BATON ROUGE — LSU welcomed 100 players to campus on Sunday as the ninth-ranked Tigers opened fall camp with a day dedicated to orientation, meetings, and physical examinations.
“Summer is over and we’re excited to get started,” LSU coach Les Miles said. “Our team has worked hard all summer and we are ready to get started. This is a pretty talented football team, but we still have a lot of work ahead of us.”
The Tigers will hit the practice field for the first time on Monday with the veterans working out at 9 a.m. followed by an afternoon practice with the freshmen and selected veterans at 4:30.
“The split practice sessions allow us the opportunity to focus on the young guys, while also giving us a high level practice to the veterans,” Miles said. “It also affords us the ability to bring a long the younger guys a little faster because they are getting more snaps and more reps.”
The Tigers will have four days of split workouts before the team works out as an entire unit for the first time on Friday. Miles said he expects his team to make the most out of the first few days of practice.
“I just want to get this team to get their feet on the ground and have a fast tempo at practice,” Miles said. “They must understand there is work to be done. As long as they take care of their specific role and work at it they will be fine.”
Miles announced on Sunday that the Tigers will temporarily be without the services of five players, who are still waiting for the NCAA clearinghouse to process their academic paperwork. The five players include running backs Keiland Williams and Richard Murphy, offensive lineman Steven Singleton, defensive tackle Al Woods and defensive back Tyson Andrus.
Miles said he expects all five players to be cleared by the NCAA.
LSU opens its season on Saturday, Sept. 2 when the Tigers host Louisiana-Lafayette at 7 p.m. in Tiger Stadium.