BATON ROUGE – Head coach Ed Orgeron welcomed 110 players to campus on Friday as 24th-ranked LSU opened training camp in preparation for the 2018 season-opener against No. 8 Miami on September 2 in Arlington, Texas.
Among the list of players reporting to camp on Friday include a pair of returning All-Americans on the defensive side of the ball in linebacker Devin White and cornerback Greedy Williams.
In all, LSU returns 47 letterwinners (22 offense, 20 defense, 5 special teams) from last year’s squad that posted a 9-4 overall mark and finished the season ranked No. 18 in the nation.
Heading into 2018, tight end Foster Moreau has the most starts of any player on the offensive side of the ball with 19, while White and Williams lead the defense with 13 starts each. Others players with double-figure starts to their credit include senior offensive tackle Garrett Brumfield (13), senior safety John Battle (12), junior defensive end Rashard Lawrence (10) and sophomore safety Grant Delpit (10).
LSU’s roster includes 28 players (13 offense, 15 defense) that have started at least one game during their collegiate career.
As for Friday, the Tigers spent the day going through a series of meetings, physicals, and getting fitted for equipment in preparation for the first day of practice, which takes play on Saturday.
The Tigers are scheduled to have 25 practices, which includes three “preseason games” before facing Miami at AT&T Stadium in the Advocare Classic on Sunday, September 2.
The Tigers are scheduled to practice in shorts and helmets on Saturday and Sunday followed by helmets and shoulder pads on Wednesday, shells on Thursday and full pads for the first time next Friday. LSU’s first scrimmage of training camp is scheduled for Saturday, August 11 in Tiger Stadium.
Camp Notes
Three more Tigers became LSU graduates on Friday as tight end Jacory Washington, quarterback Justin McMillan and fullback Trey Gallman earned their college degree as the school held summer commencement.
The Tiger roster now features six players with degrees from LSU as fullback David Ducre, snapper Blake Ferguson, and offensive lineman Turner Simmers earned their diploma last year.
Overall, LSU’s roster features nine college graduates, which includes transfers Joe Burrow (Ohio State), Terrence Alexander (Stanford), and Cole Tracy (Assumption College).
LSU coach Ed Orgeron Press Conference Transcript from Reporting Day
Opening statement…
“What an exciting time for us all. I’m proud to announce we just graduated three of our outstanding students at LSU: Trey Gallman, Justin McMillan and Jacory Washington. We’re awfully proud of them for graduating today. What a tremendous feeling.
As far fall camp, we’re ready to go. Our coaches have been preparing all week and we’re ready for practice. I want to thank Tommy Moffitt for doing an outstanding job with our team. Everyone that was healthy has passed the conditioning test, which is the first time in Tommy’s 17-year history that that’s happened. We’re in excellent shape, but as a reminder our summer conditioning gets you ready for fall camp and fall camp gets you ready for football. This is going to be a physical, tough, hard-nosed camp.
Jamal Pettigrew and Cameron Wire are going to be the only two players not able to practice when we start. Obviously, we think Cameron Wire had a lingering injury from high school. He needs a couple more week maybe and then he’ll be ready to go. Thaddeus Moss will not be here. We’re proud for him; he’s introducing his father Randy to the NFL Hall of Fame. What a tremendous honor and what a tremendous weekend for Thaddeus and his dad. Ed Ingram has been suspended from the team indefinitely for violation of team rules. He will not be with us.
We’re very excited for camp. You all heard me talk about the depth chart the other day. There’s a lot of competition, especially at the quarterback position. It’s open and our guys are ready to go. They had a good summer. It’ll be interesting to see. Our offensive line gelled together. Now that Ed (Ingram) isn’t there, movement will be made by Damien Lewis to right guard. I just talked to Chasen Hines who has done a tremendous job losing weight and I think he’s an outstanding defensive lineman, but we’re going to move him to the left guard position behind Garrett Brumfield to give us more depth. We should be in good shape.”
On the quarterback competition…
“Steve (Ensminger) is going to do a good job with that. We have walk-throughs in the morning, we have team periods and we’re going to split our seven-on-seven in two. We’re going to have two spots of seven-on-seven and several of the team drills may have two spots instead of one spot so the guys will get more reps.”
On Miami’s ranking in the opening poll affecting the first game of the season…
“We knew Miami was going to be a good team whether they were ranked highly or not; Coach (Mark) Richt has done a tremendous job. But we’re going to be ready. We’re going to be ready to take on the challenge. Our goal for right now is to focus on camp. We’re building the foundation of our football team; it’s not about our opponent. This is a great time. We’ve got about four weeks to focus on our football team.”
On what Joe Burrow needs to do to win the starting job…
“I’ll say this. Here’s what any quarterback has to do: everything. Show it on a daily basis. Leadership, working in the classroom, being able to run the offense, making the throws, doing the right things that a quarterback does and really just being consistent every day. Obviously, all four of those guys have an equal chance and we’ll see what happens.”
On the level of competition in the quarterback room…
“There’s no question they’ve stepped it up. I can see the difference in all four guys. Everyone has their own demeanor. Some guys are watching film and some guys are being more vocal leaders. They stepped it up. I talk to Tommy Moffitt all the time about their workouts. All the guys have stepped up their workouts; they’re in better condition and they look good. They’ve answered the bell just like I thought they would.”
