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11:48 am
March 9, 2016
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Les Miles has a lot to be happy about after LSU’s spring practice.
The LSU Tigers wrapped up another spring practice Saturday with the Purple defeating the White 17-7 in the National L Club game.
Head coach Les Miles once again has a loaded roster at his disposal, which puts the Tigers on the short list of teams with legitimate national championship aspirations.
There were more injuries than Miles would have liked, but LSU still had a productive spring. The defense looks stout, but the passing game still needs work. With that in mind, let us take a look at the winners and losers from the Tigers’ spring session.
Miles’ recent job on the recruiting trail is already paying off this spring.
LSU returns 18 starters from last season’s 10-3 squad, per SB Nation. Thus, it was imperative for the team to establish some depth this spring. Thanks to a few early-enrollee freshmen, it did that and much more.
With secondary stalwarts Donte Jackson, Kevin Toliver and Tre’Davious White missing significant time this spring, freshman defensive back Saivion Smith seized an opportunity to work with the first-team defense. Thanks to his play, it looks like he will stay there.
Miles singled out Smith earlier this spring as one of LSU’s top performers, according to ESPN.com’s David Ching. Smith followed that up with a solid spring game as he worked as the nickel corner with the first team and finished with an interception.
Freshman receiver Dee Anderson also made an impact this spring. He caught a 64-yard touchdown pass from starting quarterback Brandon Harris in LSU’s second scrimmage, according to Jim Kleinpeter of the Times-Picayune. He also hauled in a 70-yard score Saturday. Anderson seems to have established himself as a deep threat, which the Tigers desperately need.
The rich are getting richer in Baton Rouge; LSU has more youngsters making noise to keep the Tigers as a national powerhouse for the foreseeable future.
Harris needs to be steadier to reassure the LSU fanbase.
Harris is the most important player for LSU’s championship hopes. The junior has struggled to establish himself as a passer, in large part due to his inconsistency.
Harris was great for most of the spring, as he earned an outstanding performance award from the coaches. Following LSU’s second scrimmage, where he threw four touchdown passes, he received some hefty praise from his head coach.
“He’s ready to be our quarterback,” Miles said, per Glenn Guilbeau of the Shreveport Times.
Then on Saturday, Harris was unspectacular, completing 11 of 16 throws for 106 yards. Much of those yards came against the second-team defense. Harris did not look sharp against LSU’s top defensive unit, which raises familiar questions about his dependability.
Against a strong Florida defense last season, Harris completed 68 percent of his throws for 202 yards, two scores and no picks. Then, in games against Alabama and Texas A&M, he completed less than 34 percent of his passes for one touchdown and two picks combined.
So, who is Harris? His past shows he is inconsistent while posing no real downfield threat. His spring showed the same concerns, which is worrisome for LSU fans.
Guice proved himself to be a capable backup.
Running back Derrius Guice emerged last season as a legitimate backup to star tailback Leonard Fournette. He averaged 8.5 yards per carry as a freshman and was instrumental in victories over South Carolina (161 yards, one touchdown) and Texas A&M (73 yards and one touchdown).
Guice continued that momentum into the spring. According to Ross Dellenger of the Advocate, Guice is mirroring Fournette at times by plowing over defenders with fast and powerful runs. He looks to be in line for even more carries than the 51 he received a year ago.
That is good news for Fournette, who toted the rock 300 times last season largely against loaded defensive boxes. LSU will not want to physically wear down its Heisman contender and Fournette will want to do everything he can to avoid injury, assuming he decides to jump to the NFL after this season.
Guice solidified himself this spring as a strong option to spell Fournette and create explosive plays for the Tigers, like this run against Texas A&M.
Etling, a Purdue transfer, could not unseat Harris for the starting job.
Coming into this spring, it was a long shot for junior quarterback Danny Etling to unseat Harris as the starting quarterback. As spring concludes, it remains just as unlikely.
Etling, a Purdue transfer, stands at 6’3” and 226 pounds while possessing a strong arm, which is the kind of weapon LSU needs to establish a downfield attack. He has the skills to beat out Harris, but he too battled inconsistency this spring.
In LSU’s first scrimmage, Etling went 14-of-18 for 220 yards, but Harris shined by going 16-of-20 for 246 yards, per Channel 4 WWL in Louisiana. In the second scrimmage, Harris was great, while Etling was a mediocre 10-of-15 for 66 yards. When Etling finally had a chance to capitalize on a poor Harris performance, he threw two picks and went 5-of-10 for 36 yards outside of a 70-yard touchdown strike.
With LSU’s passing struggles the last two seasons, the opportunity was definitely there for Etling to steal the starting job. He just did not take advantage.
Aranda, who came from Wisconsin, has LSU’s defense looking sharp.
With the loaded personnel and star power returning to Baton Rouge, it was already a given that LSU would sport a tremendous defense this season. Yet, there was a slight kink this spring.
Dave Aranda came over from Wisconsin to replace Kevin Steele as the defensive coordinator. This meant LSU would have to adjust to Aranda’s 3-4 scheme. Judging by the spring, it should not be a problem.
According to Ching, the players love the new system, which utilizes the size and athletic ability of the Tigers’ defensive front by spreading them out to create more space for one-on-one matchups.
It also allows Davon Godchaux, who is now at nose tackle, to dominate inside by attracting double-teams or using his quickness to blow up plays in the backfield. That was evident Saturday when the junior racked up a pair of sacks.
The defense looked excellent Saturday, and when Aranda implements the rest of the playbook, this unit will be downright scary.
LSU’s offensive line was not at full strength this spring.
LSU entered spring practice needing to replace its two starting tackles from a year ago, including All-SEC performer Vadal Alexander.
The team had the depth to do it, but injuries and inexperience made the 2016 spring a rocky one for the offensive line.
Will Clapp, Ethan Pocic and Toby Weathersby, three of the projected starting five on the offensive line, dealt with injuries throughout spring and missed Saturday’s game. Maea Teuhema, who started last season at guard, also had to adjust to moving outside to tackle.
This resulted in a sloppy finale at Tiger Stadium, where the offensive line surrendered eight sacks. Teuhema also committed a holding penalty early in the game.
The injuries allowed some young guys to get reps in the trenches against a tough defensive front, which provides solid learning experiences. The unit should be fine once the real games start, but it had trouble establishing a rhythm this spring.
Dupre is a star on the outside for LSU.
It is still a mystery if LSU’s passing attack will be successful this season, but there is no doubt receiver Malachi Dupre will be a star.
Dupre possesses NFL-caliber size (6’3″) and speed. He is coming off a 48-catch season to go along with 698 yards and six touchdowns, which led the team. He also earned an award for offensive performance this spring.
On Saturday, he showed why.
Harris targeted Dupre early and often, and the receiver hauled in five catches for 77 yards. Dupre looked strong and explosive against some strong defensive backs in Tre’Davious White and Jamal Adams.
The addition of wide receivers coach Dameyune Craig from Auburn is helping Dupre, which he commented on after the game, per LSUSports.net.
“I think the biggest thing he has helped me with is understanding the quarterback’s perspective of things,” Dupre said. “He was a quarterback himself, so he knows what quarterbacks want to see. He also knows how to make it easier on us to be able to catch more balls.”
Dupre could become the breakout offensive star in the SEC this season. Look for him to make plenty of highlight-reel plays.
Season statistics are courtesy of ESPN.com. Spring game statistics courtesy of LSUSports.net.
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