GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor
Two suspects recently arrested for second-degree murder and their four assault weapons found their way into LSU freshman running back JT Lindsey’s on-campus dormitory apartment in recent weeks.
But LSU football coach Brian Kelly is not as concerned with the security – or lack thereof – at the Nicholson Gateway Apartments on LSU’s campus, where many of his players live, as he is about the people with whom his players, such as Lindsey, stay in contact.
Lindsey, 18, was arrested last week on felony charges of accessory to the murder of Corey Brooks, 17, in Alexandria last May because Lindsey allegedly unlawfully housed the two suspects wanted for that murder after the fact. A 2025 signee from Alexandria Senior High, Lindsey has been suspended indefinitely from the football team by LSU since his Aug. 8 arrest. He was bailed out of East Baton Rouge Parish Prison shortly after the arrest.
The suspects charged with second-degree murder of Brooks, an Alexandria native, are friends of Lindsey – Shernell Jacobs, 17, and Keldrick Jordan, 18, of Alexandria. Both were arrested on Aug. 4 by U.S. Marshals while in Lindsey’s apartment in the Riverbend Building of the Gateway Apartments.
Jacobs and Jordan were both seen with Lindsey entering and exiting the dorm apartment multiple times and using Lindsey’s LSU identification card to access the building without Lindsey, according to the arrest report on Lindsey. The U.S. Marshals also found Lindsey’s ID on Jacobs at the time of his arrest. Throughout much of the two suspects’ stay in Lindsey’s apartment, Lindsey was with his teammates at a hotel that the team used through part of preseason practices that began on July 30.
And, according to WAFB Channel 9 television investigative reporter Chris Nakamoto, authorities found four assault weapons in Lindsey’s room – two AR-15 rifles, and two semi-automatic pistols (a Draco and a Grock) with his LSU teammates in nearby rooms.
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“Well, this is all about who is in your circle,” Kelly said at a preseason practice press conference Friday when asked by Tiger Rag about the security at the apartments that house his players and other LSU students.
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“I’m not concerned about our university and security and such,” Kelly said, commenting on Lindsey’s situation for the first time. “This is about who do you give access to in your circle? Your circle of influence has got to be based upon people that you trust, people that know you, and you know them. And that circle really needs to be evaluated by some players and some individuals. It’s not just players. It’s anybody that can gain access through what you have. And if you’re going to give that up to somebody, it’s going to allow access to areas that they shouldn’t be in.”
With many student-athletes now receiving large sums of money since 2021 through Name, Image & Likeness and more recently via revenue sharing, Kelly said players need to be that much more cautious.
“This is really about individuals understanding, and in particular players today,” Kelly said. “I mean, they’re making revenue-share money. They’re targets, too. People want to ingratiate themselves with people that are making substantial amounts of money. So, you’ve got to be careful.”
Kelly emphasized players must trust their contacts and associations with the best choices for such being family and mentors.
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“My point is this. We’re in an age where you’ve got to keep your circle really close,” he said. “It’s got to be family members. It’s got to be people that you elicit information from in a manner of mentoring you. You start to widen that circle because somebody said nice things to you on Twitter, buyer beware. And that’s really the message to our team.”
Asked if he and/or his staff have heard from parents of other players concerned about their safety, Kelly said no.
“I have not firsthand, but I’m a parent,” Kelly said. “I’m concerned about it. And so generally what prompts me is not what is other people’s opinions. It’s my own. My own is, I want to help educate these guys about who’s in your circle. And you have to be very, very thoughtful, and it’s an area that they haven’t really have had to be vigilant on. They have to be much more vigilant about that.”
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