-one drills.
Over time, that shifted, and the defensive line became much more competitive, even against LSU’s vaunted starting five.
The starting defensive line through fall camp was junior edge Sai’vion Jones, Paez, senior defensive tackle Jacobian Guillory and sophomore edge DaShawn Womack.
Jones had a disappointingly quiet season last year after a promising freshman year, and he’ll take on a leadership role along with Guillory, a fifth-year senior.
It seems likely that new players like Reliford and Suggs, as well as returnees Bradyn Swinson and Jalen Lee, will work their way into sizable rotation roles.
Players and coaches have spoken particularly highly of Reliford.
“The future is really bright [for him],” offensive tackle Will Camp -
pete for playing time, most prominently outside hitter Lainee Pyles and defensive specialist Aly Kirkhoff.
The Tigers also added several transfers, like graduate setter Bailey Ortega, who’ll provide muchneeded depth and leadership to a young team.
Golf
In addition to the above head-
bell said. “He’s one of the hardestworking kids on this team, out of any group.”
Generating a pass-rush is especially important for LSU this season, not only because the college football world has shifted heavily toward passing the ball, but because doing so would make the job easier for the Tigers’ questionable secondary.
Standout athletes like Womack and Reliford, who can burst to the quarterback, will help those efforts.
At the same time, the SEC has several teams like Ole Miss, Arkansas and Auburn, who continue to be running-oriented and putting together a solid run defense will be important.
The defensive line is likely to be a force for LSU this season. The unit has looked good in the fall, and there are few offensive lines it’ll face that will be better than the one it sees in practice every day.
lines, the men’s golf team also hired the lone incoming head coach of LSU’s fall sports in Jake Amos.
Amos was formerly at East Tennessee State, where he led the program to four Southern Conference championships and four appearances at the NCAA championships, including a 12th place finish in 2024.
S T U D Y S T U D Y A B R O A D A B R O A D F A I R F A I R Wh e r e W i ll Yo u G e aux? Sept. 19 11AM-3PM Union
Your Background Doesn’t Define You or Your Future Success
AMYRI’S VANTAGE
AMYRI JONES @acamelliasssss
As a senior at LSU, I can say that my college experience would’ve been more amazing had I known what I know now. Don’t get me wrong, I’m on a wonderful track and am looking forward to life after college. However, I’m also aware that if I’d received the advice that I will be giving in this article a few years ago, I would’ve made different choices.
For starters, I’m a student from a relatively low-income background. While this wasn’t a hindrance to me since I was able to have my tuition covered, it still played a pivotal role in my college experience.
I just didn’t realize it until now. All college students are given the same talk, “make good grades and get involved on campus,” which is great advice. However, I’d also add that you should network and pursue a degree in a field that is constantly growing, has ample opportunities and pays well, especially if you are also from a lowerincome household and/or a firstgeneration college student.
If you have a similar story to mine, you should look at your college education as an investment in yourself. College is your way out of whatever hardships you may be dealing with. So because of this, you can either go hard or go home. It’s a no-brainer, but some people forget this due to hopelessness, lack of concentration or simply not caring enough.
In regard to majors, some may tell you what majors you should and shouldn’t pursue due to not having a solid career post-grad. I’m not here to tell you what to major in, because that choice is yours to make. But I do think you should do extensive research to find a career path that meets your standards, regardless of what other people may say.
The last thing you want to do is waste four to five years of your life and lots of money just to end up with no career because you didn’t strategize well. Furthermore, it’s extremely important that you network as early as possible, maintain an excellent GPA and get involved on campus. LSU offers so many resources for students to excel. So, there’s no reason for anyone to feel like they’re behind or unsure about
what they want to do.
As for other opportunities in college, I also recommend studying abroad. Studying abroad can open you up to a world of opportunity. It can be expensive, I won’t lie, but from one first-gen student to another, it’s possible. You can apply for scholarships (which is what I did) to help fund your trip. This once in a lifetime opportunity will help you have an optimistic outlook on your life. This kind of optimism will breed motivation which turns into hard work, which can then lead to success. Your financial situation may be a hurdle that you have to hop over, but it is not a hindrance.
College is supposed to be fun, and it’s especially fun when you attend a university like LSU, but you have to remember why you’re here.
Maybe you want to pave the way for your siblings. Perhaps you want to create generational wealth. Or maybe you just want to prove that it’s possible to succeed even without any handouts. Whatever your motivation is, never forget it and put in the work.
