LSU Football EDGE Bradyn Swinson Breaking Out for the Tigers

Originally posted on LSU Tigers on SI | By Zach Nagy | Last updated Sep 17, 2024 9:00 AM ET

BATON ROUGE – LSU defensive end Bradyn Swinson has been named the SEC Defensive Player of the Week for his performance in the Tigers’ 36-33 win over South Carolina on Saturday in Columbia.

Swinson recorded a career-best three sacks, forced a fumble and tallied five total tackles in the LSU victory.

All three of Swinson’s sacks had an impact on the outcome of the game. His first sack came late in the second quarter on third-and-10 at the LSU 35-yard line, resulting in a 4-yard loss and pushing the Gamecocks out of field goal range.

In the fourth quarter, Swinson’s sack resulted in a fumble that was recovered by Major Burns at the LSU 12-yard line. LSU didn’t score on the ensuing possession, but the flip in field position followed by a 3-and-out on South Carolina’s next possession helped lead to the game-winning drive by the Tigers.

After LSU took a 36-33 lead late in the fourth quarter, Swinson registered his third sack for a 7-yard loss as the Gamecocks tried to mount a comeback. The sack forced South Carolina to burn one of its final two timeouts with 35 seconds remaining in the game. South Carolina ended up missing a 49-yard field goal as time expired.

SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week

Bradyn Swinson had three sacks, a forced fumble and five tackles against South Carolina pic.twitter.com/rHR0DVBoTK
— LSU Football (@LSUfootball) September 16, 2024

The honor is the first of Swinson’s career and the first for the Tigers in 2024.

Kelly has been pleased with the defensive growth from his defense since Week 1. On Saturday against South Carolina, it was the "complementary football" that stood out.

“We had some complementary football. I thought some of the the big takeaways were the defensive stops that we had that when we turned the ball over. Generally, you would see that turn into a touchdown. We kept in the field goals. So, we showed that resolve defensively," Kelly said on Saturday. "Then, we started to play some complementary football where we get a stop on defense and then we score on offense, and we hadn’t done that the first couple of weeks. So, there’s improvement there.

“But the great thing about it is there’s great fight. They fight like LSU Tigers, and that’s what we want for our fans. That’s what they want for all their family. That’s what they want for their teammates, and they showed that today – if they continue to do that, which I know they will because they’re going to continue to prepare the right way. We just need to execute better. And if we do that, it’s gonna be a really good team.”