The LSU Tigers were having a rough month as indicated in my last article, but the veteran leaders all stepped up in a time of need and were the leading candidates during the Tigers’ bounce-back 21-14 victory against Vanderbilt after losing their previous three games.
“When players decide that they are going to lead from the inside out, it is also about those actions becoming mirror actions for those players. They see how it is done. When you get a Trey’Dez Green or a Caden Durham and they see how that is done, that modeling takes effect and you see this during the week. There are times that you wish that happened earlier, but I think they were also learning and growing to be leaders. Clearly when you have veterans step up like that, they see how it’s done and they want to be recognized as well. Their efforts were recognized by the way that they practiced last week.”
LSU HC Brian Kelly
Three of the representatives on LSU’s Leadership Council held a Players Only Meeting in Josh Williams, Garrett Nussmeier, and Will Campbell. All three players not only showed their leadership during a tough time and helped navigate the bounce-back win, but their performances were perhaps their best this season.
Williams was the hero of last Saturday’s win against the Commodores with 153 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns. It was perhaps his best performance of his six year LSU career as the former walk-on and #18 representative came away with the game ball.
“He ran through the faces of a number of defenders. It was physicality, it was want-to, it was desire. It was all those things in one. It was just a guy that was committed to, no matter what, the first guy is not going to bring me down.”
LSU HC Brian Kelly on Josh Williams’ performance
Will Campbell was named SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week while Garrett Nussmeier’s performance was praised by his head coach for not only completing 28 of 37 passes for 332 yards and one touchdown to no interceptions, but also putting the Tigers in good situations when it comes to the running game.
“It starts with the quarterback. The ability to get us the favorable looks that give the offensive line the numbers where we could run some combination blocks, where we could get leverage, where we could get some of the things necessary to have a more consistent running game.”
LSU HC Brian Kelly on Garrett Nussmeier
While the veterans of the offensive line played their best this past Saturday against the Commodores so did some of the younger players that were inserted this year in starting action for the first time in center DJ Chester and Paul Mubenga, who has been playing for the injured Garrett Dellinger.
“There were markers there that we are really excited about. Monthly, we are testing our players. DJ’s strength numbers have continuously gone up. We felt that was something that needed to happen. He is at a point to the end of the season to what is the standard that we need at the position. The growth will have to happen in the offseason for him, but he has gotten stronger during the year and that has helped him be able to handle the 1 on 1s. He was able to do that this past weekend really well.”
“Paul moves very well. It was about changing his body type. It was getting him leaner and physically stronger as well, but he is very smart and he has the ability to move his feet, get on the second level and do some things quite well. We will see how this all plays out in the offseason, but you have a couple of guys there that are ascending at those positions.”
LSU HC Brian Kelly on DJ Chester and Paul Mubenga
While younger players are ascending, 21 seniors will be celebrated on Saturday for the Tigers’ regular season finale at home against Oklahoma for Senior Day.
“We got 21 that we are going to honor prior to the game. Zy Alexander has been a great addition coming in from Southeastern Louisiana. Garrett Dellinger has been a stalwart for us. We all know about Kyren Lacy. We talk about Greg Penn. Miles Frazier is a three year starter. What a year Bradyn Swinson has had coming off the edge. Paris Shand is a Swiss Army knife for us. He is unsung for us. He has played end, tackle, and is our personal protector on punts running down the field. He is invaluable to us. Gio Paez has come in and has given us snap after snap. He hasn’t missed a snap and has been a workhorse for us. You talk about a guy that eats up innings up and he eats innings up. Sai’vion Jones has been having a monster year. His pass rush has been great and there’s others here, but those guys have dedicated so much of their time to the program. I know we had that three game losing streak, but they still won 11 of their last 15 games and they’ve had an incredible night schedule where they won 15 of 16 games. They’ve done some great things and really proud of what they have done. It will be a great tribute to them.”
LSU HC Brian Kelly on the seniors
The perfect tribute to these LSU seniors would be for them to get one more win in Tiger Stadium at night where this class has only lost one night game. It is going to be a tough challenge on Saturday night as it always is in the SEC with the Oklahoma Sooners coming in hot after their decisive upset 24-3 victory over the Alabama Crimson Tide.
This is the first time that these two blue blood programs will be facing off in Tiger Stadium. There are a lot of intriguing matchups for this game with LSU’s passing offense going against Oklahoma’s stiff defense.
Nussmeier is second in the SEC in touchdown passes (23), yards passing per game (314.4) and total offense (310.9). In his first year as the Tigers’ starting quarterback, he has thrown for 3,458 yards and 23 touchdowns. He has also spread the football to different playmaking receivers most notably Kyren Lacy, who leads the SEC in touchdown catches with eight along with 55 grabs for 825 yards. Mason Taylor (52 catches for 518 yards and two touchdowns) and Aaron Anderson (52 catches for 778 yards and five touchdowns) have also had great breakout seasons.
They will be going against an Oklahoma defense led by All-Conference linebacker Danny Stutsman that is sixth nationally in allowing 2.9 yards per rush this season.
“Coach Venables was the defensive coordinator at Clemson before becoming the head coach at Oklahoma. He just does a great job. I was able to go against him at Clemson. They mix things up. They make things complicated. It is a good front. Danny Stutsman is an All-American linebacker. This will be a great way to finish off the regular season with a team that is coming off a great win.”
LSU HC Brian Kelly on Oklahoma’s defense
Perhaps, the most intriguing matchup will be Oklahoma’s rushing attack against LSU’s defense that has struggled a lot against the quarterback run.
Last week, Arnold ran for 131 yards in the win against Alabama. Knowing LSU’s woes up front against the run, Brian Kelly has stressed the importance of being able to defend Oklahoma’s quarterback as a passer and as a rusher.
“Jackson Arnold is an outstanding quarterback. He can throw it, but he rushed for 131 yards on 25 carries. Everybody here knows our history of defending quarterbacks that run the football. That will be a challenge for us.”
LSU HC Brian Kelly on Jackson Arnold
For LSU, it is also their first look at the expanded SEC by playing one of the new incoming teams in Oklahoma. Although the Tigers will not be competing for a SEC Championship berth or a College Football Playoff berth, this game is an opportunity to send the seniors out the right way, put the team on pace for a third straight nine plus win season, and finally, sending a message to the Sooners about how tough it is to play in Tiger Stadium.
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