BATON ROUGE — LaBrandon Toefield’s two-point conversion with no time left lifted the Purple team to a 14-13 win over the White team as LSU concluded its spring with the annual Spring Game before a crowd of 12,628 here Saturday in Tiger Stadium.
Toefield’s game-winning run was setup when Rohan Davey hit Reggie Robinson in the corner of the endzone with an 8-yard pass as time expired to pull the Purple team to within 13-12. Toefield then clinched the victory with his 3-yard run.
“I’m not disappointed in the way the spring game panned out,” LSU coach Nick Saban said. “It’s very difficult to have a clean game when you split up the squads because you have to simplify things to some degree and you end up having mismatches with players playing against each other. Sometimes that enhances sacks, penalties and bad plays, especially on offense.
“I thought there were some good hits on defense and I think we made a little bit of progress there. I think the key thing coming out of this game is that we didn’t get anybody hurt today and we became a team.”
After the teams battled to a scoreless tie at halftime, the Purple team got on the scoreboard first when Toefield scored from one yard out for a 6-0 advantage at the 1:37 mark in the third quarter. Kris Kessler missed the extra point.
The White team took its first lead of the game six minutes later when Elice Parker capped a 6-play, 58-yard drive with a four-yard touchdown run. John Corbello’s extra point put the White team up 7-6. After the Purple team turned the ball over on downs, Marcus Randall led his team down the field in just over a minute capped by a 18-yard touchdown pass to Josh Reed for a 13-6 advantage. Corbello missed the extra point keeping the White advantage at seven points.
Davey, who has proven to be at his best when the game is on the line, marched the Purple unit 75 yards on 12 plays, which included converting a fourth-and-10 situation as well as Robinson’s last-second touchdown reception.
“You have to be confident in the two-minute drill if you are going to run it,” Davey said. “Every time you get on the field you have to be confident in your abilities and do whatever it takes to win the game. We did that today.”
For the game, Davey completed 14 of 34 passes for 172 yards and one touchdown, while Randall connected on 10 of 19 passes for 126 yards and a score. Domanick Davis, who played both ways, led all rushers with 55 yards on nine carries, while Toefield added 49 yards and one touchdown on eight carries. Elice Parker led the White team with 35 yards, including a 27-yard run, one six attempts.
Robinson of the Purple squad led all receivers with six receptions for 50 yards and one touchdown, while Jack Hunt caught a pair of passes, including a 27-yard reception on a fourth-and-10 situation that kept the Purple teams’ game-winning drive alive, for 53 yards. Corey Webster hauled in four passes for 50 yards, while Reed had four receptions for 77 yards and a score to lead the White unit.
Defensively, Lionel Thomas led the White team with eight tackles, while Randall Gay had an interception as well as a fumble recovery. Kyle Thompson also had an interception for the White squad.
Damien James and Demetrius Hookfin led the Purple team with five tackles.
Scoring Summary
| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | FINAL |
| White | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 13 |
| Purple | 0 | 0 | 6 | 8 | 14 |
| 3Q 1:37 Toefield 1-yard run (missed PAT) | P, 6-0 |
| 4Q 9:10 Parker 4-yard run (Corbello kick) | W, 7-6 |
| 4Q 1:32 J. Reed 18 pass from Randall (missed PAT) | W, 13-6 |
| 4Q 0:00 R. Robinson 8 pass from Davey (Toefield run) | P, 14-13 |
Attendance: 12,628
| Rushing | Att. | Gain | Lost | Net | TD | Long |
| White | ||||||
| Elice Parker | 6 | 36 | 1 | 35 | 1 | 27 |
| Derron Parquet | 14 | 39 | 12 | 27 | 0 | 10 |
| Marcus Randall | 6 | 16 | 34 | -18 | 0 | 16 |
| Rick Clausen | 1 | 0 | 11 | -11 | 0 | 0 |
| Purple | ||||||
| Domanick Davis | 9 | 56 | 1 | 55 | 0 | 17 |
| LaBrandon Toefield | 8 | 49 | 0 | 49 | 1 | 13 |
| Jeremy Burnham | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Rohan Davey | 5 | 19 | 24 | -5 | 0 | 18 |
| Matt Mauck | 2 | 0 | 23 | -23 | 0 | 0 |
| Passing | Att. | Comp. | Int. | Yards | TD | Long | Sacks |
| White | |||||||
| Marcus Randall | 19 | 10 | 0 | 126 | 1 | 25 | 4 |
| Rick Clausen | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Purple | |||||||
| Rohan Davey | 34 | 14 | 1 | 172 | 1 | 27 | 3 |
