GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor
If LSU football coach Brian Kelly is looking for someone to motivate his team going into South Carolina on Saturday (6:45 p.m., SEC Network), or perhaps before Vanderbilt, Texas A&M and Alabama in the coming weeks, the man might be former LSU nose tackle Breiden Fehoko.
But Kelly better not mind player shaming, because Fehoko – a key player on the Tigers’ defensive line in the 2019 national championship, 15-0 season – lets it loose.
Fehoko, an undrafted former reserve defensive lineman in the NFL from 2020-22 with the Los Angeles Chargers and Pittsburgh from 2023 until his release amid injuries last August, does not mince words. He blitzed the Tigers, so to speak, on his recent podcast titled “A Message to LSU Football.”
And he continued that theme on Tiger Rag Radio Tuesday night.
Former LSU DT Breiden Fehoko says Tigers are painfully not physical;https://t.co/RF9Z4IfSkY
— Glenn Guilbeau (@SportBeatTweet) October 8, 2025
For those of you who can’t take criticism of your beloved Tigers, or for those of you who can or are on the team, be ready.
“I’m always bleeding Purple & Gold proudly,” Fehoko, a native of Honolulu, Hawaii, began on Tiger Rag Radio and then issued a disclaimer. “Some of it may be more a little bit emotional than logical.”
So here goes.
“As an alum and someone who’s bled the Purple & Gold and poured his blood, sweat and tears into the program, man when I watch LSU, it’s almost painful to watch, just because of the product I’m seeing,” Fehoko, an LSU communications graduate now trying to build a media brand, said. “When I see LSU, it’s hard. I don’t see any fight. I don’t see a team that wants to go out and dominate people.”
Great in-your-face, reality check column here on Brian Kelly and LSU football that could serve as your third cup of coffee today. @racertodd https://t.co/nwvDBjQ8yH
— Glenn Guilbeau (@SportBeatTweet) October 4, 2025
And Fehoko is talking about the No. 11 team in the country that is 4-1 on the season and 1-1 in the Southeastern Conference with its only loss on the road by five points to an Ole Miss team (5-0, 3-0 SEC) that is ranked No. 4. And for context, he did play on probably the greatest LSU team in history in 2019 with one of its best offenses in history (along with the 2023 team) in an era that was pre-Name, Image & Likeness and NCAA Transfer Portal.
“Everything has leveled the playing field now more than it has ever been,” he said. “I get that. But we still talk in our 2019 group chats, and those guys are disapointed as well. The product we see on Saturdays – it’s terrible. It’s sometimes unwatchable when you have a premier defense with what Blake Baker (defensive coordinator) has been doing, and then you go on offense and you lay an egg like they’ve been doing. They barely put up 20 points against Louisiana Tech (23-7 win). D.J. Lagway (Florida quarterback) threw five interceptions, and they put up 20 points (in a 20-10 win).”
And he went on.
“I see no identity when I watch LSU. I just don’t see fight,” he said. “I see a team that is paid for ($18 million roster), and not built up. When I watch LSU against Ole Miss, the score was close. But if you actually watch the game, Ole Miss dominated us for a lot of that game.”
The Rebels outgained LSU, 480 yards to 254, and blew scoring opportunities with a lost fumble and an interception.
“Is it something you can fix? No, these are things you fix in January through July,” he said. “You can’t fix these things in the season. With LSU’s schedule coming up, to me the only game that’s is possibly a win is South Carolina (and Western Kentucky). I hope they prove me wrong, and it gets thrown back in my face. But I don’t see LSU making it past seven, eight wins this year. That’s just culture. That’s just identity. It’s painful to watch.”
Fehoko did bring up the fact that the Tigers in 2017, a season in which he red-shirted, did lose to heavy underdog Troy, 24-21, in Tiger Stadium in former coach Ed Orgeron’s first full season as coach. That team rebounded to finish 9-4 and 6-2 in the SEC.
