BATON ROUGE — LSU took a day off from practice on Sunday as the ninth-ranked Tigers met the media and then participated in the school’s annual fan day in Tiger Stadium.
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Check below for quotes from coach Miles, defensive coordinator Bo Pelini and offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher.
Close to 150 members of the media gathered at LSU’s Football Operations Center for media day and then another 4,500 fans met the team in Tiger Stadium for fan day as the Tigers signed autographs and took pictures with the fans.
The Tigers return to practice on Monday as the Tigers will hold two workouts, the first in full pads during the morning and the second coming in the afternoon in shorts and shoulder pads.
LSU is expected to scrimmage for the first time in fall camp on Tuesday morning.
The following are comments from LSU head coach Les Miles, offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher and defensive coordinator Bo Pelini at media day on Sunday:
2006 LSU FOOTBALL MEDIA DAY
August 13, 2006
LSU head coach Les Miles comments from media day…
Opening Statement
“It appears our football team is in good shape. They’ve come into camp it appears stronger and more ready to play than teams in the past. We are seven days in (camp). We have run them hard. They have acclimated well. The first couple of days were as hot as any days we’ve had here. They seem to have gained speed and are kind of looking forward to the rest of the schedule. I think the team as a whole has certainly improved. You look at it and we are operating pretty fast. We are up and running very quickly in seven days. A lot of our offense, defense and special teams are in. It is obvious that our players have really adjusted to any changes in system. It is going well.”
“Offensively, the quarterbacks have looked sharp. Anytime you go into a series of practices, there are some practices better than others. Certainly, we are not where we want to be to take on the season, but all three guys have looked sharp. JaMarcus (Russell) has taken our first snaps, but we will let competition play out. We will have a good quarterback. I promise you. The offensive line, which was a question coming in, you look forward to having very good line play. We are not there yet, but if they continue to make the improvement that they’ve made the last seven days over the course of a season, we will have a very, very good line. At tailback, Justin Vincent, Jacob Hester, Anthony Robinson and Charles Scott have all taken snaps in there. Alley Broussard is much improved in my opinion in gaining not only conditioning but also health. He took his first live snap a couple of days ago. The first live snap after being a year off, that is a pretty significant point. We are excited to see him do that. He is still a ways a way, but we expect him to get there.”
“The defensive line with Glenn Dorsey is having an especially strong start to camp. The linebackers — Luke Sanders has really come in with a green shirt where we would not have him take contact has shown that he wants the contact. He appears more instinctive and better ready to play than he has been. Darry Beckwith appears to a tremendous linebacker presence. The secondary is veteran and it just seems that they know where they are supposed to be. It is difficult to pick at a very cohesive secondary group with (LaRon) Landry and Jessie Daniels at safeties and (Jonathan) Zenon and Chevis Jackson at corners.”
“The special teams — Chris Jackson has come out punting and kicking well. It looks like he is in great shape. He is off the surgery in his arm and really back to health. We look forward to seeing him have a great year. The special teams speed that we have added with the freshmen class is really noticeable. You will see our return team and coverage teams show great speed. That will really be reflected to the addition of those teams with some of our freshmen who have come in and shown that ability. The return game, we are still in the midst of evaluating guys who will be returning punts for us. It is safe to say that some of the young guys — Chris Mitchell — will get a look. Trindon Holliday will get a look. Daniel Francis seems to be the best even-hand at punt return. At kick return, Early Doucet, Daniel Francis and some of those young guys again. We will be fine. It will be difficult to replace the return man that we sent to the NFL (Skyler Green), but I think we have talent there to do so.”
“In the freshmen class, there are a number of guys you’d like to see and talk about. I think it is early to say how many will play. I think there is talent across the board, but I think Charles Scott has come in with the style and preparation that will allow him to play early in his career. I think the three wide receivers — Jared Mitchell, Chris Mitchell and Ricky Dixon — are very talented and will certainly see the field at some point in time this fall. The offensive line is a good group of young guys with some showing better than others. I don’t know how many will step forward and be able to play. The young linebackers and safeties — Derrick Odom and Troy Giddens — both of those guys look to have the speed and ability to play early as freshmen. We have just really got it started. We are just in the position now where three two-a-days and three single practices will be more telling. I think the start is a very good start. I think our football team looks forward to not only the remainder of the two-a-day schedule but this fall.”