| Matt Mauck | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
| Toefield | 1 | 1 | 0 | 26 | 0 | 26 | 0 |
| Receiving | No. | Yards | TD | Long |
| White | ||||
| Josh Reed | 4 | 77 | 1 | 25 |
| Corey Webster | 4 | 50 | 0 | 19 |
| Jerel Myers | 1 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| Elice Parker | 1 | -6 | 0 | 0 |
| Purple | ||||
| Reggie Robinson | 6 | 50 | 1 | 13 |
| LaBrandon Toefield | 3 | 16 | 0 | 12 |
| Jack Hunt | 2 | 53 | 0 | 27 |
| Robert Royal | 2 | 40 | 0 | 27 |
| Solomon Lee | 2 | 29 | 0 | 15 |
| Ed Dangerfield | 1 | 13 | 0 | 13 |
| Punting | No. | Yards | Avg. | Long |
| White | ||||
| Ryan Miles | 9 | 399 | 44.3 | 55 |
| Purple | ||||
| Donnie Jones | 6 | 261 | 43.5 | 49 |
Quotes from LSU coach Nick Saban following the LSU Spring Game:
“I’m not disappointed in the way this spring game panned out. It’s very difficult to have a clean game when you split up the squads because you have to simplify things to some degree and inevitably you have mismatches with players playing against one another. Sometimes that enhances sacks, penalties and bad plays, especially on offense.”
“I don’t think we were particularly sharp at quarterback, not like we’re capable of, which was a little bit disappointing. The guys out there that are doing don’t have a whole lot of game experience other than Ro (Davey). He (Davey) seemed a little bit tentative and not likes himself. But we were happy that he was able to play and not get hurt.”
“I thought there were some good hits on defense. I think we made a little bit of progress their. We made a big step the last three games of the year defensively last year, and I think that’s carried over to the spring. We don’t have a lot of depth, but I pleased with the way that units progressed.”
“The reason why we do what we do in the spring is to give the specialist an opportunity to get in a game like situation and see how they execute. We didn’t execute like I think we are capable of or like we need too. That is going to be important for us next year in terms of our success.”
“I think the key thing coming out of this is that we didn’t get anyone hurt today and that we became a team today. I have to admit that the whole team is going to have steak on Monday because there was a penalty on the last drive and the commissioner (Nick Saban), talked the official into waving it off and I didn’t feel it was fair to the team that lost. I think all the players should be rewarded for the way they played.”
“I think he (Marcus Randall) kinda has solidified himself as the backup quarterback. But I don’t think its imperative that we make that decision. It’s not necessary for it to come out of here. We’re trying to develop all of our quarterbacks. I think he (Randall) had the best spring out of all of our backup quarterbacks, but I don’t think he’s where he needs to be to be a solid backup. We’re going to continue to work with all three backups.”
“We limited the offense and defense. We only showed two fronts and three coverages on defense. We kept the play calling on offense simple.”
“I thought he (Dominick Davis) made some nice cuts and runs on offense and he’s progressed well as a DB. I think he make contributions for us on both sides of the ball.”
“I was much more pleased with the way some of the younger guys played. It was easier for them today because we kept things very simple. But I don’t think we did enough stuff today to win any game that we play. They are going to have to be able to be responsible for a little greater ball game. I was pleased with a lot of the young players today.”
“I don’t think we were as sharp throwing and catching the ball as we’re capable of playing. We need to get much more consistent in that.”
“I want to be able to work on things that are going to help our team. The things that help our team are no huddle and situations. If we have enough time on the clock to stop or make a two-point conversion to win the game, well we faced that today if it ever comes up in a game. If we sit on the ball we don’t get into those situations. That’s the only reason you play a spring game.”
2001 LSU Football Spring Awards
Alvin Roy 4th Quarter Award:
Matt Mauck
Jack Hunt
Randall Gay
Norman LeJeune
Eric Andolsek Leadership Award:
Rohan Davey
Robert Royal
Mike Miley Leadership Award:
Trev Faulk
Ryan Clark
Toby Caston Spring Performance Award:
Bradie James
Chad Lavalais
Ralph Norwood Spring Performance Award:
LaBrandon Toefield
Rob Sale