On Glen Logan’s Progress…
“This time last year, during camp, Glen (Logan) was thinking about transferring. Thank God for his mother and our relationship, we got him to come back and I think that’s when he made the decision. He said “I’m at LSU and I’m going to give everything I can. His body has changed. He’s lost body fat, he’s matured. Things are easier for him now because he’s older, he’s stronger, he’s accepted the role that he’s in and tomorrow he’s going to line-up as the starting left defensive end for LSU. I think all of that maturity, and getting his body right which allowed him to gain more confidence.”
On what he’s looking to see on Day 1 of Practice…
“Consistency. Execution. We’ve had a lot of player-only practices this summer. And from what I hear, the guys did a very good job. Now we’re going back to installation, day one and everybody is going to be fired up. There’s going to be no question about that and there’s going to be no questions about everyone’s energy. But it’s about execution, and we have to hit the ground running fast and we’re going to take the next step.
On Jamaar Chase and Terrace Marshall….
“With Terrace, I do believe that he is healthy and even though I have not seen him practice, after talking to Jack (Marucci) I have 100 percent confident that he is. He can make all the cuts and from what I’m hearing he has had some great player-only practices. I’ve heard Jamaar Chase looks fantastic and if you look at Jamaar Chase, he looks very mature. He hit the weight room and he’s developed his body. I think those guys are ready to go.
On the back-up left guard position…
“We’re going to move Chasen Hines to guard. He was a very good guard in high school. And Chasen has worked very hard to trim his body fat, and he has lost a lot of weight. Chasen would’ve lined up at the fourth-team defensive nose tackle and instead tomorrow he will line-up at the second-string offensive guard spot. And obviously, he has a lot of learning to do, but originally he was recruited as an offensive guard. “
On the player that intrigues him the most going into fall camp…
“Jacob Phillips stands out to me. He had an outstanding summer. Obviously, Devin (White) is going to have an outstanding year along with Greedy (Williams). I’m excited to see the other cornerback position with Kelvin Joseph, Terrance Alexander and Jontre Kirklin and Kary Vincent. We don’t know what’s going to happen with Kristian Fulton except for the fact that he will be out at practice like he always has. Hopefully he gets a chance, again we do not know what’s going to happen, but I’m excited to see him. On offense, I’m excited to see Chris Curry. I have not seen him run the ball yet, I’ve only seen him on film and I think he’s an excellent player. I’m excited to see Joe (Burrow) throw the ball and obviously, I’m excited to see the other guys compete and throw the ball as well.”
On the uncertainty involving Kristian Fulton’s situation…
“He will be getting reps with the first and second team until we have a decision. We’re going to go forward getting him quality reps. We’re not going to change that until we get a final decision on whether or not he can play.”
On the expectation for Patrick Queen…
“Patrick has had an outstanding summer. He’s changed his body. I do believe Patrick Queen is going to be a core player on all special teams. I do believe he is going to push for some playing time at linebacker.”
On which new defensive linemen coach is intrigued to see play…
“I want to see Dare (Rosenthal). Dare is 6’7”, 331. He runs. He’s worked very hard. Tommy Moffitt says he reminds him of some of the great linemen we have, but again, I have to work with him. I’m excited about Dominic Livingston. I’m excited to see Tyler Shelvin. He’s at 354. I’m excited to see Ed Alexander. He’s had a knee problem. He’s the first one ready for the team meeting. That excites me and I want to see if he’s ready to play.”
On Breiden Fehoko’s transition from defensive end to defensive tackle…
“Now he’s going to play a one or zero technique at the nose. He’s played that before. It’s not like he hasn’t played that. It’s kind of the same technique, just a little bit different with more double teams. He’s a big strong guy. Physical. He can handle it.”
On moving over to helping coach the defensive line more…
“We lost Pete (Jenkins). Pete was an icon around here. A great coach. Not that Dennis (Johnson) couldn’t do it, but I want to give my team all I can. I want to be the head coach, but I just don’t want to sit around at practice. My expertise is on the defensive line so I want to help. That doesn’t mean I’m not going to be the head coach. I will be doing the same thing I’ve always done. I will be very involved in what we do defensively. I will spend more time with the defensive linemen. I’ll watch the defensive linemen at night after I watch I’ve watched the whole team’s film. It’s an added responsibility, which I enjoy.”
On the offensive line situation…
“First of all, coach Grimes did a tremendous job for us last year. We went in to camp with six offensive linemen. I was nervous as heck. He promised me that those guys were going to be ready and he did a great job. Here’s what going to happen. Saahdiq Charles has got to step up if he’s going to be our starting left tackle. He’s got to be the bell cow. He’s got to answer the bell. We can’t chip block. We’ve got to be able to block the top rusher and he’s got to be able to win his one-on-one. Lloyd Cushenberry has got to come. He has not started yet and he has to come. Donovaughn Campbell had one of his best springs last year. Donovaughn has the ability to be a great offensive lineman. He just needs to be more consistent. Right tackle, Adrian Magee and Austin Deculus. Those guys are young pups. Austin played. Adrian is fired up. We have to get two people that we can play throughout the season. This is going to be a physical camp. Those guys are going to have to prove that they can do it in camp to prove they can go against some of the best defensive linemen in the country.”
