GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor
Most of LSU’s football players have never been to Clemson, South Carolina, where the No. 9 Tigers open the season a week from Saturday against the No. 4 other Tigers (6:30 p.m., ABC) at Memorial Stadium in Clemson, South Carolina.
LSU has never played at Clemson.
But LSU coach Brian Kelly knows the place. He lost there, 24-22, in 2015 as Notre Dame’s coach.
LSU COACH BRIAN KELLY VS. CLEMSON COACH DABO SWINNEY HISTORY
LSU sophomore transfer safety Tamarcus Cooley of North Carolina State played at Clemson’s 81,500-seat stadium last season, losing 59-35 as quarterback Cade Klubnik threw three touchdown passes. And Klubnik is back for his 2025 senior season as a Heisman Trophy favorite along with LSU senior quarterback Garrett Nussmeier.
“Don’t let the fans get to you, because it’s Clemson,” Cooley said Friday when asked what he is telling his teammates. “It’s exactly what you all think it is. Great environment.”
And loud. He said you can hear individual fans yelling at you. Clemson also pipes in very loud music.
“All that, everything, everything,” Cooley said. “I’ll be trying to just ignore it. You hear some of everything.”
That’s more praise than Kelly gave Memorial Stadium, which he called “Death Valley Junior” over the summer as LSU also calls Tiger Stadium by that name.
“You need those championship traits when you’re on the road, when you’re at Death Valley Junior,” Kelly said.
“They can have their opinion. We’re going to handle all that on August 30,” Clemson first round draft projection defensive end T.J. Parker shot back in July. “At the end of the day, we can do all the talking. But we still got to play. So, we’re going to see, you know what I’m saying? They’re hyping up everybody across the board, all these transfers they got. We’ll see.”
LSU senior wide receiver Zavion Thomas will be playing his first game at Clemson, but he feels as prepared as he can be.
“We’ve been doing a walk-through, like every day with a lot of music,” he said of LSU’s coaches trying to mimic the noise. “Communication is something that they’ve been preaching. We can’t hear, so watching the quarterback (Nussmeier) all the time. Just having the awareness. Just knowing what to expect at Clemson, so they put us in a good position for that.”
And Thomas did play in front of 108,852 at Kyle Field in College Station last season in a 38-23 loss.
“Yes, we played at Texas A&M last year,” he said. “It was crazy out there, so we’re very prepared.”
Senior defensive tackle Jack Pyburn, a transfer from Florida, also feels prepared because of the various SEC stadiums he has played in, such as at South Carolina in 2023, Tennessee, Texas and Florida State in 2024 and against Georgia in Jacksonville, Florida, twice.
“I’ve played in a lot of big games, relying on those experiences that I’ve had,” he said. “Also turning on the tape and respecting your opponent and understanding they’re a talented team. We’re going to have to be at our best. I’m looking forward to it, but it is going to be a challenge. But it’s a challenge that we want. If you talk about winning a national championship and playing in the playoffs, you have to start it off the right way.”
Thomas hopes he gets to experience playing in Death Valley north in person at wide receiver. Because LSU is loaded at receiver this season, partly due to its No. 1 portal class, with transfers Barion Brown and Nic Anderson joining returning veteran starters Aaron Anderson and Chris Hilton Jr.
“Yes,” Thomas said of the battle for playing time after playing mostly as a backup last season. “But make the play when your number’s called, and do everything like it’s your last play.”
That’s what LSU receivers coach Cortez Hankton preaches.
“He says this could be your last play,” Thomas said. “We don’t know when it could be over.”
Thomas, a transfer from Mississippi State to LSU before the 2024 season, caught 23 passes for 218 yards and two touchdowns in 2024 through 13 games and three starts.
“I’m being comfortable this season,” he said. “It’s me knowing that they know my abilities, and my confidence level is the highest it’s ever been.”
Thomas is expected to return kickoffs and punts again this season as he led the SEC in kickoff returns last year with a 26.4-yard average, bringing back 24 for for 633 yards. He totaled a 993 all-purpose yards on the season as he rushed for 76 with a 26-yard touchdown against South Alabama and returned punts for 66 yards.
He is LSU’s only player to gain yards in four categories last season -receiving, rushing and kickoff and punt returns.
As far as the Clemson crowd, he could quiet them with another kickoff return for a touchdown. He did that from 95 yards out in LSU’s 44-31 win over Baylor in the Texas Bowl last season.
“It’s fun. It’s a blessing, just being that versatile,” he said.
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