Lane Kiffin confirmed that LSU football sophomore defensive end Gabriel Reliford tore his ACL last week during the team’s second spring practice.
Reliford was returning from season-ending shoulder surgery he required last year, which forced him to miss the final eight games of the regular season.
That’s a difficult injury, especially since he missed time last year, Kiffin said to journalists after LSU’s practice on Tuesday. He was doing a great job.
Reliford was not present during LSU’s training this past Saturday, and word surfaced later in the weekend that he had sustained a knee injury.
An LSU official told The Daily Advertiser on Tuesday that his status for the next season is unclear. Reliford has not been totally ruled out for the 2026 season, however he will be sidelined indefinitely due to a ligament issue that need surgery and rehabilitation.
Reliford has participated in 17 games over the course of two years in Baton Rouge, totaling 18 tackles, two tackles-for-loss, and 0. 5 sack.
Kiffin stated that he has been very impressed with the 6-3, 270-pound defensive end from Shreveport and that not having him on the field is a major loss for the Tigers’ defense.
The way I see the position like wide receiver is that, since play counts are higher these days, you need to be very good, and if you look at the conference, there aren’t many uptempo teams, Kiffin explained. To me, more than ever, it is critical to have many defensive ends who can rush and play snaps to match the tempo. This is a major loss for us.
He has a bright future here, and we were very happy with how he performed.
