By KACE KIESCHNICK, Tiger Rag Staff Reporter
LSU has a long tradition of talented true freshmen making a big impact in their first season on campus.
From running back Dalton Hilliard’s All-Southeastern Conference 1982 season to cornerback Derek Stingley Jr.’s 2019 All-American year and all the Tyrann Mathieus, Kevin Faulks and LaRon Landrys, the all-star true freshman has become a trademark of the LSU football program.
And through the first four games of 2026, it already looks like another name will be added to the list.
Defensive tackle Deuce Geralds has made a massive difference in his first season as a Tiger, and he’s done it at one of the hardest positions for a freshman to play. In fact, he is the first LSU true freshman to start the first four games of a season since defensive lineman Anthony “Booger” McFarland in 1995.
“Deuce has done great, obviously, as a true freshman,” coach Lane Kiffin said after LSU’s 35-6 win over Texas A&M on Saturday. “There aren’t many stories like that out there anymore, because if you think about it, everyone’s portalized. So, there’s not many spots that aren’t filled. You ee less and less of that around the country. So, Deuce is really unique, done a great job.”
Geralds came to Baton Rouge from Collins Hill High School in Suwanee, Georgia, where he became the state’s all-time prep sack leader. He led his school in tackles (91), tackles for loss (37) and sacks (16) his senior season and was considered a consensus four-star prospect, rated as highly as the No. 2 defensive lineman in the country by ESPN and No. 3 by Rivals.
He immediately made an impression on his coaches and teammates at LSU. Geralds pushed for time with the starters during spring practice and secured his first-team spot in fall camp.
“He’s been an absolute animal, but you see that since day one, even in the offseason,” junior linebacker Davhon Keys said of Geralds on Tuesday. “In the off-season every day, he’s coming to work hard. He’s showing up early. He’s doing the extra work. So, it comes to no surprise to me that he’s doing what he’s doing. He showed it since day one, and now he’s just finally getting to put it on the big screen.”
Eye-popping freshmen who make an immediate impact are usually allowed to do so because of their amazing physical traits. Whether they have uncharacteristic size for their age, incomparable speed or immense strength, often an undeniable athletic attribute makes up for freshman inexperience and mental errors.
But for Geralds, it wasn’t size, speed or strength that made him impossible to keep off the field.
It was dedication, maturity and technique.
“For him to come and play at the level that he plays at, and practice the way that he does, it says a lot about his coaching in high school,” Kiffin said during spring practice. “It says a lot about his upbringing with his parents, because that’s very unique to be able to handle all that. He’s going to be a great player here, and I really enjoy coaching him too, because of his mindset.”
Geralds turns 19 this month. He is listed at 6-foot-1, 285 pounds, but he has not lined up against a starting interior offensive lineman listed at less than 300 pounds this season. In his last outing versus Texas A&M, he faced center Mark Nabou Jr. (6-4, 307 pounds, age 23) and guards Wilkin Formby (6-7, 320, age 21) and Trovon Baugh (6-4, 335, age 22). Geralds’ opponents are often bigger than he is, have a longer reach and possess years of experience in collegiate practice and weightlifting programs.
Despite any perceived disadvantages, Geralds has not only earned rare playing time as a true freshman on the interior defensive line, he has blossomed into one of the most important defenders on a front that had real question marks coming into the season at LSU.
He has racked up four sacks – double the amount McFarland had in his entire freshman season – and made 13 tackles and forced a fumble through his first month as a college football player. His two-sack performance against Texas A&M earned him SEC Freshman of the Week honors. He was the first non-quarterback to win the award this season.
Geralds ranks No. 11 in the nation in total sacks. No other freshman is in the top 50. He has played more snaps than any other tackle on an LSU defense that ranks first in the nation in sacks (4.75 per game), second in rushing yards allowed (47.5 yards per game) , third in total yards allowed (226.8 yards per game), No. 7 in tackles for loss (8.2 per game) and No. 26 in scoring defense (15.5 per game).
Keys praised Geralds and the rest of the defensive line for what they have meant to LSU’s defense.
“They’re taking up doubles,” Keys said. “They’re getting off the doubles, getting in the back field, and we’re going through untouched half the time. It really makes my life a lot easier.”
McFarland finished his freshman campaign with 73 tackles, 12 tackles for loss and two sacks in 12 games. As apparently a more proficient pass rusher than McFarland, who was a run stuffer, Geralds is on pace to end the year with 39 tackles, 13 tackles for loss and 13 sacks. That would nearly double the LSU freshman sack record of 7.5 set by Harold Perkins Jr. in 2022.
Of course, there is no guarantee Geralds’ production continues at this rate for eight more games, but there is also no assurance the young star cannot continue to improve.
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