Last but not least, you will make mistakes, we all do. However, some mistakes can be avoided if you make wise decisions. Have fun, work hard, get rest, network and dream big. Your upbringing and current situation is just one part of your story. The other chapters all depend on the decisions you make today, so why not write a bestseller?
Amyri Jones is a 22-year-old digital advertising and religious studies senior from Baton Rouge.
An LSU Sophomore’s Guide to Surviving Your Freshman Year
GARRETT’S GAVEL
GARRETT MCENTEE @9are_bear
Welcome home, Tigers. School is officially in session. I may only be a sophomore but I have lived many lives during my time at LSU. Spoiler alert. I’ve failed most of those lives.
College is hard for everyone. For most people it’s easier in some ways and harder in others. However, you’ll always meet the occasional blessed individual who seemingly holds the whole weight of the world on their shoulders with a joyous smile. For others, like perhaps… me, everything about college is hard.
Every moment is an uphill battle. Except the hill is an active volcano, the battle is like rolling a ball of used needles and the path is molten lava. Not joking. Specifically, freshman year is extremely hard because so much is different. You’re adjusting to life away from home (even if you’re not particularly fond of home). You’re getting used to an entirely different academic setting. You’re making new friends and losing old ones. You get the gist.
I did all of those things and more. It sucked. My mental health tanked and I wasn’t “locked in” as the kids say, aKa my grades
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sucked. My grades were so bad that I had several CATS holds and even had to appeal to my college to remain in my major. Suffice to say, I was very successful at failing.
I struggled to find motivation to complete my work and I fell into the trap of trying to make friends in quantity over quality. I tried to impress that expanding list of friends, which made it even more difficult to focus and muster up the energy to begin my schoolwork. Let alone really take care of myself.
But fear not, I’ve learned these lessons the hard way so you don’t have to.
First, you are at a university to graduate. Be mindful of that. It took me many frustrations for that to sink in.
When it comes to your grades they are paramount. They don’t have to be all A’s, but at least try to pass. If you feel like you aren’t properly equipped to handle a class say something! So much grief and embarrassment can be saved by just asking for help. People at LSU are literally paid to help you, and if you talk to someone and it’s not particularly helpful, then keep talking to people until something works.
There’s nothing wrong with withdrawing from a class if you
truly have no hope left. However, make sure to go into your Moodle and calculate the scores you need to make to remain in good academic standing before making any potentially rash decisions.
“But Garrett, school isn’t only about getting good grades. It’s about the experience too,” I hear you say. Duh. Which brings me to my next bit of advice: have fun.
Yes, you are a student, and yes, your grades are incredibly important. But burnout is very real, and it brings students who are much older and wiser to their knees. So remember to test your limits, but also break out of your comfort zone.
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The Reveille (USPS 145-800) is written, edited and produced solely by students of Louisiana State University. The Reveille is an independent entity of the Office of Student Media within the Manship School of Mass Communication. Signed opinions are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the editor, The Reveille or the university. Letters submitted for publication should be sent via e-mail to editor@lsu.edu or delivered to B-39 Hodges Hall. They must be 400 words or less. Letters must provide a contact phone number for verification purposes, which will not be printed. The Reveille reserves the right to edit letters and guest columns for space consideration while preserving the original intent. The Reveille also reserves the right to reject any letter without notification of the author. Writers must include their full names and phone numbers. The Reveille’s editor in chief, hired every semester by the LSU Student Media Board, has final authority on all editorial decisions.
However, if something seems like an objectively bad idea, maybe wait a bit and really think about it before you choose to act on it. This is especially important if it involves substances.
Yes, LSU is a bit of a party school (even though most colleges are party schools). But that doesn’t mean you should allow the allure of a good time to damage your shining future.
My absolute best advice I can give to you is so simple and effective it’s gonna make this article’s length seem like a waste of ink. The best advice to ever exist for any college student to ask questions.
Email, call, email, call, meet in-person and then email and call again for good measure. Do not leave a shadow of a doubt about anything, especially if you’re on any form of probation or have any holds on your student account.
Remember to prioritize your schooling whilst not losing yourself to academic hellfire (burnout). You can make it, and you can thrive with a smile on your face if you remember to ask for help.
Wishing you all (and myself) a banger of a year, and to everyone in my boat: the ones recovering from bad choices they made last year, we’ve got this. Probably...?
Garrett McEntee is an 19-year old English sophomore from Benton.
Quote of the Week
“And suddenly you just know it’s time to start something new and trust the magic of the beginning.” Meister Eckhart
Taylor Hamilton Opinion Editor
JACOB CHASTANT / The Reveille
