Earlier this spring, head coach Lane Kiffin stated that as of now, this is a defensive football team and it showed on Saturday in a two-hour scrimmage at Tiger Stadium as the defense was able to get five interceptions on both LSU quarterbacks. Landen Clark threw three interceptions while Husan Longstreet threw two interceptions.
Ruston product Aidan Anding led the way with two interceptions. The first one, he was able to rip the football away and get the turnover. On the second, Anding made a great read and jumped in front of a pass thrown by Husan Longstreet. It was later revealed that Anding had to be helped off the field after the interception and that he was in a boot for the rest of practice.
The other three interceptions were made by three Tigers’ starting defensive backs. PJ Woodland intercepted a pass that was underthrown by Clark while safeties Tamarcus Cooley and Ty Benefield had interceptions on overthrown passes.
While the defense dominated the majority of the scrimmage, there were some big plays made by the offense. Troy transfer Roman Mothershed continues having a great spring as he made a great catch on a go route thrown by Husan Longstreet and then made an incredible adjustment on a football the was well underthrown. The big 6’5 receiver could make a big impact this season especially near the red zone where he excels as a go up and go get it receiver.
Although the two quarterbacks struggled at times, they both ended the scrimmage on a positive note by throwing two long, explosive touchdowns. Longstreet showed great rapport with Ole Miss transfer Winnie Watkins, who caught multiple passes from the USC transfer, but most notably, a 95 yard touchdown in which he ran up the seam and outran everybody to the end zone.
Landen Clark then threw a 70 yard touchdown pass to Pittsburgh tight end transfer Malachi Thomas who had a long run after the catch as well.
Two of the more proven playmakers in LSU’s offense showed that they are going to consistently make plays this season as Trey’Dez Green was targeted heavily throughout the day and Harlem Berry showed his explosiveness either out of the backfield or catching passes.
The quarterback run game was incorporated a lot and it looks like it is going to be a major staple in this Lane Kiffin offense no matter who is under center. Between the two quarterbacks, there have been 12 designed quarterback runs in the scrimmage. Finally, offensively, the running game will feature a number of running backs as Berry, Caden Durham, Wisconsin transfer Dilin Jones, UCF transfer Stacy Gage, and Charlotte transfer Rod Gainey Jr. all had multiple touches with either the first or second team offense.
Defensively, despite the defensive backs already discussed, Ole Miss linebacker transfer TJ Dottery, Dashawn Spears, and Princewill Umanmielen stood out consistently making plays on the defensive side of the football.
The first team offense had Jordan Seaton at left tackle, Bo Bordelon at left guard, Braelin Moore at center, Aliou Bah at right guard, Weston Davis at right tackle, Harlem Berry at running back, and Jackson Harris, Jayce Brown, Winnie Watkins, Malik Elzy at receiver.
The first team defense had Jordan Ross and Princewill Umanmielen at defensive end, Malik Blocton and Deuce Geralds at defensive tackle, TJ Dottery and Davhon Keys at linebacker, DJ Pickett and PJ Woodland at cornerback, Tamarcus Cooley, Ty Benefield, and Dashawn Spears at safety.
Special teams wise, kicker Scott Starzyk missed three field goals including a 56 yarder, but did bounce back by making his last two kicks of 33 yards. Silas Hall snapped for field goals and Mack Mulhern snapped for punts. Grant Chadwick and Hayden Craig were rotating punting. Finally, the punt returners were Winnie Watkins, Eugene Wilson III, Jabari Mack, Jayce Brown, and Nar’jour Granger with Watkins and Wilson getting majority of the reps.
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