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Better Know a Newcomer: West Weeks

LSU Increases depth at linebacker

By BenSLA
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Virginia Linebacker West Weeks set ready to cover a kickoff at Miami (FL)

The LSU linebacking group is full of guys who either made an impact last year or are expected to make one this year. Returning guys like Micah Baskerville and Mike Jones Jr. (WHO?) should be ready to step up once again, and highly recruited freshman Harold Perkins is setting for one of the most hyped debuts by a freshman at the position in school history. A new member of the linebacker room is a young, experienced sophomore transfer from Virginia: West Weeks.

The Story

247 Sports ranked Weeks a 3-star recruit and the 47th-best athlete (position) in the class of 2021 coming out of Oconee County High School in Watkinsville, GA. He played six positions in high school, but he excelled as a LB and got offers from South Carolina, Ole Miss, Kentucky, Kansas State and Stanford (among others) before signing with Virginia. Weeks was one of several UVA players that decided to transfer after Bronco Mendenhall stepped down. He had offers from both USCs but committed to LSU before even taking his visit to Columbia. His younger brother Whit committed to LSU in July. He’s 6’3” and 238 lbs.

The Numbers

2021: Played 11 games, started 1, 31 tackles, 15 solo, 1 TFL, 1 sack, 5 PBUs, 1 FR

His best game was against Pitt, where he had 8 tackles (3 solo) and 2 PBUs.

The Future

Weeks broke his leg in the regular season finale against Virginia Tech, and I’m not sure what his status is right now. I’m going to base my analysis on if he’s decently healthy, but it’s important to keep that in mind. Also, he played a lot of special teams last year because of his size and ability, so expect him to get a lot of work with Brian Polian. Weeks’ defensive contributions came at ILB, including his lone start.

High End: Solid playmaker who starts as a special teams guy and occasional defensive contributor to a regular member of the linebacking rotation. Remember that he’s only a sophomore, so he’ll have time to work his way up.

Low End: Stagnates as a special teams guy and never realizes the potential he showed at UVA to become a solid LB.

Realistic: Solid special teams guy who comes in on passing plays, not run plays. He played QB, WR and TE in high school, so his instincts might be better suited to the passing game.

The most important thing is that he needs to recover from that leg injury. If he does, he’ll keep getting snaps and playing in games, even if he’s just a kick coverage guy.

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