On Justin Vincent playing special teams …
“We have always looked at special teams as the opportunity for some of our best players to play. That would be a compliment to Justin, to let him take snaps in special teams. We are going to play the best players, and he may be getting the ball a bit more at tailback. That will all play into how many snaps you will see him take in special teams. There will be some young guys factoring in, but it will be hard for me to tell you that somebody would be taking Justin Vincent’s place there.”
On the four players awaiting the NCAA Clearinghouse …
“The four guys who have not yet joined the team are all going through the clearinghouse. The review of their specific credentials is different in each case, but we have been in contact on a daily basis. They are not only in contact with us but the parents. They are not really giving us a lot of information of when this would be done, but we know that they have received the credentials and those things that are in question. We anticipate, at some point in time, them being released to practice. It really depends on the student-athlete if he comes in great shape to contribute. We are encouraging those guys to work out on their own. If they come in in great shape and have the ability to learn and we have the need, they may well get an opportunity this fall. Some will not have had the time to learn it, so we can’t put them in the game. Where the need is a little bit greater, I would not count any of those guys out just yet.”
On the style of play each quarterback offers …
“I think JaMarcus has the longest arm. I think Matt (Flynn) throws a lot of the balls that anybody throws but has quicker feet. I think Ryan (Perrilloux) really has the pension for getting out the pocket more than others and throwing the football. I think they are very similar. There isn’t really specific skill difference to warrant a change in an offense if any of the three went in.”
On the new clock rule changes …
“I don’t know of a head coach other than anybody on a rules committee has had any say on this rule. The last head coaches meeting I attended in the national convention, we voted not to change the college game, not to worry about formatting the college game for television. These are guys that have hour restrictions on their commitment to football, have to go get their degree. You need more players to play, and therefore, it is likely they would not be executing at the highest level. You might need more time to decide the winner of the game, so we voted not to change the game. The rules are the rules. It is one that will be difficult to officiate at times. Having just met with Rogers Redding, the head of the SEC officials, this is something that officiating crews aren’t going to be all excited about either. It is going to speed up the game. It is going to take between two and seven minutes of playing time away from us, so when you take the field you are going to have to know what you want out of the change of possession. Do you want to maximize the time and get an early snap or do you want to minimize the time of the game and let the clock run? We have approached it very early in practice. There is more need for timeouts now than there has ever been. You need a timeout to have the officials rule and use instant replay. You need a timeout at the end of the game if the opponent has the ball to save you 22 seconds right at the start of the position. There will be more reason to keep them rather than use them.”
On the difference from a year ago to today …
“I have stood at this podium now for a solid year. I enjoy it very much. I love the team. The team is a great group of guys. They’re working hard. They are developing young men. It is a joy to go to work. This building is a spectacular place to teach football from. I feel a little different but a lot more comfortable. I know how to get from my house to the office. I know that the office hasn’t changed. We were in one building and now we have come to here. I think we are all creatures of habit, so it is nice to have developed a habit to stand at this podium.”
On the development of the offensive line …
“I don’t know if we will ever replace an Andrew Whitworth, but I will let you know that this offensive line has plenty going for it. It is going to have to be with the athleticism with finesse, but it is going to have to come off the football and smash you in the mouth. That is just what we are going to do at times. I think our offensive line is coming. Our football team is not ready to play a game today. Our football team will be ready for this season, and I believe that offensive line will as well.”
On Ali Highsmith …
“Ali Highsmith has had the style of summer that would indicate that he has strong leadership. He is working in that direction. He is a guy that has played a lot of football for us. When you get into a game when you count on your veterans, he is a guy that we will all count on. I think he has stepped into that role and enjoyed leadership.”
On Peter Dyakowski …
“Peter is just a personality and a guy that has worked hard and done everything that he can do to help this football team. I don’t think we see him as a guy from another country. We just see him as one of the guys we are counting on.”
