BATON ROUGE — LSU made progress on both sides of the football on Thursday as the Tigers went through their second scrimmage of the spring with a 90-play workout here in Tiger Stadium.
Thursday’s workout wrapped up the fourth week of spring practice for the Tigers as LSU has now gone through 11 of its 15 practices. The Tigers will take next week off for spring break before returning to action for their final week of spring practice on April 13. The annual LSU Spring Game is scheduled for 5 p.m. on April 18 in Tiger Stadium.
“There was some progress made today,” LSU coach Les Miles said. “We are fortunate to have great weather this afternoon considering at noon I wouldn’t have given us much chance to be outside. The field was perfect and the footing was fast.
“It was a pretty even go; the offense made some plays and the defense made some plays. There were a lot of ones versus ones and twos versus twos. Progress was made, but we are a long way away.”
Thursday’s scrimmage saw each unit get approximately 30 snaps with another 30 snaps dedicated to special teams. The scrimmage was once again situational and saw the offense starting most of its drives at midfield. The Tigers closed the scrimmage with periods dedicated to goal line situations and the two-minute drill.
Five days after struggling against the defense, the LSU offense got on track Thursday as the Tigers accounted for three offensive touchdowns, two through the air and one on the ground.
“It was really night and day,” Miles said of the offensive performance. “We were really much more efficient. I don’t know that the day didn’t have something to do with it. The last time we scrimmaged there was gale forced winds that were not conducive to throwing the football and it early enough in the spring that we weren’t efficient running it.”
Some of the offensive highlights from Thursday’s scrimmage saw Keiland Williams scoring on an 18-yard TD run, while Brandon LaFell and Deangelo Peterson both caught TD passes from Jarrett Lee. LaFell’s TD reception came from 23-yards out, while Peterson hauled in a 25-yard scoring reception.
Richard Murphy led the rushing attack, finishing with 47 yards on six carries, including a 14-yard run to open the scrimmage. Williams added 25 yards on seven carries, while Charles Scott logged 20 yards on five attempts.
“I think Richard Murphy had a nice day running the football,” Miles said. “Keiland Williams has spent a lot of time around here and we need him to really compete. I think he had a run today that I thought looked different than runs before. It looked like he may well have stepped it up a bit.
“I like the way Charles Scott is competing. I think Charles is a big physical back and made some great cuts today.”
Once again, all four quarterbacks took snaps during the scrimmage.
“The quarterbacks were pretty even,” Miles said. “Jarrett Lee threw a few more completed passes and Jordan Jefferson made a couple of nice throws.
“Russell Shepard played well at times. Any time you give reps to a true freshman, you expect it to take some time to learn. I think he’s going to be an exciting addition to our team, it’s just a matter of seeing where he fits.”
Defensively, safety Chad Jones led the unit with four tackles, one tackle for a loss and an interception. Harry Coleman had five tackles and Karnell Hatcher added three stops. Pep Levingston paced the defensive line with three tackles, two of which went for losses.
“Drake Nevis looked very good and made some plays on the defensive side.” Miles said. “Chad Jones adds a big, tall, roving body back there. You put a ball up in the air and he is going to come down with it. He had a nice day.”
LSU Scrimmage
April 2, 2009
LSU HEAD COACH LES MILES QUOTES
Opening statement …
“There was some progress made today. We are fortunate to have great weather this afternoon considering at noon I wouldn’t have given us much chance to be outside. The field was perfect and the footing was fast. It was a pretty even go and we went 30 plays per team with maybe 30 special teams’ plays. It was pretty evenly matched. The offense made some plays and the defense made some plays. There were a lot of ones versus ones and twos versus twos. I think Richard Murphy had a nice day running the football. The quarterbacks were pretty even. Jarrett Lee threw for a few more completed passes and Jordan Jefferson made a couple of nice throws and completed touchdown passes throughout the scrimmage to Deangelo Peterson. Progress was made, but it was a long way away from being a team. Special teams punted efficiently, but not well. Coverage units looked good, but I’m going to wait to see the film. I think we have some competition at the field goal with Josh Jasper and Drew Alleman. Both guys kicked it well today and there will be competition to decide the starter there.”
On the defense in the scrimmage …
“It was a much more evenly matched day. The offense made plays and the defense did as well. Drake Nevis looked very good and made some plays on the defensive side. Chad Jones adds a big, tall, roving body in there. You put a ball up in the air and he is going to come down with it. He had a nice day.
On the improvement in the offense.
“It was really night and day. We were really much more efficient. I don’t know that the day didn’t have something to do with it. The last time we scrimmaged there was gale forced wins that were not conducive to throwing the football. It was early enough in the spring that we weren’t efficient running it.”
On Chad Jones returning to baseball …
“I think that certainly he will have the opportunity to, but that is Coach Paul Maineri’s call.”
On improvements carrying the ball …
“We rushed the football pretty efficiently. Richard Murphy had six carries for fifty yards. Charles Scott had four for twenty yards. There was some scramble yardage with Russell Sheppard getting a couple of those. Overall, it was a good day.
On the fullback position …
“We are really asking them to step up. Keiland Williams has spent a lot of time around here and we need him to really compete and be the guy. I think he had a run today that I though looked different than I’d seen him run. It looked like he may well have stepped it up a bit. I like the way Charles Scott is competing, don’t get me wrong. I think Charles is a big physical back and made some great cuts today and certainly he is going to be playing.”
On who is likely to start at fullback ….
“We are getting some other snaps in there. I think you will find that one of the other big guys, maybe Richard Dugas, will give us some snaps at fullback. I think he will be in there competing to play. This young James Stampley, a walk on, has given us some snaps, is awfully physical, and I’m not ready to say he’s not in it. I think the position will come to life this fall.”
On T-Bob Herbert…
“T-Bob is really way ahead of his rehabilitation. His leg has got some great strength and he played a lot of snaps today. Mostly passes, but certainly he is getting better.”
On spring break …
“The thing is, at times, it is a break that allows them to revolve and reflect on where they are at and what they need to do. They get off of their feet, relax and work out, it will be a great piece for them to come back and get ready to finish. We are watching the film once they return and have four practices. It will be their first week we have had four. We expect it to be our best effort and the best prepared we have been to play.”
On if anyone missed the scrimmage with an injury …
“I think Thomas Parsons got nicked and he’ll be back after spring break. Chris Tolliver played.”
On Russell Shepard …
“He played quarterback most of the day. He played well at times. Any time you give reps to a true freshman, you expect it to take some time to learn.”
On how the defense played …
“I think they are playing better. We challenged them and they were operating a little more efficiently today. I think this will be a good day for the defense. They are playing well and they will be play better once they get off of break. There was improvement by the defense this week and certainly I saw it on the field. It will be the thing though that is the ebb and flow of spring. Defense wins one then the offense wins one and comes back to compete. Now the defense will have to respond.”
On Jordan Jefferson …
“Jefferson is improved. He understands the offense better and is getting more reps. He is getting better and getting more time.”