8/12/26 5:30 am CT

Good morning, Tiger Fans,

Yesterday we shared a video of quarterback Sam Leavitt’s time with the media, and I heard from many of you who enjoyed it. Those clips are a great way to get a feel for a player and what makes him tick. With that in mind, today we’ll share a bit from two other players’ time with the media — safety Ty Benefield and center Braelin Moore. But first, a quick word on LSU’s fifth practice, which took place yesterday evening.

There are two noteworthy takeaways from yesterday’s practice. 

One is that the team practiced in full pads and increased the physicality. That increase in intensity was expected and will only increase this week, especially when the team scrimmages for the first time this Saturday. 

The second takeaway is that wide receiver Winston Watkins, who had been emerging as the top candidate to start as the slot receiver, was not seen out there for the second day in a row. We hope to find out why on Thursday when Coach Lane Kiffin holds his post-practice presser.

The team will get a break today with just a walk-through, and then return to the Ponderosa Thursday morning. I plan to make it out there to give you a first-hand report.

Now, back to the player interviews…

Ty Benefield was one of the players who spoke to the media earlier this week, and I really enjoyed his interview. Having never heard him speak, I’m not sure what I was expecting, but what I heard was a well-spoken, very positive leader who seems to have a good head on his shoulders. He carries himself in a way that’s not arrogant, but is extremely confident — the kind of kid you love having in the locker room.

Benefield talked about how much he’s grown to love Louisiana and LSU’s fan base, including a funny story about fans defending him in a TikTok comment section after he posted something positive that didn’t land well with everyone. “I like sharing positivity with the world,” he said, “especially with other college athletes. There’s a lot of naysayers out there, but I love the fans — they defended me, so I love them.” He sees that as its own kind of leadership.

He’s also genuinely excited about what awaits him in Tiger Stadium. “I try not to look too far ahead, because I like to be where my feet are,” he said. “But I’d be lying if I said I don’t have dreams about games in Death Valley. I just can’t wait to play in that stadium.”

On the defense as a whole, Benefield is very optimistic. “The potential of this defense is to be the No. 1 defense, and we have that ability,” he said. ”It’s just more about working on the small details.” He credited going against LSU’s fast-tempo offense every day in practice for sharpening the defense, and had nothing but praise for Leavitt, calling him “an unbelievable leader” with real swagger.

As for his own game, creating turnovers is what drives him most. “I want that ball,” he said. “I want to go pick that ball off, any chance I get. And I will, you know, when that time comes. I’m putting in a lot of work to do that. And you guys will see that.”

Braelin Moore also addressed the media (see video), and it was great to hear from him. The center position, in my opinion, is one of the most important and underappreciated positions on the team. The center is responsible for reading defenses and getting the other linemen lined up. That’s no small task, and it’s even more challenging in a tempo offense predicated on speed.

Moore made clear why he came back for a fifth season. ”There’s still a lot on the table that I desire to go get — a national championship, a Joe Moore Award. That’s why I came back, just trying to go get those things.” He backed that up with genuine confidence in this year’s group and the veteran coaching around him. “We’re surrounded by tons of high ball knowledge — (Offensive Line) Coach (Eric) Wolford, Coach (James) Cregg, who was the O-line coach here in 2019 when they won the Joe Moore Award, and Coach (Na’Shan) Goddard played in the NFL and won two Super Bowls.” Goddard, by the way, is on the staff as an offensive analyst. 

Moore also made it clear that the switch to a no-huddle, tempo-based offense wasn’t an easy adjustment at first. “I’d definitely say it was kind of rough in the spring, going from a huddle team to being on the ball as fast as we can,” he said. “But there’s so many advantages — the defense has to play on their heels every play. They don’t know what we’re going to run because there’s so much motion going on.”