On the format of scrimmages …
“We are going to have the same number of scrimmages. We are going to reduce the live tackling to some degree and that is based on a 12-game schedule and a 13th game. Certainly we want to earn the 13th opportunity to play in the (SEC) Championship Game and then a 14th bowl game. The opportunity to play 14 games and one bye week in the middle of the season, we are going to need some health. We have adjusted our thought process there. We will see how that goes. It really depends on what your team needs. If your team needs more physical practices, certainly that is what we will turn to. Right now, we enjoy the schedule as we see it.”
On who the leaders will be …
“We have identified those guys by position. There are 15 men that sit in the front of our room that are the core leadership of our football team. I see a lot of vocal leaders. I see a lot of men that have assumed the position in the responsibility of leadership. I think Glenn Dorsey by the way he practices, not so much what he says, is a great leader. I think JaMarcus has taken that piece at times. I think every guy from Landry to Jacob Hester understands that that is their role.”
On the defensive line …
“I think Marlon Favorite has had a great summer and early camp. He is a guy that you can look forward to see play. Charles Alexander is in a similar position. He came off injury from the spring. He is feeling better than he has. He’s improving regularly and working hard at it. I think Ricky Jean-Francois and Tyson Jackson will be the other end. I think Ricky Jean-Francois is the kind of guy that could play inside as well as outside.”
On the opportunity to vote in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll this season …
“I think you have to be fair. You have to realize who the best teams in the country are and then it is LSU and the SEC because you know them best. You understand the talents that are out there in the country, and you get to see that conference on a weekly basis. I promise you if there is any comparison as far as my vote will go, it will be LSU and the SEC and then I have some personal favorites that I might vote for until I know who is better anyway. I could give a hoot where they have us ranked right now. What I would like to see is that we earn our way and keep improving. I want to win the conference. I want to win the bowl. I want to see how things will go. I want to work hard next week. I want to get beyond media day and fan day, which is a day to be enjoyed and part of the experience for our players. Frankly, it is something that we need to get behind us to improve on. The next three two-a-days, some scrimmage and live hitting — that next week — probably speaks more to where we will eventually be ranked than my opinion on it right now.”
On overcoming last season’s schedule …
“Playing 11 games in 10 weeks certainly had to with being tired. Remember, there is nothing that I could have done with that schedule to alter our practice plan. After they decided that the Tennessee game would be on a Monday, we would play every Saturday from that point forward, including the SEC Championship Game, I promise you that any team would have had a difficult time going through that schedule. Whether it has anything to do with practice plan, I have no idea. I think it had more to do with that number of guys and the injuries that occurred. There are a lot of reasons why you get to the back end and don’t have the success that you want. We looked at them all.”
DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR BO PELINI
Opening Statement…
“We feel good about what we’ve accomplished over the first week. We feel we’re, obviously, a little bit ahead of where we were at this time last year being our second year together. We lost us some quality football players from last year’s team, but there are a lot of guys that are looking to step up and have done a good job of doing that this week. We’re not the finished product by any means yet. We’re heading in the right direction.”
“We feel real good about our secondary and who we have coming back there. We feel like we have quality safeties and quality depth at the safety position. We feel really the same way about the corner position. We just need a little bit more consistency from our fourth, fifth and sixth, those guys that are kind of looking to compete for the nickel spots, dime spots, dollar spots in our defense. We’re looking for some more consistency there.”
“We feel good about our linebacker position. Luke Sanders has done a real good job of rehabbing. He’s in good position. He’s stepped out front and he’s the lead guy to be our middle linebacker. We feel real good about Luke and with Ali Highsmith and Darry Beckwith on the flanks. Our fourth linebacker right now is Jason Spadoni and a number of freshmen that are working to provide us depth. (Jacob) Cutrera and (Perry) Riley, those two are probably ahead of the rest of them just because of the nature of where they’ve been as far as getting reps. We feel like Kelvin Sheppard is going to be a good football player for us. He’s also a guy that has shown some good things in practice. Derrick Odom is a guy who is a little further behind because he was a defensive lineman in high school, but athletically he’s everything you look for. We feel real good about what we have coming up at that position.”
