LSU Spring Practice Report #2

After taking a week off for spring break, the LSU Tigers came back to the practice field to resume spring practice. The media got 20 minutes to see how the Tigers kick off their first full week of practice.

LSU breaks down in the huddle during spring practice. (Photo taken by Jace LeJeune)

All three scholarship quarterbacks .Jayden Daniels, Garrett Nussmeier, and Rickie Collins threw a lot today, especially Nussmeier, who looked like his arm is getting 100% healthy after recovering from surgery. After practice, LSU Head Coach Brian Kelly was asked about Jayden Daniels and what the plan was for him to come back for another year.

With a lot of the Tigers’ main backs being out, Trey Holly got a lot of looks at running back and was working as the second running back behind Noah Cain. Coach Kelly did say that Josh Williams is close to being back while Armoni Goodwin would not be back until camp.

Working drills with wide receivers coach Cortez Hankton, Malik Nabers, Kyren Lacy, Chris Hilton Jr. and Brian Thomas Jr. were constantly the first four receivers out the gate. Coach Kelly did say that Malik Nabers is taking charge of the room and that he needs to continue to do what he is doing.

“I see Malik as the leader of that room. There are so many things that you do on a daily basis. He trains hard. When it comes to academics, he takes care of those things. He’s a good teammate, he’s reliable, he’s respectful. He does have those traits. He just has to keep doing them.”

LSU Head Coach Brian Kelly on Malik Nabers

On the offensive line, the position group is currently thin as Miles Frazier missed practice today and defensive end Kells Bush had to move to the offensive side of the football to help there, but as Coach Kelly mentioned earlier, reinforcements are on the way to join the team in fall practice. In the meantime, some of LSU’s stars on the offensive line continue to impress including Emery Jones after he is coming off an outstanding freshman campaign.

On the defensive line, both Dashawn Womack and Maason Smith have the potential to be dominant forces, but both are continuing to work back in getting to practice full contact with the team. Kelly is certainly excited about the balance and the advantages they both bring to the table once they are healthy.

Despite having new faces and a new Jack coach in John Jancek, Kelly has liked what he has seen from the transfers Ovie Oghoufo and Bradyn Swinson as they bring a veteran presence to that position group.

At the beginning of practice, LSU’s defense was working on team pursuit drills. It proved to be one of the earliest looks at LSU’s starting defense with the exception of some of the top defenders that are recovering from injuries plus the transfers and freshmen that will be enrolling in the summer.

The first defensive group consisted of Saivion Jones at defensive end, Ovie Oghoufo at Jack, Jacobian Guillory and Arizona transfer Paris Shand at defensive tackle, Harold Perkins and Omar Speights at linebacker, Sage Ryan at nickel, Major Burns and Greg Brooks at safety, and finally, Southeastern transfer Zy Alexander and freshman Javien Toviano at cornerback.

Kelly also hinted that there is also a lot of depth in the defensive backfield and that there could be a lot of different players moving around back there.

LSU’s defense comes together after going through a ball drill. (Photo taken by Jace LeJeune)

On the final note of today, Coach Kelly said all in all that nine players that are on the expected two deep aren’t available for spring practice. All of them but Goodwin will be back for Day 1 of summer workouts meaning that now is a good chance for a lot of unfamiliar names to get a lot of work in the spring until then.

I will be back with another practice report including more highlights and analysis on Thursday. Until then, make sure to get all your LSU news right here at Gridiron Football USA.

Watch today’s practice highlights here!

Watch Brian Kelly’s Post Practice Press Conference!