BATON ROUGE — Joseph Addai rushed for a 70-yard touchdown, Michael Clayton caught seven passes for 102 yards and a TD and the Tiger defense returned an interception for a score to highlight LSU’s second and final scrimmage of fall camp here Wednesday in Tiger Stadium.
The scrimmage was delayed nearly an hour as a thunderstorm blew through the Baton Rouge area just two minutes before the Tigers were ready to begin their workout. LSU waited out the lighting and rain in the locker room before getting started.
“We had a little adversity out there to deal with in terms of the weather,” LSU coach Nick Saban told the media following the scrimmage. “We were two minutes away from starting the scrimmage and we had already gone through 20 to 30 minutes of warm-ups before we had lightning and thunder and a little bit of rain. We then had to go sit in the locker room for 45 minutes. Like I told the players, there might be some occasion where we have to play a game and go through that.
“I think we were a little slow starting, especially on offense, but as we went on we did a pretty good job on both sides.”
Saban complimented the play of Addai, who had 83 yards rushing on only four carries. Addai’s 70-yard run came against the No. 2 defense. Barrington Edwards, who had a 66-yard run against the No. 3 defense, has 70 yards on five carries, while Justin Vincent added 29 yards on 10 attempts and Shyrone Carey 23 yards on seven rushes.
Matt Mauck led all quarterbacks by connecting on 12 of 27 passes for 152 yards and a touchdown. Mauck threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Clayton in the redzone portion of the scrimmage and he also led two drives that were capped by field goals of 22 and 21 yards by Ryan Gaudet.
Marcus Randall connected on 11 of 22 passes for 130 yards and one touchdown. Randall, who played with both the Nos. 1 and 2 offenses, threw a 12-yard TD pass to Carey to cap an 11-play, 55-yard drive against the No. 2 defense. Matt Flynn hit on 3 of 4 passes for 22 yards, including a 4-yard TD pass to Gino Giambelluca, while JaMarcus Russell was 3 of 12 for 38 yards.
Defensively, linebacker Eric Alexander picked off a pass against the No. 2 offense and returned it 23 yards for a touchdown. Alexander’s interception came after linebacker Adrian Mayes batted the ball into the air. LSU’s first defensive unit registered four sacks, with Marquise Hill, Chad Lavalais, Travis Daniels and Kyle Williams each recording one stop.
Other defensive standouts during the scrimmage included cornerback Corey Webster with four tackles and two pass breakups, safety LaRon Landry with five tackles, linebacker Jason LeDoux with eight tackles and linebacker Lionel Turner with three stops. Hill and Marcus Spears each added several quarterback hurries as well.
“I think we passed rushed a little bit better on defense and we had a lot of good pressure on the quarterback, which was a good thing,” Saban said. “We didn’t give up a lot of big plays with the first defense and I was really pleased with the effort and intensity. The tackling was good and there was a lot of good hitting. Now the focus is we have to get everybody healed up and rested and get ready to play a game.”
On special teams, Gaudet was a perfect 3 of 3 on field goals, hitting from 21, 22 and 42 yards, while Chris Jackson was 1 of 2, making a 40-yarder and missing from 50 yards out.
Senior punter Donnie Jones averaged 48.8 yards on four punts, while Jackson averaged 39.7 yards on six punts with the second unit.
The Tigers will take Thursday off before returning to practice on Friday as they begin their preparations for the season-opener against Louisiana-Monroe on Saturday, Aug. 30 in Tiger Stadium.
“I think the players are ready for camp to be over, and I think the coaches are ready for camp to be over,” Saban said. “I am looking forward to the challenges of the season and what this team might be able to accomplish. There are certainly some things we need to work on. I feel like we have made good progress, and I am anxious to see how we will compete when we put on the silks and get ready to roll.”
LSU Football Scrimmage No. 2 – Statistics
Rushing
| Player | Att. | Yards | TD | Lg. |
| Joseph Addai | 4 | 83 | 1 | 70 |
| Barrington Edwards | 5 | 70 | 0 | 66 |
| Justin Vincent | 10 | 29 | 0 | |
| Shyrone Carey | 7 | 23 | 0 | |
| Alley Broussard | 4 | 18 | 0 |
Passing
| Player | Att. | Comp. | Yards | TD |
| Matt Mauck | 27 | 12 | 152 | 1 |
| Marcus Randall | 22 | 11 | 130 | 1 |
| JaMarcus Russell | 12 | 3 | 38 | 0 |
| Matt Flynn | 4 | 3 | 22 | 1 |
| Lester Ricard | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Receiving
| Player | No. | Yards | TD |
| Michael Clayton | 7 | 102 | 1 |
| Gino Giambelluca | 3 | 39 | 1 |
| Steve Mares | 3 | 38 | 0 |
| Devery Henderson | 3 | 26 | 0 |
| Shyrone Carey | 3 | 24 | 1 |
| Keith Zinger | 2 | 27 | 0 |
| Junior Joseph | 1 | 18 | 0 |
| Bennie Brazell | 1 | 17 | 0 |
| Dwayne Bowe | 1 | 16 | 0 |
Interceptions
| Player | No. | Yards | TD |
| Eric Alexander | 1 | 23 | 1 |
Punting
| Player | No. | Yards | Avg. |
| Donnie Jones | 4 | 195 | 48.8 |
| Chris Jackson | 6 | 238 | 39.7 |
Field Goals
| Player | FGA | FGM | Kicks |
| Ryan Gaudet | 3 | 3 | made 21, 22, 42 |
| Chris Jackson | 2 | 1 | made 40, missed 52 |