If you love Louisiana, it will love you back.
Coming out of high school, Whit Weeks was a star in the Georgia circuit. He was ranked the 10th-best player in Georgia and the 11th-best linebacker in the nation.
He already had a connection in his home state with the University of Georgia since his father, David Weeks, had played with the Bulldogs. Yet, Whit decided that he wanted to come play for LSU.
“One of the big reasons was my older brother [West] was already here,” Weeks said, “but then besides that, when I came down here, I always tell everybody it was the people, the place, and the football. The people, the coaching staff, when I first got here, I really liked them. They really brought me in as one of their own.”
Weeks quickly made his name known in Death Valley with his impressive freshman season in 2023. The linebacker totaled 49 tackles and played 305 defensive snaps.
Along with his early success, Weeks was embracing the Louisiana culture by posting his duck-hunting pictures on social media. Many LSU fans loved his pictures and began showing more support to the Georgian. Weeks fell more in love with the Louisiana culture.
He said, “The place, the food down here is amazing. The culture here is awesome, and then the football, I mean, you drive down Nicholson and see that stadium, why wouldn't you want to come play here?”
Weeks was becoming a campus celebrity among students and fans, due to both his stellar play and his youthful energy. Fans also never missed his long blonde hair during the games.
“I never thought that the notoriety kind of outside of football would get to the level that it's got to today,” he said. “I would have never imagined when I was 17 years old coming down here that I would be known around the town like I am now.”
Despite his early popularity, his main focus was still football.
During his sophomore season, LSU brought in defensive coordinator Blake Baker to help restructure and lead the Tigers’ defense.
Weeks saw great success under Baker as he became a starter. He finished with 125 tackles, including 10 tackles for a loss, 3.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and an interception. He earned a well-deserved 2024 First-Team All-SEC placement.
Throughout his sophomore season, Weeks made a ton of highlight plays. During the Arkansas game, he deflected a pass and made the interception himself.
His favorite play came against Ole Miss, which helped LSU win that game in walk-off fashion.
“In 2024, on the last play of regulation against Ole Miss, after we finally tied the game up to go to overtime, I had a sack on the final play. So that was a cool play for me too,” he said.
Weeks became a permanent captain for his junior season, which was sparse due to injury. LSU went 6-2 when he was on the field, and 1-4 without him. However, Weeks got to share a special moment with his two brothers, Zach and West.
The three Weeks brothers got on the field together against Western Kentucky and made LSU history. Although the defensive series was short, it marked the first time that three brothers were on the field at the same time for the Tigers.
Weeks said, “It meant everything to me. It was a special moment for me and my family.”
As his junior season ended, Weeks had to make a decision about entering the NFL or coming back for his senior season.
“It was definitely a hard decision because, obviously, my dreams and goals of the NFL were right there,” he said.
To the excitement of LSU fans, Weeks came back. He realized his job was not finished and he wanted to play one more season in Tiger Stadium.
He said, “I was thinking, in 20 years, when I'm looking back on all my football career, where will I say that I wanted to play a football game? And my answer would be Death Valley, 10 times out of 10. I was like, ‘all right, I have an opportunity to play a couple more games here. I gotta come back and play.’”
Now in his senior season, Weeks fully adapted to being the captain of the defense. The linebacker made a tweak to his leadership style to make sure his teammates are always ready.
“I've always been very vocal, but now it's kind of more like, I'll be vocal, vocal in a way of, I'm not putting up with anything,” Weeks explained. “If I see somebody doing the wrong thing, I'm gonna call them out. Just because I know it's better for them in the long run. It's better for the team in the long run.”
As that leader, Weeks made sure to credit his teammates.
“I think we have a lot of faces on this defense,” he said. “And that's really fun to play in a system like that, where it's not just one guy. You know, I can go out there and rely on any single one of my teammates to make plays.”
During fall training camp, coach Lane Kiffin announced that he was going to continue the tradition of the No. 7 and No. 18 jerseys. He chose both Weeks and tight end Trey’Dez Green to wear the coveted No. 7. Weeks was obviously ecstatic to share the prized number with Green.
Weeks said, “It's cool to get the number 7. I mean, so many great number 7s have played here, and now for me and Trey’Dez to be wearing that number. There's nobody else I'd rather share that number with than Trey’Dez because he's a baller and such a great leader. So for us to get that number, it's special.”
Weeks has kept up his consistent play this season, even under the expectations of the new number. His playing time has been limited due to injury, but he still has 23 total tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss in four games.
With his success, Weeks has a chance to be remembered as one of the best linebackers in LSU history.
“It's awesome for me because I know the rich tradition of great linebacker play that has happened at this university,” he said. “And to kind of be the next guy who can say that they're one of the great linebackers here, it is pretty cool.”
Along with the rewards of football, Weeks recalled how grateful he is for Baton Rouge.
“I mean, I love this place with all my heart, I really do,” he said. “And I bleed these colors; I think people understand that, but this place really is special to me.
“Just being from Georgia, not really knowing about what this place was when I came down here; the fact that this fan base, my teammates, my coaches, they've all kind of just taken me under their wing and helped me develop into the man I am today. I can't be more thankful for this place.”
LSU and the state of Louisiana have fully embraced Weeks, and he wants to make sure that fans do not regret it.