As for his own development, Moore said the biggest jump he’s made is in his leadership. With so much roster turnover, Moore made a point of sitting down with Coach Wolford early on and telling him he wanted to lead the group. He also spoke highly of the offense’s potential under Kiffin and Charlie Weis Jr., calling it one of the most explosive he’s been a part of, and praised the freshmen defensive linemen he goes against in practice every day, singling out Deuce Geralds, Richard Anderson and Lamar Brown as more advanced than some fourth-year players he’s faced in his career.

We’ve spoken a lot about that trio of defensive linemen, but it should be noted that when coach Kiffin spoke about the young, talented D-line, he included freshman Trenton Henderson in that group. Henderson gets overshadowed by those others, but let’s not forget that he was ranked as highly as the nation’s No. 8 edge rusher and could be an impactful player this year considering LSU’s need for depth at the edges. 

Turning to basketball, the LSU women’s program announced its 2026-27 schedule, which is set to begin on Nov. 2 against Southeastern Louisiana.

Kim Mulkey returns for her sixth season at the helm coming off another Sweet 16 run — and at this point, that’s just what we’ve come to expect. She brings back a roster that’s stacked, headlined by First-Team All-SEC guard Mikaylah Williams, Sixth Woman of the Year MiLaysia Fulwiley, and Kate Koval. Three sophomores from last year’s No. 1-ranked recruiting class — ZaKiyah Johnson, Grace Knox and Meghan Yarnevich — also return after strong debut seasons. Add in portal additions Jada Williams (Iowa State), Laila Reynolds (Florida) and Chloe Larry (Tennessee Tech), plus true freshman Lola Lampley and international signee Noa Morro out of Spain, and it’s hard not to like where this program stands heading into the fall.

The non-conference slate includes the usual Thanksgiving trip to Fort Myers, Florida (this time against Villanova and NC State), a road matchup with North Carolina in the SEC/ACC Challenge, and a mid-December showdown with UConn at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville — the first meeting between these two blueblood programs since 2016, which is hard to believe given how big both have become. LSU opens SEC play at Auburn on December 31 and will play each conference opponent once, with the lone exception being a home-and-home against Auburn.

The SEC Tournament returns to Greenville, South Carolina in March, with Selection Sunday set for March 14. And as someone who recently vacationed in Greenville, I can tell you it’s a great city to visit.

Alright, now let’s jump back to football and close out with our countdown to LSU’s season-opener, which can’t get here soon enough. 

COUNTDOWN TO GAME DAY: 24 DAYS

With 24 days on the countdown clock, today we remember a player from the not-so-distant past who wore the number better than anyone else. Of course, I’m talking about cornerback Derek Stingley Jr., who began his LSU career in No. 24 before switching to No. 7 as a junior — and who, fittingly, has gone back to wearing No. 24 in the NFL.

I’ll keep this one short and sweet and just rattle off a few points that speak to what a generational player he was. Stingley came to LSU as the No. 1 recruit in the nation and immediately lived up to the hype, becoming the Tigers’ best cornerback the moment he set foot on campus as an early enrollee in January 2019. Eight months later, he staked his claim as the best cornerback in the country and was named a consensus All-American.

Stingley continued to amaze throughout his time as a Tiger, earning consensus All-American honors as a sophomore and almost certainly would have again as a junior had a foot injury not cut his season short after just two games.

After his time as a Tiger, Stingley was picked No. 3 overall in the 2022 NFL Draft by the Houston Texans, making him and DE Tyson Jackson (2009) the highest-picked defenders in LSU history. He’s now a two-time Pro Bowler and two-time First-Team All-Pro, and in March 2025, he signed a three-year, $90 million extension that briefly made him the highest-paid cornerback in NFL history before Sauce Gardner topped him a few months later. Earlier this year, the Texans restructured that deal into a five-year, $113 million package to create salary cap flexibility, further cementing him as one of the cornerstones of Houston’s defense.

Just for fun, check out Stingley’s LSU highlights from 2019. Just phenomenal!

That’s it for now, but please note that our Ticket Exchange has been updated. And for more good reads, see our Extra Points and Related Websites.