“On the defensive line, I’m sure everybody is wondering who’s doing well there. Glenn Dorsey, I feel is as good a d-tackle as there is going to be in the country. I feel real good about him. I think he’s a tremendous football player and a great leader for our team. Marlon Favorite has really stepped up, and he’s a much better football player than he was last year and he’s getting better every day. I really like what I’ve seen from Marlon in the first seven practices. Charles Alexander has shown some good things. He’s probably health wise in better shape than he has been for the first couple years. He hasn’t missed a practice. He’s been taking all the reps we’ve asked him to take. He’s done a nice job, and he’s just fighting a consistency issue. I’m looking for more consistency out of him.”
“At the end position, Tyson Jackson has had a really tremendous start to fall camp. We feel really good about where he is as we do Ricky Jean-Francois, who could play inside or outside for us, but we’ve been giving most of his reps at the end position. We feel we’re really solid at the right end position with (Chase) Pittman and (Ryan) Willis. We think they’re a really good combination over there and we like what they’re doing. Tremaine Johnson and Tim Washington, those guys are fighting to be in the mix at a number of different roles. Pep Livingston has done a nice job for a freshman. He’s learning. He’s behind the other guys, obviously, but he has a chance to possibly play outside or inside. We’ve focused on him playing outside, but we’re going to look at him playing inside over the next couple of days. A pleasant surprise for us has been the play of Leo Deselle, a walk-on who’s done a nice job for us, and Lyle Hitt. They’re not where they need to be yet. Leo is probably ahead of Lyle right now, but Lyle has shown some good things in camp for a redshirt freshman. We feel good about his progress up to this point.”
On the play of linebacker Ali Highsmith…
“I think Ali, he plays WILL for us in nickel. He plays what we call the BUCK linebacker spot, but he’s playing over the tight end in base personnel. He was a guy who was a big play guy for us last year, made some plays. He wasn’t always the most consistent guy. I said to him yesterday that he’s more comfortable, his technique is better. I feel like he’s a five times better linebacker right now than he was at the end of last year. His knowledge is better. He spent a lot of time in the off-season watching film. And he’s hungry. With the other guys leaving and some of the seniors graduating, he’s stepped up to take on a leadership role. All of that combined is going to make him a better football player. We feel real good about him, and I think he’s more confident than he ever has been.”
On the importance of turnover ratio this season…
“We were in position (to create turnovers last season). We didn’t make a lot of plays. We’re focusing a little bit more on the recovery aspect of it. Creating turnovers is about a couple things ? getting a lot of hats around the ball and having emphasis. The emphasis is higher now with these guys than it ever has been. You see tons of shots on the ball in practice. We were able to get the balls on the ground, and we had a number of guys around it. For some reason it didn’t add up. I’ve never really been around that, and I don’t that’s going to be the case this year. We talk about it all the time. We talk about the ball being the game. I’m confident it’s going to turn over in our favor this year.”
On the experience of the secondary…
“One of the reasons I think we have talent and experience is we use them. We have five DBs, six DBs and even have a seven defensive back package. We have depth there. We have quality football players. We do a lot with our safeties, and we do a lot in our blitz packages with our secondary. Having more guys and more quality guys that can cover gives you a lot more options. We feel we have that. It’s just going to make us more versatile as the year goes on. When you start game planning people and you start moving around so people can’t pick up on what you’re doing, having more quality cover guys is obviously a big advantage for you.”
On free safety LaRon Landry…
“I think LaRon Landry is as much of a total package of a safety as any guy I’ve been around, and in my career I’ve been around some great safeties. He has cover skills, he has range, he is as tough as can be. The area where I talked to LaRon about addressing in the off-season, which is going to take his game to even a greater level, is when he really starts understanding the game and understanding what offenses are trying to do to you and why they’re lining up in certain formations. That way he won’t just be out there depending on athleticism. He’ll be combining athleticism with the knowledge of the game and using the mental aspect of the game and combining that with his athleticism. When he gets there he will be at a point where the next level will be drooling for him.”
