LSU football has a lot of questions to answer in the Brian Kelly era, but could one of them come with another famous name?
AJ Vinatieri, the son of former Patriots legendary kicker Adam Vinatieri, was offered a preferred walk-on slot with LSU this week. Preferred walk-ons do not get a scholarship, but would get priority over other walk-ons should a scholarship position become available.
The Indiana native has a handful of offers to choose from, including Indiana, Florida, Miami and Michigan. He'd be an option to handle punts and placekicking duties.
The Tigers have been in prime kicking territory the past several years, following a run of inconsistency at the position. Transfer Cole Tracy helped change that narrative, and Cade York has been among the best in the nation the past three seasons. York has notably connected of 15 of 19 kicks beyond 50 yards, even with a career high in misses from that range in the 2021 season. York is draft eligible this season, but has not yet declared and could return for another season.
It also wouldn't be the first time LSU sports teams featured a famous name. Tigers football recently featured KJ Malone, the son of NBA great Karl Malone, and the men's basketball team currently features Shareef O'Neal, the son of former NBA and LSU great Shaquille O'Neal. Last year's quarterback room also featured Max Johnson, the son of Super Bowl champion Brad Johnson, who has since transferred to Auburn, and Garrett Nussmeier, the son of former QB and current Cowboys assistant coach Doug Nussmeier.