By GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor
LSU’s two returning backs from the 2025 season – Caden Durham and Harlem Berry – played 37 games between them coming into 2026.
Durham, a 5-foot-9, 200-pound versatile junior from Duncanville High in Duncanville, Texas, near Fort Worth, had rushed for 1,258 yards and nine touchdowns with 351 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Berry (5-10, 187), a sophomore from St. Martin’s in Metairie, was a five-star prospect for the class of 25 and the No. 1-ranked running back in the nation.
Neither got into LSU’s 51-10 romp over Clemson on Saturday until late in the game with Durham gaining three yards on three carries and Berry getting nine on four rushes.
Apparently, no one else in the SEC played over the weekend:https://t.co/aO8SZCtZYw
— Glenn Guilbeau (@SportBeatTweet) September 8, 2026
Dilin Jones, an unheralded redshirt sophomore transfer from Wisconsin, had all of 388 yards in two seasons and 10 games for the Badgers. He was the No. 944 portal prospect and No. 75 running back when he signed with the Tigers, but LSU coach Lane Kiffin saw something. Jones was the No. 139 prospect in the country and No. 10 running back coming out of Our Lady of Good Counsel and Olney, Maryland, when he signed with Wisconsin in 2024.
And it was the beefier Jones (5-11, 211) who became the No. 1 running back in the spring, kept it in August and showed why Saturday as he gained a career-high 113 yards on 23 carries and scored on runs of 1 and 12 yards. Central Florida redshirt sophomore transfer Stacy Gage, another newcomer coming off an impressive August, got the most carries after Jones with eight for 33 yards.
“We pride ourselves off of playing guys off how they perform when they get here,” Kiffin said Monday at his weekly press conference. “Not how much money they make (from NIL collectives), or what their stats were somewhere else or the previous year.”
Jones’ best career game before Saturday was 73 yards against Miami of Ohio last season for Wisconsin before a toe injury that required surgery ended his season after seven games.
“Dilin Jones did a great job Saturday, but that’s how he performed in camp,” Kiffin said. “And again, that’s just how we run the program. And it’s no offense to anyone. They know that from day one. Doesn’t matter what your stats were before, how many stars, or what you make.”
Durham, who considered a transfer after last season, and Berry each likely make more money than Jones.
“Dylan wasn’t a big name coming in,” Kiffin said. “Had the least stats of some other poeple in the room from last year.”
But not now.
“Great,” Jones said when asked how it felt to be the lead back and looked toward the next question.
“The quarterback (Sam Leavitt), the checks he cane make – it’s perfect,” Jones said. “The guys up front – the offensive line knows exactly what to do, how to block it. You have to give it to the offensive line.”
And it appears Kiffin and Leavitt will keep giving it to Jones.
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