Sterling Lucas joined the LSU staff in January of 2026 and serves as the defensive line coach for the Tigers. Lucas arrived at LSU after four years at South Carolina where he coached defensive ends and outside linebackers as well as serving as the Gamecocks run game coordinator in 2025.
In his four years at South Carolina, Lucas helped develop some of the best defensive players in program history which includes 2024 Nagurski Award winner in Kyle Kennard along with Dylan Stewart, who was a finalist for the Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year in 2024.
In his four seasons at South Carolina, Lucas produced three All-SEC performers including the SEC Defensive Player of the Year and unanimous All-America Kennard in 2024. Stewart earned second-team All-SEC honors in 2025 after being named Freshman All-SEC in 2024. Brian Thomas earned third-team all-league honors in 2025.
In 2025, edge rushers Stewart and Thomas combined for 24 tackles for loss, 12.5 sacks and 22 quarterback hurries for a South Carolina defense that led the league in turnovers forced with 22.
Lucas mentored arguably the nation’s best tandem of edge rushers in 2024 in senior Kennard and true freshman Stewart. Kennard, who was later a fourth-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, became the school’s first winner of the Nagurski Award as the nation’s top defensive player after tallying 15.5 tackles for loss and 11.5 sacks.
Also in 2024, Stewart collected 10.5 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks as a true freshman as he was a finalist for the Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Award. As a unit, the Gamecocks tallied 41 sacks, ranking No. 6 in the nation and just two shy of the school record. South Carolina was also No. 12 in the nation in scoring defense and No. 18 in rush defense. They forced 24 turnovers.
In 2023, the Gamecock defense surrendered 149.4 rushing yards per game, the fewest since 2017 and the second-fewest since 2012, while forcing 17 turnovers in 12 games.
In his first season in Columbia in 2022, the Gamecocks forced 23 turnovers, including eight fumble recoveries and 15 interceptions. The 23 turnovers forced ranked second in the SEC and No. 20 in the nation.
Lucas, an Orangeburg, S.C., native, spent the previous year as an assistant defensive line coach for the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars. Prior to that, he spent five seasons (2016-20) working with the Baltimore Ravens.
Lucas got his start with the Ravens in 2016, holding various roles on the defensive side of the ball until 2020, when he worked with the defensive line under former LSU assistant coach Joe Cullen. With Lucas on staff from 2016-20, the Ravens led the NFL in total defense (314.1 yards per game), allowed the second-fewest rushing yards per game (97.1) and produced the third-most takeaways (126).
Lucas worked closely with several Pro Bowl players while in Baltimore, including defensive lineman Calais Campbell (2020), outside linebacker Matthew Judon (2019 and 2020) and linebacker C.J. Mosley (2017 and 2018).
In 2020, Lucas helped the Ravens advance to the AFC Divisional round as their defense allowed the second-fewest points (18.9) and seventh-fewest yards (329.8) per game in the NFL. He was promoted from defensive quality control coach to defensive assistant/linebackers coach in 2019 and assisted with the team’s linebackers, which helped the team allow the NFL’s third-fewest points per game (17.6) and the fourth-fewest yards per game (300.6). Baltimore earned a franchise-best 14-2 record and its second-straight AFC North title.
In 2018, Lucas worked with the NFL’s No. 1 ranked defense (292.2 yards per game), which yielded only 17.9 points per game, the second-best total in the league. He served as an administrative assistant for the defense in 2017, helping Baltimore post NFL bests in takeaways (34), interceptions (22) and shutouts (3). He originally joined the team in 2016 working on the defensive side of the ball, while also assisting the strength and conditioning staff.
Lucas began his coaching career at North Carolina State where he spent 2013 as a graduate assistant in the strength and conditioning department prior to spending 2014-15 as a defensive graduate assistant, with a primary focus on coaching the linebackers and nickelbacks.
A product of Orangeburg-Wilkinson (S.C.) High School, Lucas graduated from North Carolina State in 2012 with a bachelor’s degree in communications. He played linebacker for the Wolfpack from 2008-12, finishing his career with 167 tackles, 4.0 sacks and an interception.
Lucas and his wife, Brittany, have four girls, Londyn, Ari, Nova and Zuri.
Sterling Lucas File
Year at LSU (in 2026-27): First
Birthdate: January 17, 1990
Hometown: Orangeburg, S.C.
College: North Carolina State (Communications, 2012)
Wife: Brittany
Children: Londyn, Ari, Nova, Zuri
Coaching Experience
2013-2015 North Carolina State (graduate assistant)
2016-2020 Baltimore Ravens (defensive assistant, 2016-17; defensive quality control, 2018-19; defensive line, 2020)
2021 Jacksonville Jaguars (assistant defensive line)
2022-2025 South Carolina (defensive ends/outside linebackers, 2022-24; run game coordinator/defensive ends/linebackers, 2025)
2026 LSU (defensive line)