On the improvement made by linebacker Luke Sanders…
“He’s consistent. He understands the defense. He stands in front of the huddle and commands respect. He’s done a good job. Our middle linebacker, our MIKE linebacker, he’s kind of the quarterback of the front. He’s done a nice job of getting us in and out of our checks, getting us lined up and taking charge. Combine that with he’s just ahead of where he was last year. He did a nice job. He watched Cameron Vaughn last year, and he understands the system more and more every day. Physically, he can run. He runs better than what people give him credit for, I think, what most people probably think he can do. He’s taken the physical aspect of the game to another level. I feel real good about Luke, and I think he’s going to be a tremendous asset to our defense.”
OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR JIMBO FISHER
Opening Statement…
“I’m very pleased and I think one of the reasons I’m pleased is that it’s the second year we as a staff are together. Our players understand what direction we’re going and what we’re doing, how we’re doing it. We’re staying relatively healthy in camp. We’ve practiced hard. The kids are working hard. We haven’t had many injuries or things that hold guys out for long periods of time that set you back. We haven’t had that. I’ve been very pleased with our team’s work ethic, their learning ability, their ability to get better. We got better during the week, and that’s what we’ve got to continue to do all the way through. We had a very good first week of camp.”
On the improvement shown by wide receiver Brandon LaFell…
“He’s worked very hard in the weight room. I’m not sure how much weight he’s put on, but I’ll say 15 or 20 pounds. He’s carrying it better. He’s still running the same speed or maybe a little faster. He has knowledge of what he’s doing and just getting acclimated to the pace of what we’re doing here offensively being around three older guys who really know what to do and I think have taken him under their wing a little bit and helped him because they know how much we need that next guy coming on. I think he’s had a very good camp and is progressing very well.”
On what he expects from the offense in Tuesday’s scrimmage…
“We have a little saying around here that we build our program on is we try to play with as I say TED. That’s toughness, effort and discipline by our kids. What we’ve got to do is get our kids to playing tough, give and effort on every play and play very disciplined football and knowing what to do and how to do it. We need to see where we are assignment wise, technique wise and who we can count on from a day-to-day basis out of that scrimmage. I’m not trying to scheme, not worrying about how many points we score or what we do but where are we progressing and running the football, being physical on the line of scrimmage. In our schedule playing in this league you have to be able to run the football. Our technique and discipline up front, our ability for the quarterbacks to run, pass and get us in the right place get us going in the right direction, those are the basic things assignment wise that will get us going that way. We’ll get into schemes and trickery and those different game plan type things as we go.”
On what each quarterback brings to the team…
“First of all, they’re all different sizes, they’re all different weights, they’re all pretty athletic, they all move well. I think it’s just experience. I think they all bring a uniqueness. JaMarcus (Russell) has pure size, arm strength and moves well and vision. Matt (Flynn) is a very good athlete, moves around, is a leader, moves the ball well. Ryan (Perrilloux) has a very strong arm and what’s good about him is he grasps so much more every day. He’s eliminating the mistakes he did last year and in practice making checks and doing things. It’s just fun to watch him develop. They’re not as far apart as you think they are in all their talents because they all have arms, they’re very accurate and they all have the ability to move their feet. They’re more similar than they are different.”
On how reps are split between the three quarterbacks…
“We’re trying to get them all reps. We could be splitting JaMarcus and Matt in the first group, then we get Ryan probably 35 or 40 percent. For instance, in a 16 play skeleton drill Matt and JaMarcus have been getting six and Ryan has been getting four. So it’s six, six and four. We’ve been keeping him coming because I think he’s earned that right because of where his development is. The other two have been great with him because it allows them to get a break, give him a little practice.”
On Dwayne Bowe’s off-season eye surgery…
“Dwayne is he is almost the most na?ve, nice person if you ever really know Dwayne. He is honest when he says he feels bad about it (dropping passes). He’s like having a little brother. He’s such a genuine person, one of the most genuine young kids I’ve ever been around to coach. When he says that, he means it. I will say this, the ability for him to adjust now and his growing up and his eyes being better, if he plays like he did in the spring and what he has done in this first week I think that comment will go away. I really do with his leadership and maturity and consistency on a day-to-day basis. And not just making the catches he’s supposed to, he’s making the catches that he’s not supposed to make, which he has the ability to do. I’ve been very pleased with where he’s at right now and what he’s doing. Hopefully, that comment will fade away.
