BATON ROUGE – Head coach Les Miles used Monday’s practice as an opportunity to get LSU ready for Tuesday’s scrimmage as the Tigers held a shells (shoulder pads and helmets) workout at the Charles McClendon Practice Facility.
Monday also served as the first day of school at LSU, something that didn’t go unnoticed by Miles.
“That first day of school, practice is a pain because the players’ focus is generally on something else other than football,” Miles said. “Now that school has started, the players have to adjust their schedules. They have to realize that in order to come with energy to practice, they have to eat breakfast and lunch. It appeared that some of them struggled with that today.
“We still got a lot accomplished and this practice was all in preparation for tomorrow.”
Tomorrow’s scrimmage – the final one of the preseason for the Tigers – will take place at the indoor facility. LSU’s already had two scrimmages during camp.
“We will be practicing against LSU, and there might be a period or two that will be North Carolina in nature, but by and large, it will be LSU,” Miles said of Tuesday’s scrimmage. “We are going to be looking for execution and seeing which players are making statements about playing time and getting on the field (during a game).”
Miles said that he’s looking forward to watching quarterbacks Jordan Jefferson and Jarrett Lee compete on Tuesday.
“We want to execute the offense,” Miles said. “We want to make sure that the run-checks are right, and we hit the passes, and everything operates as it’s supposed to. I think those guys are competing. It’s still a very competitive position, and I like how it’s going. Jordan is continuing to improve, and that’s all we can ask.”
Miles said that after Tuesday’s scrimmage, the Tigers will turn their attention to the season-opener against North Carolina.
“I think were ahead (with our preparation),” Miles said. “I think we are starting to introduce some of the things that we are going to do against North Carolina. Hopefully, we will have accomplished more tomorrow.”