BATON ROUGE — LSU wrapped up its first week of spring practice on Saturday with a two-hour workout in full pads here at the Charles McClendon Practice Facility.
The Tigers will practice four times next week, capped with the first scrimmage of the spring on Saturday.
“It was a little warmer today than it has been,” LSU coach Nick Saban said. “I don’t know if it was temperature wise or just a little more humid, but I noticed it was a little more of a struggle out there today than it was on the first day (of pads) on Thursday.
“I don’t think we practiced poorly. I just don’t think we had the same energy level we’ve been having in practice. Maybe it was because it was Saturday or because we practiced earlier in the day, I don’t know. I think everybody controls the energy level they play with and they practice with. Certainly we’d like to do a little better than we did today in terms of consistency and what we’re trying to get done.”
Saban complimented the passing game on Saturday, in particular the play of junior quarterback Matt Mauck, who continues to comeback after suffering a season-ending foot injury against Florida last fall.
“I thought Matt (Mauck) probably was better today, just moving around, setting up on his passes and throwing the ball with accuracy. He looked better today and didn’t look as bothered by his foot so I was pleased with that.”
Saban said that he’s been pleased with the Tigers progress through the first week of spring drills, but LSU still has a long way to go.
“Overall, we’ve got a long way to go and we’ve got a lot of things to improve on. I think the identity we want to establish with this team is not where we want it to be and we’re going to keep working on that. Play hard, be relentless, be more aggressive, have a little more mental toughness, be able to persevere and sustain things in the fourth quarter and all those types of things. I am not disappointed in where we are, I just think we have a long way to go.”