Brian Kelly, LSU Football Move Prized Defensive Back to a New Position

LSU will put Javien Toviano at a new position, look to maximize his talents heading into the 2025 season.

Nov 11, 2023; Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA; LSU Tigers safety Javien Toviano (25) recovers a fumble against the Florida Gators during the first half at Tiger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images / Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

Brian Kelly and the LSU football staff continue retooling the roster for the 2025 season with a significant number of moves via the NCAA Transfer Portal.

Kelly and Co. are adding pieces through the portal in order to build a championship caliber roster, but retaining the current talent in Baton Rouge is also an important piece.

One player the program has been pleased with this month is sophomore cornerback Javien Toviano.

The second-year Tiger is a player LSU struggled to get on the field in 2024 with the coaching staff trying to find his "bread and butter" spot.

Toviano has played cornerback and the STAR role during his time in Baton Rouge, but now, he'll have a new position heading into the 2025 season: Safety.

The Texas native has officially made the move to safety, which will be the latest spot in the defensive backfield he will test out. So far, Kelly has been impressed with what Toviano has provided at the safety position.

"We're really pleased. He's a half safety and we're really pleased with him at that position. He's got corner skills playing the safety position. He's excited, he's happy, getting first team reps there and couldn't be more happy with the work we're getting from him," Kelly said on Toviano. "He'll stay there moving forward. He gives us a really good tackler, he's athletic, can play the No. 2 wide receiver and that's his position in the NFL."

LSU is thin at the safety spot right now with Major Burns exercising all of his eligibility and Sage Ryan entering the NCAA Transfer Portal before making the official move to the Ole Miss Rebels for the 2025 season.

That leaves a current room with Toviano, Dashawn Spears and Jardin Gilbert during bowl prep.

As it stands, Toviano is taking significant first-team reps heading into LSU's matchup against the Baylor Bears in the Texas Bowl.

LSU has reeled in 13 players this month via the Transfer Portal with the program filling several positions of need, but the safety spot remains a group that needs retooling.

The Tigers are thin in this area with players both declaring for the 2025 NFL Draft and/or entering the Transfer Portal.

Moving forward, it'll be a position group LSU looks to add bodies to this offseason with the expectation being that they will look to add two more safeties before the 2025 season.

LSU has seen 17 members of the 2024 roster depart the program while bringing in 13 commitments to this point through the portal. Who's in? Who's out?

The Departures (17):

- Rickie Collins: Quarterback
- Landon Ibieta: Wide Receiver
- CJ Daniels: Wide Receiver
- Dashawn Womack: EDGE
- Jordan Allen: Safety
- Shelton Sampson: Wide Receiver
- Kylin Jackson: Defensive Back
- Xavier Atkins: Linebacker
- Jyaire Brown: Cornerback
- Bernard Causey: Cornerback
- Nathan Dibert: Kicker
- De'Myrion Johnson: Defensive Tackle
- Jk Johnson: Cornerback
- Ka'Morreun Pimpton: Tight End
- Jay'viar Suggs: Defensive Tackle
- Sage Ryan: Defensive Back
- AJ Swann: Quarterback

Who have the Tigers gained commitments from?

The Additions on Offense (6):
- TE Bauer Sharp: Oklahoma
- WR Barion Brown: Kentucky
- QB Michael Van Buren: Mississippi State
- WR Destyn Hill: Florida State
- WR Nic Anderson: Oklahoma
- OL Braelin Moore: Virginia Tech

The Additions on Defense (4):
- CB Ja'Keem Jackson: Florida
- EDGE Jimari Butler: Nebraska
- EDGE Jack Pyburn: Florida
- CB Mansoor Delane: Virginia Tech
- DL Sydir Mitchell: Texas
- EDGE Patrick Payton: Florida State

The Special Teams Additons (1):
Punter Grant Chadwick: Middle Tennessee

More LSU News:

The LSU Transfer Portal Update: Who's in? Who's out?

LSU Dishes Out Offer to No. 1 Quarterback in America

Nick Saban Calls LSU Quarterback Garrett Nussmeier a "Sleeper" Ahead of 2024 Season

Join the Community:

Follow Zack Nagy on Twitter: @znagy20 and LSU Tigers On SI: @LSUTigersSI for all coverage surrounding the LSU program.