NEW ORLEANS — The defense took its turn with the press here on Thursday as defensive coordinator Will Muschamp along with five defensive standouts met with close to 100 members of the media at a Sugar Bowl Press Conference.
Muschamp was joined at the press conference by defensive tackle Chad Lavalais, linebacker Lionel Turner, defensive end Marcus Spears, cornerback Corey Webster and strong safety Jack Hunt.
“First of all, it’s been a great week, thanks to the Sugar Bowl people, who have been very hospitable to us, and it’s great for our kids to be at home, playing in our home state and playing here in New Orleans,” Muschamp told the media. “We were here two years ago, and things have gotten bigger and better for the Sugar Bowl, and it has been a lot of fun this week.
“We’ve had a great week of preparation. We had a good week in Baton Rouge before we came down here and basically, we had 90 percent of our game plan defensively for what we wanted to do, how we wanted to approach the game. We’ve since polished and hemmed some things up since we’ve been down here in New Orleans. The kids have had great focus throughout the week, handled themselves and the attention of this game, I think, very well to this point.
“We’re very pleased at where we are at this point, but we still have a couple of days to go before game day, and we’re looking forward to it. We’ve had good preparation thus far.”
Prior to its meeting with the media, LSU went through one its longer practices of the week as the workout lasted just over two hours at the Louisiana Superdome. The Tigers, who worked out in full pads for the third straight day, will taper down with a lighter workout on Friday followed by a walk-thru in the Superdome on Saturday.
On Thursday, the Tigers had a spirited workout as LSU continues to fine-tune its game plan for the third-ranked Sooners. Among the highlights of Thursday’s workout were the one-on-one drills between the Tiger offensive line and the defensive line. LSU also worked on team drills against the offensive and defensive scout team as well as special teams work.
“We had a good practice,” LSU coach Nick Saban told his team following the workout. “We had good tempo and we didn’t make very many mental mistakes. We’ve had a good week, but we still have a few things to polish up before game day.”
Friday will feature the Tigers appearing at Sugar Bowl Media Day, a one-hour event that will be televised live on ESPNews from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The event, which will be held on the floor of the Superdome, will feature close to 500 members of the media. Saban will meet with the media from 11:30 a.m to noon at the main stage with other players to follow.
The Tigers will start Friday with a team picture around the Nokia Sugar Bowl logo at midfield in the Superdome. Following media day, the Tiger will bus 15 minutes to Metairie for a scheduled two-hour workout at the New Orleans Saints Practice Facility.