BATON ROUGE – LSU turned its attention to the passing game on both sides of the ball for its final scrimmage before spring break on Thursday afternoon as the Tigers went through a two-hour workout in Tiger Stadium.
Thursday’s practice was the 12th for the Tigers this spring as LSU will have only two practices along with the spring game remaining when the team returns from spring break. LSU’s National L Club Spring Game will be held on Saturday, April 22 in Tiger Stadium. Kickoff for the game is set for 7 p.m. and admission is free of charge.
“We had a nice scrimmage today in Tiger Stadium, the last one before spring break,” LSU coach Ed Orgeron said after the workout. “Today was mainly a passing scrimmage. We ran the ball very little. I wanted to see us throw the football. I wanted to see us protect and I wanted to see us rush the passer and cover.”
Orgeron said the reason for the Tigers focusing so much on the passing game during Thursday’s scrimmage was due to the physicality of LSU’s scrimmage last Saturday.
“I thought we had been very physical last Saturday,” Orgeron said. “ I thought it was time to see us throw the football and have a less physical scrimmage, more of a scrimmage were we threw the football and not as much stuff on the ground. I wanted to see the protection. I wanted to see the pass rush. I wanted to see the timing of the type of routes we were running and who could make a play in the passing game.”
Orgeron said senior quarterback Danny Etling had “an outstanding day” as he completed 13-of-17 passes for 216 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions.
Running back Derrius Guice had three receptions for 34 yards, while running back Darrel Williams added two catches for 77 yards and a pair of scores. Russel Gage, D.J. Chark and Derrick Dillon all had two receptions.
Defensively, linebacker Ray Thornton continues to have an impressive spring, recording two tackles, including one for a loss and a pass breakup. Freshman safety Grant Delpit and sophomore linebacker Devin White each had a pair of tackles, while defensive lineman Rashard Lawrence had what Orgeron called “a big stop on the goal line.”
The Tigers closed out the scrimmage with the two-minute drill and the offense responded with a touchdown and a pair of field goals, including one from Jack Gonsoulin from 51-yards out.
“The team stayed focused with the task at hand,” Orgeron said. “Overall I thought it was a very balanced scrimmage considering the number of passes that were thrown. I thought both sides did a tremendous job in the two minute drill. It was a good way for us to head into spring break.”