These four LSU Tigers standouts all finished with at least a 90 grade against the Clemson Tigers.
The LSU Tigers had as easy a win as they could have hoped for against the Clemson Tigers on Saturday night, cruising past them by a score of 51-10 and ushering in the Lane Kiffin era.
It was a dominant performance all-around, so it's not too surprising to see their players being praised for the game. Four players in particular accomplished something impressive: a 90+ Pro Football Focus grade. That essentially means that they were pretty much only doing good things out on the field.
Here are the four who received the high marks:
EDGE Jordan Ross - 94.0
Ross never saw his five-star potential realized while with the Tennessee Volunteers, already having a better single-game performance for LSU than he ever did at his previous stop. In this game alone, he had a pick-six and a sack in quick succession, then came back for another dominant TFL rep soon after. He looks to be a picture-perfect fit for this Blake Baker thanks to his athletic ceiling. Having more talent around him will help free him up as well.
LB TJ Dottery - 91.3
As highly touted an addition as he was, Dottery never finished a season above a 58.3 grade on defense. He was nearly perfect in this game. He had five pressures rushing the passer, a QB hit and four tackles. In coverage, he was targeted twice and allowed no catches with one breakup. The only blemish was a missed tackle, which was a big issue for him last year with a 15.1% missed tackle rate. If he can clean that up over a larger sample size, then LSU would have two complete packages at linebacker. Still, it's arguably the best room in the nation.
WR Phillip Wright III - 90.6
There's a famous phrase in football: you can't teach speed. There is a reason that Wright is the only one who stayed in Baton Rouge through the coaching change, and that is his legs. He has game-breaking speed, which was showcased in his big receiving touchdown late in the match. He's young and might not see the field much, but he can also make it hard for the coaches to take him off if he keeps getting opportunities.
QB Sam Leavitt - 90.3
Leavitt's big mistake came right away on the interception. It wasn't all his fault, but it was still a bad pass that made it hard on his receiver. Should've been caught, but it wasn't easy.
Outside of that, he was solid through the air. On the ground, he looked back to his 2024 form and finally back to health. It was his efficiency as a runner that helped his grade stay high. The Tigers haven't seen both an elite running back and dual threat quarterback in the same season. It could be very dangerous for opposing defenses.
