BATON ROUGE – Seniors Josh Williams and Greg Penn will wear No. 18 for LSU, while juniors Will Campbell and Harold Perkins have been assigned the No. 7 jersey, head coach Brian Kelly announced.
Kelly presented the four LSU executives with jerseys numbered 18 and 7 on Thursday following an evening practice at Tiger Stadium.
Campbell, LSU’s All-America left tackle, will receive the No. 7 jersey for the second consecutive year. As an offensive lineman, Campbell will continue to wear his original No. 66 jersey, which will feature a No. 7 patch.
“The No. 18 jersey has a lot of historical significance to our program,” Kelly told the team in center field at Tiger Stadium. “Matt Mauck was the first to wear it. He came to this program after winning a national championship as a professional baseball player wearing No. 18. He embodied all the intangibles of a teammate – he had all the things we call great qualities. He passed that number on to another great LSU player, Jacob Hester, who led his team to another national championship.
“For the last 25 years, the number 18 has been passed down to a player who has all the qualities of a great teammate. Someone who has sacrificed for the team. A guy you can count on, a guy you want by your side when the going gets tough, a guy who is there when you need him. That’s number 18.”
Williams, a two-time LSU graduate and four-time member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll, told his teammates after being presented with the No. 18 jersey, “I’ve come a long way, coming here as a walk-on in 2019 and now I’m in my sixth season. Being able to represent LSU with the No. 18 jersey means a lot to me. When I see the No. 18s I’ve played with over the years and see what they’ve meant to the team and LSU, I just want to thank Coach Kelly and the coaching staff for giving me the opportunity to wear this special number.”
Penn was one of the most productive players on LSU’s defense last year with 89 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, 4.0 sacks and an interception that helped the Tigers to a comeback win over Texas A&M.
“He (Greg Penn) held our defense together last year,” Kelly said. “We won 10 games last year and he held our unit together through some tough times because of his commitment to LSU football. He stood up for us when we brought in a transfer to play his position. He just worked harder. He embodies all the principles of a great teammate and a guy you can count on.”
In presenting the No. 7 jersey, Kelly told the team, all huddled in the middle of the field at Tiger Stadium, “(That number) represents someone who brings incredible skill, comes from the state and calls Louisiana home. That number represents a player who lifts others up around him. You can’t just be a great player if it’s just about himself, the No. 7 jersey doesn’t work. You have to lift others up around him, and that’s what these two do. They elevate the game of those around him to a higher level.”
Before Kelly presented Perkins with his jersey, Campbell said this about the new No. 7: “He comes to work and sets the tone every day on defense. I think he’s the most exciting player in college football and this year he’s going to show it.”
Perkins, who was also selected to the preseason first team All-America, has become a game-wrecker for opposing offenses in his first two seasons with the Tigers, recording 26 tackles for loss, 13 sacks and being held responsible for nine forced turnovers. It’s what Perkins did in the offseason and preseason training camp that made him the natural choice for the No. 7 pick.
“He has motivated the other 10 players on defense and is ready to wear that jersey,” Kelly said.
Aside from Billy Cannon’s discontinued No. 20 jersey, Nos. 18 and 7 are two of the most iconic LSU football numbers and have been worn by some of the all-time greats in school history.
LSU’s No. 18 (since the tradition began in 2003)
Matt Mauck (2003)
Jacob Hester (2004-07)
Richard Dickson (2008-09)
Richard Murphy (2010)
Brandon Taylor (2011)
Bennie Logan (2012)
Lamin Barrow (2013)
Terrence Magee (2014)
Tre’Davious White (2015–16)
Christian LaCouture (2017)
John David Moore (2017)
Foster Moreau (2018)
K’Lavon Chaisson (2019)
Lloyd Cushenberry III (2019)
Chris Curry (2020)
Damone Clark (2020-21)
BJ Ojulari (2022)
Mekhi Wingo (2023)
Greg Penn (2024)
Josh Williams (2024)
LSU No. 7 (since the tradition began in 2008)
Patrick Peterson (2008-10)
Tyrant Mathieu (2011)
Leonard Fournette (2014-16)
DJ Chark (2017)
Grant Delpit (2019)
Ja’Marr Chase (2020)
Derek Stingley Jr. (2021)
Kayshon Boutte (2022)
Will Campbell (2023, 2024)
Harold Perkins (2024)
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