LSU Edge Rusher Dylan Carpenter Wants To Pick Up Where He Left Off Last Season

By KACE KIESCHNICK, Tiger Rag Staff Reporter

While transfer edge rushers Princewill Umanmielen and Jordan Ross and five-star freshman Lamar Brown make headlines in a new-look defensive end room, one familiar face could also play a significant role.

Redshirt junior Dylan Carpenter is coming off his most productive season as a Tiger. He played in 10 games as a rotational defensive end in 2025 and made total 10 tackles with two sacks.

In addition to Umanmielen and Ross, LSU defensive coordinator Blake Baker welcomed Sterling Lucas as the new defensive line coach and Lou Spanos as pass rush specialist. Lucas spent the last four seasons coaching South Carolina’s edge rushers, and Spanos was a defensive analyst under coach Lane Kiffin at Ole Miss the last three seasons with 21 years of NFL coaching experience before that.

Carpenter said their guidance has helped him refine his technique, while new head strength and conditioning coach Nick Savage has helped him get in the best shape of his career.

“This is like the best, conditioning-wise, I’ve been in a long time,” he said. “I feel stronger than ever; I feel faster than ever, and they really prepped us very well to go into the season with a lot of confidence in ourselves.”

#LSU Blake Baker had high praise for redshirt junior edge Dylan Carpenter Friday.

“Dylan Carpenter is a guy that has absolutely been outstanding… I can’t be more complimentary to him and Lamar Brown”

The St. Amant, La. native has running with the 2nd team with Brown. pic.twitter.com/ipUYfx8GVA

— Tripp Buhler (@TrippBuhler) August 19, 2026

And Carpenter is not just learning from the coaching staff. In his time as a Tiger since 2024, he has played behind veteran defensive ends like Jack Pyburn, Bradyn Swinson, Saivion Jones and Masson Smith.

“Last year, I just really focused on watching the older guys, see how they do it,” Carpenter said. “They’ve been around. They had a lot more snaps than me, so I learned a lot from them and learned how important our role is on the team, and how we can really control the game at the edge.”

Carpenter was a three-star recruit out of St. Amant High in 2023. The local product said he hopes the 2026 Tigers can emulate the storied LSU teams he grew up watching.

“I would like to try to be more like the 2019 team and just have that same energy that they had and just bring it to every game and be a dominant football team,” he said. “With this whole new roster, I believe that we’re in the best position to do that.”