On the health of the running backs…
“I don’t know if they’ve been alleviated, but we’re heading in the right direction. Alley’s (Broussard) progression, he’s not where he needs to be, of course, but he got his first live contact. He’s hitting. He’s running. He’s showing the old signs of the burst and the big, heavy body that you have. I think every day his confidence grows. You can look in a guy’s eyes and tell when there’s a nervousness. The guy hadn’t been on the field in a year. All of a sudden by the third day, he’s a little sore but I get those little jokes in the flex line. He’s getting back in a comfort zone. Even when he’s sore, he’s pushing through and doing things. I see him making great strides Justin (Vincent) I think is coming along very well in that aspect. He hasn’t missed, has been out there taking all the reps and knows what to do. In that aspect I feel very good about their progression. Are we where we need to be? No, but we’re heading in the right direction and I feel good about the direction in which we’re going.”
OFFENSIVE PLAYER QUOTES 8/13/06
On how to deal with adversity…
“All things aren’t going to work when you want them to. You have to put it in the back of your mind and forget about it. You just have to keep moving forward.”
On helping the young guys dealing with the college game…
“That’s one of the reasons I am here. I want to help those guys whenever they need me. I am here to give them advice.”
On who has helped him in the past…
“During my freshman year Marcus Spears and Michael Clayton helped me out a lot. In my sophomore year Marcus Randall was a huge help for me whenever I needed him.”
On the depth at quarterback…
“It keeps you on your toes. At the same time you are pushing them to make them better. You want to make sure they are ready when they get their chance.”
On RB Charles Scott…
“He looks great. Charles Scott has done real well. What I have noticed about him is that he learns very quickly. He has his head in the right place and knows what he needs to do to succeed.”
On what goals he has set for this season…
“I have tremendous goals for myself, but I defiantly want to make sure this team wins ball games before anything. I have never been on a losing ball club and I defiantly don’t want to start now. I am going to do everything in my power to help this team win.”
WR Buster Davis
On this being his senior year…
“I have come a long way and I have accomplished a lot but I am not done yet. I want to become a better player and go out on top.”
On what has impressed him in fall camp…
“The offensive line has really impressed me. We have a redshirt freshman Ciron Black that has done real well. I think everybody has noticed his skills. When other players see him practice they say ?Is that Ciron blocking?’ He has started out great so far.”
On what he needs to improve on…
“I have to stay healthy. I have had some injuries in the past that have really set me back. I know I can’t control that, but I just have to work hard and do what I can to stay on the field.”
WR Dwayne Bowe…
On the depth at wide receiver…
“This group of guys is great. These guys can catch, run and have what it takes to make big plays. Right now we are just waiting on the season to start so we can see who can out duel who. We have a competition among the receivers on who can be the best. Having so many competitive guys at wide receiver really helps the team by getting the best guys out there.”
On the quarterbacks…
“We aren’t worried about who is going to be the starting quarterback because we are comfortable with all of them. All of them throw the ball great and make the right reads. Our job is to catch the ball, so it really doesn’t matter who is the quarterback.”
On this being his senior year…
“I have been waiting for this chance a long time. I have matured and I think the coaches know what I am capable of. I hope to have a great year.”
OG Will Arnold
On the preseason accolades he has received…
“I am honored and glad that people think highly of me, but at the same time I still have a job to do. The season hasn’t even started yet and I know I need to work hard and focus on what we need to do as a team. “
On losing three starters on the offensive line…
“They did a great job of leading us and were great guys to look up to. I am going to do my best to accomplish what they did. I have had some bad luck with injuries in the past, but I know what I can do and just to give it my all.”
On any struggles he had during his rehab…
“Some days I would come in for rehab and just feel like I couldn’t go. As my rehab started picking up I started getting more confident and my knee started getting its strength back.”
On if he talked to the other injured running backs about their injuries…
“The rehab was so hard we really didn’t have enough energy to talk to each other. We just got our business done with the world pool, leg extensions and cardio to make sure we got our strength back.”