Starting LSU Football Wide Receiver Set to Return to Baton Rouge in 2025

LSU wide receiver Aaron Anderson will return to Baton Rouge for the 2025 season, he anounced via social media on Wednesday evening.

The Louisiana native is fresh off of a breakout campaign in 2024 after becoming one of Garrett Nussmeier's top weapons on offense.

It's been an interesting ride for Anderson. After signing with the Alabama Crimson Tide in 2022, he elected to redshirt in his lone season in Tuscaloosa.

After one year, he made the move to return to the Bayou State where he was used sparingly as a redshirt-freshman in 2023. He tallied 12 catches for 59 yards and zero touchdowns.

Then, in 2024, it all came together for the coveted wideout. Anderson pieced together a breakout season this fall after tallying 53 receptions for 784 yards and five touchdowns.

What led to the monstrous season for Anderson this year? Brian Kelly chimed in earlier this fall:

"It's everything he does in his life," LSU head coach Brian Kelly said in September. "It's going to class, being on time, his practice habits, framing the ball, catching the ball, it's just everything. It's the natural maturity that comes with being in the program."

It's been no surprise for Kelly and the LSU coaching staff.

"You could see it coming. We had a sense this was going to begin to show itself for him and there would be more production because his process is so much better," Kelly said. "I think that is going to continue for him." 

After the program boasted a Top 5 offense in college football led by Jayden Daniels, Nabers and Thomas a season ago, picking up the pieces was always going to be difficult. Anderson assisted in filling the void.

"When you have two first-year coordinators, they're learning their personnel, who they want to use, who are the best 11 in each situation and then what schemes put us in the best positions to succeed? Now we'll have to go and prepare accordingly," Kelly said. 

"I'm not saying we're making wholesale changes but they get a chance to evaluate their personnel. The big takeaway here is when you're making mistakes, are you putting your guys in the right position, do you have the guys in the right position and then are you preparing them for those scenarios? It can only be one of those three things. All of those are on the table."

It's evident Anderson has routinely being put in the right position for the Tigers as he becomes a lethal weapon for the Bayou Bengals in 2024.

The return of the Louisiana native is critical for the Tigers with the program losing starters Kyren Lacy and CJ Daniels this offseason. Lacy is off to the 2025 NFL Draft while Daniels will enter the NCAA Transfer Portal.

The Daniels Departure:

Daniels, who transferred to LSU last offseason after a dominant career with the Liberty Flames, started in 10 of his 11 games played for LSU this season.

He totaled 42 receptions for 480 yards and zero touchdowns during his time with the Tigers.

Daniels joined the Tigers last spring after catching 106 passes for 1,954 yards and 21 touchdowns in four seasons at Liberty.

In 2023, Daniels earned second-team All-Conference USA honors following a season that saw him catch 55 passes for 1,067 yards and 10 touchdowns.

In 2023, he finished second in Conference USA in receiving yards and TDs and ranked fifth in the league in receptions.

Daniels has seven career 100-yard games to his credit with five coming in 2023. He tied a career-high with eight receptions against Oregon in last year’s Fiesta Bowl. He tied his career-best with 157 receiving yards in the win over New Mexico State in the 2023 Conference USA Championship Game.

Now, he'll depart Baton Rouge after one season where he will look to find a new home for his final season of eligibility.

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