LSU has had significant turnover since last season.

Lots of players left for the NFL or entered the transfer portal during the transition from former head coach Ed Orgeron to interim head coach Brad Davis to new head coach Brian Kelly.

Since he left Notre Dame to take over the Tigers, Kelly has salvaged an adequate recruiting class and welcomed a significant influx of players through the portal.

LSU has a lot of new players and some important holdovers who will have significant roles in Kelly trying to shed the mediocrity of Orgeron’s last 2 seasons and point the Tigers back toward relevance in the SEC.

Here are 5 players who are going to be key for LSU in 2022:

1. T Will Campbell

The Tigers are not going to be appreciably better in 2022 than they were in 2021 unless the offensive line is much better than it was last season.

Kelly did a really good job of developing very good offensive lines as Notre Dame and he’s starting with a largely new group of offensive linemen at LSU.

Campbell is a true freshman and there’s no guarantee he’s going to be a starter right away, but Kelly is giving him a good, long look at left tackle during spring practice.

Kelly has said that “things kind of fell into place from there” after Campbell was inserted at left tackle.

If Campbell can win the starter’s spot there and be effective in the fall, the trickle-down effect could be huge throughout the line and the offense as a whole.

2. QB Jayden Daniels

Kelly has a lot of attractive options as quarterback. Any of the 4 competitors – Daniels (a transfer from Arizona State), holdovers Myles Brennan and Garrett Nussmeier or incoming 5-star freshman Walker Howard – could be the starter.

Whoever starts could be a catalyst for an offensive resurgence or they could have a limited impact if the line, receivers and rushers don’t provide adequate support.

But Daniels is the most intriguing of the candidates to be Kelly’s first starting quarterback.

His running ability easily makes him the best dual-threat candidate and if he’s able to win what figures to be a very competitive battle he would bring an added dimension to coordinator Mike Denbrock’s offense.

3. RB John Emery

The running back position has been very fluid since Clyde Edwards-Helaire left for the NFL after the historic 2019 championship season.

The Tigers have had a variety of talented candidates competing to be the featured back or a significant contributor in a committee approach. But the running game has been sub-par for the past 2 seasons.

Ty Davis-Price left early for the NFL and Corey Kiner announced his transfer to Cincinnati this week.

Now it’s up to Emery, who missed last season due to academic issues, to breathe life into the running game. Emery recently injured his ankle. It’s not serious, but LSU might play it safe with him Saturday.

4. DE Ali Gaye

Gaye played in just 4games last season due to injury. He could have gone to the NFL but decided to return.

If he stays healthy this season he can be a key component to the pass rush. Two years ago Gaye was a significant contributor on the defensive line and if LSU is going to have a resurgence on defense under Kelly he will be a big part of it.

5. NT Jaquelin Roy

Last season, LSU registered 38.0 sacks — 5th-most in the SEC and their most since the 2017 season. The Tigers struggled, however, against the run. They allowed almost twice as many rushing yards per game as Georgia. The defensive line is going to need to generate more than a pass rush if that group is going to lead to the way to significant improvement in 2022. It’s going to have to stop the run and consistently win the battle at the line of scrimmage.

Roy showed improvement as a sophomore last season and seems primed for a breakout season as a junior and emerge in the middle as a leader on what could be a very good line.