Brian Kelly reveals Dominick McKinley max squatted 650 pounds: 'We ran out of weights'

Practice is underway ahead of the 2025 season. This comes after a long offseason, which the LSU Tigers and head coach Brian Kelly embraced as an opportunity to rapidly improve and get ready to compete for the SEC. 

One player who stood out to Brian Kelly was defensive lineman Dominick McKinley. Now going into his sophomore season, McKinley had a phenomenal offseason, particularly in the strength program, where his squat has maxed out at 650 pounds.

“He’s forced our athletic development staff,” Brian Kelly said. “Our training staff, athletic training and weight training — we ran out of weights for him to max squat. He was 650 pounds for max squat. I just throw that out to you as how powerful he is, and he’s such a great kid. He’s so grounded. He wants to get better every single day, and he has elite strength and numbers from that perspective.”

Dominick McKinley initially came to LSU as a five-star recruit in the Class of 2024. He was the 13th-ranked player nationally, the third-ranked defensive lineman, and the top-ranked player in the state of Louisiana. He’d appear in 10 games during his freshman season, making seven total tackles, three tackles for a loss, and three sacks. Now, however, he’s expected to have a much larger role along the LSU defensive line.

“Yeah, he’s gonna play a major role in what we do,” Kelly said. “He’s still learning. Coach [Kyle] Williams is with him right on his hip every day. But he’s enjoyable to coach.”

LSU is coming off a 9-4 season, which saw the Tigers go 5-3 in SEC play. That was good for an appearance and a win in the Texas Bowl. It also came in a season where the LSU defense was 61st nationally in total defense, averaging 364.4 yards allowed per game. The Tigers were also 59th in scoring defense, allowing 24.3 points per game.

Expectations are high for Brian Kelly and LSU going into the 2025 season. That includes making the College Football Playoff for the first time during his tenure. To do that, the Tigers are looking for an improved effort out of the defense on the whole. Getting Dominick McKinley to translate that excellent offseason onto the field is going to be key to that.

LSU opens the season on the road at Clemson. Much has already been made about that game in the lead-up to it. Getting a win there would, ultimately, go a long way to making sure the Tigers are heading down the right path.