Following his team’s loss to Auburn on Saturday, Les Miles took the podium at his weekly Monday press conference luncheon to address the media. He addressed what went wrong against Auburn, what they can do to fix it for Florida and the murky situation at quarterback.

  • Of most importance, Miles said he does not know which quarterback will start on Saturday. Brandon Harris sprained an ankle against Auburn and was put into a walking boot, but Miles said he will practice on Monday. Anthony Jennings came into the Auburn game late and played somewhat better than Harris, although not enough to create separation between the two. Miles said he will not announce a starter this week.
  • Miles felt that many of the offensive issues came from a lack of comfort and relaxation. He believes these are issues they can fix before going on the road for a second consecutive week against Florida.
  • Miles fielded questions about the end of the first half, when LSU had an opportunity to get two plays off after picking up a first down with 10 seconds remaining. He said he chose not to take a timeout because he didn’t want the defense to get settled, and because he thought his team would be able to get two plays off if the first was an incompletion. He also said he thought the clock started early.
  • Looking ahead to Florida, Miles said he is aware that the Gators have indefinitely suspended freshman quarterback Treon Harris with an ongoing sexual assault investigation. He knows that Jeff Driskel has good athleticism and said his team will prepare for Florida’s “best stuff.”
  • Miles said he thought his defense played well on Saturday, given the circumstances. He labeled some of Auburn’s big plays as one-off things, citing Sammie Coates’ big touchdown grab over Rashard Robinson as one of them. He thinks that if the offense gets going, the defense will look much better.
  • On the offense, Miles said some thought has been given to moving coordinator Cam Cameron from the booth to the sidelines, but he feels it would “impair” Cameron’s play calling.
  • Both the offensive and defensive lines played better, and Miles cited left tackle La’el Collins and defensive end Danielle Hunter as two of the teams leaders, saying Collins is vocal and Hunter leads by example.
  • Miles confirmed that Kendell Beckwith replacing D.J. Welter on Saturday would be a permanent move. Beckwith will “play the most” going forward.
  • After the rough loss, Miles seemed unconcerned about his position with the team. He said he likes the team he has and expects them to compete for a “quality” season. Miles said he does not listen to any outside pressure and does not read anything about his team. He reiterated that he likes his team, his quarterbacks, his offensive line, etc.