BATON ROUGE — The LSU offense, led by running back Joseph Addai and quarterbacks Matt Mauck and Marcus Randall, held the upper hand in the Tigers’ second scrimmage of the spring here Saturday in Tiger Stadium.
Addai, a redshirt freshman from Houston, rushed for 90 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries, while Mauck and Randall each passed for over 200 yards to lead an improved LSU offense.
The Tigers spent a portion of the two-hour scrimmage working on different situations, including third-and-long situations as well as redzone offense and goal line offense.
“We definitely played better on offense today,” LSU coach Nick Saban said. “The quarterbacks played a little bit better. I think we executed a little bit better in the passing game, which was good to see. Overall though, I wasn’t very pleased with the overall effort, intensity, attitude, crispness, and hitting. Those things were not what they need to be. And I think it’s probably contributed largely to it is pretty warm out there today.
“I expect our team to have a higher standard of what they expect from themselves in terms of the level that we want to accomplish regardless of what the circumstances are. And I also think that we have got to have a little more mental toughness than that and work through those tough times.”
Mauck hit on 19 of 30 attempts for 218 yards and two touchdowns, one of which came in a goal line situation, while Randall connected on 15 of 28 passes for 241 yards and one score. Mauck’s touchdown pass was a 9-yard completion to fullback Solomon Lee, while Randall connected with running back Elice Parker on a 5-yard scoring play.
“I think both quarterbacks definitely threw the ball better, were more accurate and more in command and control of what they were doing,” Saban said. “That was pleasing and we did a better job on third down at times.”
In the running game, Addai scored on a 31-yard run, a play in which he ran over a pair of LSU defensive backs on his way to the endzone. Vincent scored on a 65-yard run, the longest play of the day for the Tigers.
“Joseph (Addai) and Chris Vincent both ran and ran through some people at times and broke some tackles, which I think is a good sign,” Saban said.
Michael Clayton led all receivers with five catches for 84 yards, while Jerel Myers added five receptions for 48 yards. Parker hauled in four passes for 82 yards and one touchdown, while Blain Bech caught four passes for 60 yards. Addai added 40 yards on three receptions and Shyrone Carey caught three balls for 39 yards.
Defensively, All-America candidate Bradie James led the Tigers with nine tackles, including one sack and another tackle for a loss. Damien James chipped in with three tackles, one interception and one forced fumble, while Norman LeJeune had one sack, one fumble recovery, one interception and one pass broken up.
Other leaders on defense include defensive tackle Brandon Washington with five tackles, safety Jack Hunt with six tackles and cornerback Corey Webster with six stops.
On special teams, punter Donnie Jones averaged 46 yards on seven kicks, while placekicker John Corbello converted on four of eight field goal attempts.
The Tigers will take Sunday and Monday off before returning to practice on Tuesday and Thursday of next week followed by the annual LSU Spring Game at 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 27 in Tiger Stadium.
LSU Football — Spring Scrimmage No. 2 Stats
Rushing
Joseph Addai 13 att., 90 yards, 2 TDs (one in goal line situation)
Chris Vincent 10 att., 79 yards, 1 TD (65-yard TD run)
Elice Parker 10 att., 33 yards
Passing
Matt Mauck 19 of 30, 218 yards, 2 TDs (one in goal line situation)
Marcus Randall 15 of 28, 241 yards, 1 TD
Rick Clausen 1 of 9, 8 yards
Receiving
Michael Clayton 5 rec., 84 yards
Jerel Myers 5 rec., 48 yards
Elice Parker 4 rec., 82 yards, 1 TD
Blain Bech 4 rec., 60 yards
Joseph Addai 3 rec., 40 yards
Shyrone Carey 3 rec., 39 yards
Solomon Lee 2 rec., 12 yards, 1 TD
Tackles
Bradie James 9 tackles, 1 sack, 1 TFL
Corey Webster 6 tackles
Jack Hunt 6 tackles
Brandon Washington 5 tackles
Travis Daniels 5 tackles
Interceptions
Damien James 1 for 28 yards
Norman LeJeune 1 for 0 yards
Punting
Donnie Jones 7 for 46.0
Field Goals
John Corbello 4 of 8 (made 29, 27, 20, 22; missed 41, 50, 32, 58)
Chuy Guitierez 1 of 1 (made 19)