BATON ROUGE — After his team’s second-straight 45-3 victory, LSU football coach Les Miles spoke to the media about the Tigers’ win over Arizona and the upcoming tilt against third-ranked Auburn. Watch the video now in the Geaux Zone powered by USAgencies.
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COMMENTS FROM LSU COACH LES MILES AT HIS WEEKLY PRESS LUNCHEON
Opening Statement
“Last week’s game against Arizona, I felt there was real improvement in several areas. Offensively, it appears we were more balanced and had the ability to run the football when we wanted to. That was important. Defensively, we were dominant the entire day. We played with great intensity from the start. Special teams showed improvement in several areas. Although, none of those areas are without correction or adjustment. We must improve to play our best opponents. It was a good day.”
“The guys who were our MVPs — on offense, (RB) Jacob Hester had a big day. He really handled the ball in a number of ways and situations and scored two touchdowns. (LB) Darry Beckwith with nine tackles and two sacks appeared to be all over the field on defense and was our defensive MVP. Jason Spadoni was really all over the field on special teams. He made a big hit for us that forced a fumble. He’s our special teams MVP.
“The Auburn Tigers, ranked No. 3, are a tremendous football team. You look at them on film and understand why they are third-ranked. On offense, with Kenny Irons and Brad Lester and Brandon Cox, the quarterback, they are very efficient. They run the football well. Brandon Cox has yet to throw an interception this year. He is a very, very quality quarterback. He handles checks and the mechanism of their offense very well. Their offensive line has graduated a number of guys. You’d expect there might have been some falloff, but it appears to me that have replaced those veterans with quality guys inside. They come off the football and check the passer extremely well. Their wide receiver go-to guy, Courtney Taylor, has had several big games and is off to a fast start. Defensively, we are going to have to prepare well. They are awfully talented, and we look forward to that challenge.”
“On defense, their front is a group of guys that really play concept well. They understand where they are supposed to be. Everybody is in their appropriate spot and designation. Their front seven are really capable. Probably their biggest test is at linebacker. Will Herring is a guy that gets to the ball. He plays a number of roles for them. He is a very capable of guy. There is another Irons in their secondary, a very talented corner. They always seem to be in the right spot. They make great adjustment and formation changes. They are a very aggressive defense. Will Muschamp has done a great job with them. They’ve incorporated it appears to us, a nice okie package that they haven’t had before. They have used it extensively in the first two weeks. We look forward to attacking that defense.”
“On special teams, they have a great kicker. John Vaughn kicks out of the end zone with regularity. He is about 75 percent in the end zone or through the end zone. Their punter Kody Bliss averages 48 yards and is net is 38. We hope to get a return or two there. Their returners are Brad Lester and (Robert) Dunn. I think their punt returners are very capable guys. They have a quality, quality football team. I don’t think there is any question. We look forward to preparing for them. I think you will find that there will be a lot of enthusiasm around our building with the guys looking to get after and play a traditional (SEC) Western opponent. We understand that this only counts one. We understand that at the end of the year in one of the areas, it’s either a ‘W’ or under the ‘L’, but it is a very big one. We look forward to preparing for Auburn.”
On approaching a game of this magnitude …
“In big games there is a lot of motivation. This football team understands who we play. There will be very few differences in our game-week regiment. There will be a lot of differences in how we approach the game in terms of extra time and our players wanting extra time. It is a lot of fun preparing for a traditional opponent in a key rivalry game. It’s why you play football.”
On who has impressed him coming out of camp and into the first two games of the season …
“(DE) Tyson Jackson has been off to a fast start in two games. He’s playing at the level that we would have anticipated. I think we can look forward to his continued improvement. (LB) Darry Beckwith is also off to a fast start. Here is a guy who is young and had some experience last fall. This fall he is playing extremely strong, very aggressive and understands the defense and what is expected of him. We are enjoying it.”
On Jacob Hester‘s play …
“Everything you ask him to do, he does well. He was the guy who tackled the punter and got credited for a blocked punt at Arizona State. From special teams, to fullback, to tailback, in really anything you ask him to do, he is capable. He takes his responsibility and his role on this team very seriously. He’s a guy we count on.”