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“But you expect to see more from LSU, especially in year four under Brian Kelly,” he said. “In year three under Ed Orgeron, we went 15-0 and won a national championship.”
For context, though, Orgeron inherited a much more talented team and full roster from fired coach Les Miles four games into the 2016 season. LSU was 9-3 overall and 5-3 in the SEC in 2015. After the 2021 season, Kelly inherited a team with just 39 players on scholarship after a 6-7 season and a 5-5 mark in 2020.
Fehoko was asked about LSU’s troubled offensive line and a running game that is 117th in the nation with 104.8 yards a game after putting up 57 yards on 22 carries at Ole Miss.
“Man, I just see no physicality,” he said. “I don’t see guys trying to finish guys after the whistle. When I watch LSU, I just want to see a team like, go bury somebody five yards down the field after the whistle. If you watch 2019, go watch Damien Lewis’ tape. Watch Adrian Magee (both offensive lineman that year). Adrian de-cleated guys. That’s the mentality. Not every play is going to be perfect, but my goodness, go out and kill somebody. Not literally, but go put your will against somebody. This is grown-man football. You play for LSU. There’s a Tiger on the side of your helmet. That’s what LSU’s standard is all about.”
LSU does have five new starters on its offensive line, including two freshmen who have started and two sophomores.
LSU defense had much to do with the loss at Ole Miss, too. https://t.co/4Dzm7zWZtI
— Glenn Guilbeau (@SportBeatTweet) October 1, 2025
“When I see the offensive line, it’s too pretty,” he said. “It’s a lot of guys who are afraid to get their hands dirty. It pains me because Brian Kelly is an offensive line guy. You look at the offensive lines he was able to produce at Notre Dame. I’d expect something to click at LSU. But it hasn’t. And the product doesn’t look good.”
LSU’s approach with the offensive line and the running game has often been a finesse attack of misdirection runs and counters with screen passes and other short routes this season.
“Getting the running game going is a relative term for me in terms of efficiency,” Kelly said. “You don’t want to be one-dimensional, but you want to be able t run with some success like we did against Ole Miss late in the game. How do you carry that to where we’re going to bludgeon people up? That’s not who we are right now.”
But when LSU had four future drafted offensive linemen starting last season, including fourth pick Will Campbell at left tackle, the Tigers also did not run well, finishing 107th nationally with 116 yards a game.
BREIDEN FEHOKO: “WE NEED TO FIND SOMEBODY (A COACH) WHO CAN DO IT”
“You know what that tells me? That’s just talent,” Fehoko said of the 2024 offensive line. “That’s just guys having the pure skill and will to just be talented. Now, from a coaching perspective, if you’re not able to put those pieces together, and build the Mona Lisa, or a Picasso, then, my goodness, we need to find somebody who can do it. Because we did it with less talent in 2019 (on the offensive line), and we painted a pretty good Picasso, if you ask me.”
Guard Damien Lewis and center Lloyd Cushenberry were third round picks from the 2019 LSU team in the 2020 NFL Draft. And 2019 offensive lineman Ed Ingram went in the second round in 2022 with ’19 linemen Austin Deculus and Chasen Hines going in the sixth round.
Kelly may not have heard Fehoko’s comments yet, but he has heard the rumblings about his offensive line. So has offensive line coach Brad Davis, who has had that title since 2021 – before Kelly. Kelly did bring in Alex Atkins after last season as run game coordinator. Atkins was Florida State’s offensive line coach from 2020-24 and offensive coordinator there from 2022-24.
“We need to have a running game that keeps you honest,” Kelly said. “Fair box runs we’ve got to be better at, and we’ve got to be able to run the ball efficiently when you give us that look. If you want to play two-high safety and give us fair numbers, we’ve got to be efficient at running the ball And we will be eventually.”
Eventually is obviously not working for Fehoko.
He was asked if he would accept an invitation to speak to LSU’s team.
“I’d like to,” he said.
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