Florida and LSU play every year, so the Orange and Blue faithful are all too familiar with the Gators’ next opponent. However, LSU has lost 18 players to the NFL over the last two seasons, meaning there are a bunch of fresh faces for Les Miles traveling to The Swamp this weekend.

Here are the five LSU players every Florida fan should know before Saturday night’s kickoff.

  1. RB Leonard Fournette – The true freshman running back had a lot of hype coming into this season as the No. 1 high school recruit. While he hasn’t put up the astronomical numbers so thought he might, Fournette still leads LSU in rushing. He possesses the size, speed and strength of someone much farther along in their football career than a true freshman and you can bet he’ll get the ball a ton in The Swamp in order to take the pressure off LSU’s unspectacular quarterbacks.
  2. LB Kendell Beckwith – For an LSU defense that’s really struggled in the interior portions of the unit, a change was desperately needed. Kendell Beckwith has been a part of that change as he is now the team’s starting middle linebacker. With how much Florida likes to run between the tackles, the running backs should see a lot of Beckwith Saturday night. He’s a versatile player who’s capable of playing multiple positions, but look for him to anchor and perhaps bring some stability and toughness to a rather weak LSU interior defense.
  3. DB Jalen Mills – Arguably LSU’s best defensive player is defensive back Jalen Mills. He is the most experienced with 26 starts coming into the season and is the anchor of the LSU secondary at safety after spending most of his collegiate career at cornerback. He’s a very aggressive player and will definitely be looking to capitalize on some poor decisions by Jeff Driskel.
  4. WR Malachi Dupre – The talented wide receivers is just another one of LSU’s incredibly skilled true freshman on this year’s team. At 6-foot-3 and nearly 200 pounds, Dupre has serious length that is a big advantage for him against many opposing defensive backs. His speed allows him to be a constant threat on deep balls and he’s shown great ability to go up and get those 50-50 balls. More than likely, Jalen Tabor will be tasked with covering Dupre and the Gators’ cornerback will have his hands full containing Dupre all night. He can beat the Gators in multiple ways.
  5. QB Anthony Jennings – Just two weeks ago, it looked like the Anthony Jennings era at LSU was over as three turnovers against New Mexico State all but sealed the starting job for backup quarterback Brandon Harris. But with a terrible performance from Harris last week on the road against Auburn, Jennings has another opportunity to win back his job and will likely see significant playing time against the Gators on Saturday. While Jennings’ has severely underwhelmed this season, he’s got the athletic ability to make some plays on opposing defenses and has shown flashes of brilliance. His dual-threat capabilities could potentially pose problems for Florida’s defense, so containing him within the pocket and forcing him to make the tough throws will be essential to the Gators’ success.