LSU Practice #7 Report

For the first time this fall, a LSU practice was open entirely to the media so of course, there would be a lot to post about today.

The practice originally was supposed to be at Tiger Stadium today, but due to field conditions, the practice was moved back to the Charles McClendon practice facility.

The biggest headline today was that quarterback Garrett Nussmeier was limited today because of a minor ankle injury. Because of that, Jayden Daniels got the majority of the quarterback reps in team periods today with Myles Brennan also getting some snaps as well. Jayden Daniels certainly showed off his mobility and ability to extend plays outside the pocket. He also made a couple of good plays inside the pocket as well especially on a nice connection with wide receiver Kyren Lacy. This also gave Myles Brennan an opportunity to take a lot of reps as well as his biggest play was a touchdown dime to Brian Thomas Jr. After meeting with the media, Kelly did state that the quarterback position battle is still tight and it is anybody’s to grab. He also stated that Nussmeier would have taken more first team reps if healthy.

The wide receivers got a lot of work today. Some of the players that jumped out today were Kyren Lacy, who made a couple of nice plays, Brian Thomas Jr., who caught a touchdown today, and Malik Nabers, who had an impressive juggling catch towards the end of practice. Both Jack Bech and Chris Hilton Jr. were dressed, but did not participate in practice today. With the first team, the first five receivers were Kayshon Boutte, Jaray Jenkins, Brian Thomas Jr., Kyren Lacy, and Malik Nabers.

Another freshman that is starting to emerge at tight end is Mason Taylor. The son of former Miami Dolphins NFL Hall of Fame defensive end Jason Taylor has stood out with his play and has already been given praise by Coach Kelly for what he is doing right now.

For the second straight practice in front of the media, the starting offensive linemen that we saw up front was the same. It was still Will Campbell at left tackle, Tre’Mond Shorts at left guard, Garrett Dellinger at center, Miles Frazier at right guard, and Anthony Bradford at right tackle. Bradford has looked really good and looks in shape to be right where he needs to be at right tackle. All eyes were on Dellinger, who never played center before and is now getting first team reps on the offensive line. He did look really comfortable today at that spot, and the only bad snap he had was during a rain downpour towards the end of practice. It seems that the coaching staff likes this group and is trying to get these guys more snaps together in order to build chemistry.

On the defensive line, Coach Kelly did state that Ali Gaye may also play jack linebacker along with defensive end just to give the defense some flexibility. Also, BJ Ojulari, who is now wearing the number 18 jersey, was standing up at his jack linebacker role. There, he showed a mix of rushing the passer and also dropping back in coverage. Behind Ojulari, Coach Kelly did say that Desmond Little is a player that is emerging to provide depth at the position. Saivion Jones had a nice couple of plays today batting down passes and Mekhi Wingo also showed a lot of promise with the second group today on the defensive line.

At linebacker, Greg Penn III, West Weeks, and Mike Jones were taking majority of the first team reps the entire practice, but Coach Kelly reminded everybody that Micah Baskerville and Harold Perkins will still have a big role in this linebacking group.

In the secondary, Coach Kelly highlighted some new names in McNeese State transfer Colby Richardson and freshman Jaelyn Davis-Robinson at cornerback. Sevyn Banks has now been cleared for 7 on 7 as he will participate in upcoming drills. Jarrick Bernard-Converse, Mekhi Garner, and Major Burns are all players that Coach Kelly spotlighted. Right now, Kelly is very pleased with where they are right now and how that group is starting to develop.

On special teams, kicker is still an open competition. At punt returner, Sage Ryan, Malik Nabers, Sevyn Banks, and Javen Nicholas are all in the mix returning punts.

At the end of the press conference, Coach Kelly recognized Ali Gaye, Nick Storz, and Jaray Jenkins for graduating tomorrow.

The next time the media will be available for practice at LSU will be on Monday.

Check out full practice highlights here!

Check out Coach Brian Kelly’s entire press conference today here!