New LSU QB Ju’Juan Johnson, RB Harlem Berry Highlight Scrimmage; Colin Hurley Back After Crash

GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor

Garrett Nussmeier is unquestionably LSU’s starting quarterback going into the 2025 season.

Duh, he had an exceptional year as the Tigers’ starter last season as a junior, finishing fifth in the nation in passing yards with 4,052 and 10th in touchdowns with 29.

But you may see a lot of sophomore Ju’Juan Johnson at quarterback in short yardage and red zone situations, where LSU suffered last season, if a brief display at the spring scrimmage Saturday at Tiger Stadium was any indication.

Johnson, a dual-threat sensation quarterback at Lafayette Christian Academy in 2022 and ’23, played defensive back early last season before moving to running back and then quarterback for this spring.

“Yeah. We think we enhance our red zone package with him,” LSU coach Brian Kelly said. “You saw a glimpse of that a little bit today. I didn’t let you film that purposely. You guys had a hard 11:30 a.m. stop for a reason.”

Yes, college coaches must guard against the eyes of the ever-present NCAA Transfer Portal, which will have its spring window open April 16 and run through April 25. That is why LSU and many other schools have broken with tradition and had just a spring scrimmage instead of a spring game Saturday that was not televised.

Johnson (6-0, 194) can clearly run fast and is shifty.

“He enhances what we can do at that position in the running game,” Kelly said.

Nussmeier has not been much of a runner, though offensive coordinator Joe Sloan has promised he will run more next season.

“We saw that last year, right, against teams that ran the quarterback against us,” Kelly said, referencing the Tigers’ disastrous collapse at Texas A&M when dual-threat quarterback Marcel Reed entered the game midway in the third quarter. LSU led 17-7 at the time, but lost 38-23 as Reed rushed nine times for 62 yards with three touchdowns and completed 2 of 2 passes for another 70 yards.

“It’s hard to stop a running quarterback,” Kelly said. “You’ve got to play cover zero. If you play cover zero against us, Ju’Juan can hit our receivers with the football. So, I just think he’s another weapon that we can utilize in a targeted fashion that can help our offense.”

COLIN HURLEY RETURNS TO LSU AFTER CAR CRASH

Colin Hurley, a talented quarterback signee in LSU’s 2024 class, was expected to fill the role that Johnson has apparently taken. But Hurley missed spring practice after a serious car crash near campus last January. Hurley has recovered and was at the scrimmage Saturday, though he did not participate, and visited coaches and players in the locker room.

Colin Hurley returned to surprise the team before practice 🙌 pic.twitter.com/0zct6dFugz

— LSU Football (@LSUfootball) April 12, 2025

The Hurley family released a statement on X about Hurley’s recovery.

A message from the Hurley family pic.twitter.com/ZTDu306wdd

— LSU Football (@LSUfootball) April 12, 2025

Hurley is expected back for August practices.

LSU RUNNING BACK CADEN DURHAM HURT

In other injury news, starting running back Caden Durham sat out the scrimmage after suffering a minor ankle injury last week and was in a walking boot Saturday.

“Just precautionary,” Kelly said. “He had an ankle sprain in practice. Doesn’t look to be very serious. Nothing like the previous injury where he had the disclocated toes. Hopefully get him back, if not Tuesday, but most likely Thursday of next week.”

The scrimmage Saturday did not end spring drills. The Tigers have two more practices.

INJURY REPORT

Also missing the scrimmage with an injury was sophomore wide receiver Destyn Hill, a portal addition from Florida State who has been one of the bright spots of spring drills. He has a more serious high ankle sprain.

“It’s too bad, because he’s had a really good spring,” Kelly said. “Been really impressed with him – his strength, the ability to go up and get the football. He’s strong. He’s physical. He’s smart. He’s really going to help us. His (ankle injury) is a little bit more severe. We’ll have to see where that takes us, whether he can make the next two practices.”

Sophomore tight end Trey’Dez Green suffered a minor ankle injury in the scrimmage and left the field. Defensive tackle Sydir Mitchell (leg) missed the scrimmage with an injury suffered last week.

HARLEM BERRY AMONG TOP PERFORMERS

Among the players who looked the best in the scrimmage were freshman early enrollee signee Harlem Berry, who was the nation’s No. 1 running back in the class of 2025, wide receiver Barion Brown, a transfer from Kentucky, Nebraska transfer defensive end Jimari Butler, Florida transfer defensive end Jack Pyburn and sophomore defensive end Gabriel Reliford.

Berry had a 22-yard touchdown run.

“He’s a natural runner of the football,” Kelly said. “He sees things that you just don’t coach. The great backs have that natural, uncanny ability to see things on the move, and you just let it go. He’s got to be coached on protections, schemes, how to eat. He’s very receptive. He’s really good. I think he lives up to the billing of the best (prep) running back in the country because of his natural instincts. He’ll play for us as a freshman, yeah.”

Kelly liked the new format of scrimmage as opposed to game.

“It allowed us to cover virtually every situation in a game, including some live special teams, which we sometimes don’t get,” he said. “Everybody gets work. Don’t have to worry about depth and who to protect. Everybody gets a chance to get out there and compete. And I can craft the situations within the game that allow us to get the appropriate work necessary. We’ve got great film to watch and evaluate and work on for our players technical and tactical development. This wasn’t a practice for us to say, ‘OK, this is the starting left guard or this is the starting safety.’ This is about getting us closer to the preparation necessary for when we go to camp.”