LSU spring football: Key storylines, players to watch during Tigers' spring game
LSU returns to Tiger Stadium for the first time in 2024 on Saturday when the Tigers host their annual spring game. A new year brings new faces all over the field. The Heisman Trophy winner is gone, and he’s not the only key name needing to be replaced in Year 3 for Brian Kelly. Sometimes spring games provide little in the way of substance. But with so much change throughout the program, we might learn a few things about the Tigers on Saturday.
LSU’s spring game takes place at 2 p.m. ET on Saturday with coverage on ESPN+ and SEC Network+.
Here’s something to watch on both sides of the ball in the exhibition:
What to make of the Tigers’ run game
Oklahoma State’s Ollie Gordon II was the only player in the country last season with more 20-yard runs than Jayden Daniels (20). While the Heisman winner’s arm dazzled, his legs caused defensive coordinators nightmares. Daniels’ 1,134 rushing yards were the driving force behind what was America’s most efficient run game. LSU averaged 6.2 yards a carry on the ground.
Daniels will be drafted soon. Logan Diggs — LSU’s leading running back last year — also needs to be replaced. The run game, which has been structured around Daniels’ talent for the last 2 years, will look much different in 2024.
“The running game is going to have a totally different look because we were a zone read team,” coach Brian Kelly told The Advocate before spring ball started. “That was centered around the quarterback. He was our leading rusher. Garrett (Nussmeier) will not be our leading rusher.”
Kelly promised a “big variety” when it came to the run game — counters, tosses, outside zone, and formations that placed the quarterback under center rather than in the shotgun. LSU can also use some quick pass concepts to the perimeter to compensate for some of what it loses on the perimeter with Daniels’ departure.
But the backs have to step up in a big way. A year after the room featured 8 scholarship backs, LSU went through spring ball with just 2 available — sixth-year senior Josh Williams and sophomore Kaleb Jackson.
Jackson provides some intrigue. Last season, he ran for 165 yards and 4 touchdowns on 31 carries. Williams was the No. 2 back behind Diggs last year, rushing for 284 yards on 55 carries.
LSU will almost certainly need to add to this room when the spring transfer window opens. The question to answer after Saturday will be whether Jackson or Williams is a capable No. 1 option. The portal discussion is different if Kelly believes he has a guy (or 2) ready to handle the workload as the top back.
It’s also important to remember with this exhibition games that coaches view it as 1 of 15 practices. If Jackson wowed through LSU’s first 14 spring sessions, a less-than-stellar showing on Saturday wouldn’t exactly be cause for concern. Fans would like to see a star emerge, but the absence of one wouldn’t on its own signal trouble.
And we know LSU will likely have a more-than-capable offensive line to pave the way next season. As a unit, LSU returns a combined 99 career starts among its 4 returning linemen; Will Campbell and Emery Jones were also All-SEC selections a season ago. Miles Frazier has 26 career starts. Garrett Dellinger has 23.
“We think we’ve got one of the best offensive lines in the country,” Kelly said this spring. “We think our tackles can move and pull. I think a run game that now becomes a lot more diversified in the sense we can start moving our offensive linemen to create an offensive running game that strikes on a much wider front. The running backs will play a part in this but I think the focus needs to be much more on how the offensive line will play a much larger role to enhance our running game.”
LSU made a killing in the run game last fall with inside zone concepts. New offensive coordinator Joe Sloan doesn’t benefit much from showing his entire hand in the spring but if the run game truly is changed to the degree that Kelly has stated, we’ll notice.
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Where’s Harold?
It has been the No. 1 question new defensive coordinator Blake Baker has received since coming to Baton Rouge — where will Harold Perkins play?
One of the most sought-after recruits out of Cypress, Texas in the 2022 recruiting class, Perkins joined the Tigers and, in 14 games as a true freshman, produced 73 tackles to go along with 14 tackles for loss and 8.5 sacks.
Perkins excelled on raw talent as a pass-rusher in 2022. Last season, LSU tried to deploy him as an inside linebacker and then ditched that plan 1 game into the season, opting instead to run him out as a SAM ‘backer.
This spring, Baker, who is also the LSU linebackers coach, has been hands-on with Perkins. Baker’s primary objective is rebuilding a defense that collapsed last season.
LSU’s championship season in 2019 featured a top-30 defense by efficiency, as the Tigers allowed only 5.1 yards per play. They gave up 7.3 a play in 2020 but showed progress in 2021 and 2022 building back. Last season, LSU gave up 6.1 yards a play — 109th nationally.
The Tigers did nothing well enough on defense last year, and it led to sweeping staff changes. Baker returned to the school after 2 seasons at Missouri. LSU filled out the defensive staff with former Texas assistant Bo Davis and former Florida DB coach Corey Raymond.
Davis’s group has all the attention this offseason, with the Tigers needing to replace Maason Smith and Mekhi Wingo. Improved play at the point of attack will set the floor for the LSU defense.
Perkins could very well determine the ceiling.
Because in Perkins LSU has a first-round NFL talent who can change the game. Baker believes he can play off the edge as a rusher or a decoy, or he can play from the inside. Perkins told reporters during the spring he feels “way more comfortable” now in his new role, and Baker has said building patience is crucial for a player who is at his best firing on instinct.
“We’re not going to put him in one spot and say, ‘This is what you’re going to do,’ ” Baker said. “We have to start him there. He’s got to get really good at the position. Then, again, his innate ability to come off the edge, he’s a really good blitzer on the inside, he’s really good in coverage. There’s not much that the guy can’t do. We just can’t overload him with all that right now.”
A stronger defensive line would certainly help Perkins, holding up blockers and allowing a talented athlete to thrive in Baker’s more aggressive scheme. Last year, LSU’s more conservative approach on defense had Perkins battling paralysis by analysis at times.
If Baker is able to succeed where his predecessor failed, Perkins can become a game-wrecker in the middle of LSU’s defense. So, on Saturday, watch for Perkins and watch what he does within seconds of the snap. If there’s a player who embodies Baker’s attacking style, it’s Perkins.
Good article. I also want to see the CBs against our WRs.
I expect our DBs to be much improved this season. Our WR room by season’s end will once again be among the best in the nation.
Does AJ Swann or Collins emerge as QB2? Even if Holly returns, he’ll be way behind. Durham will be our RB3 behind Williams and Jackson.
I think you’re probably right. The defensive performance last year had to be mostly poor coaching and poor scheme, because the players couldn’t have been that bad. I agree about the WRs, which is why I want to see our CBs against them. Should be interesting.
The reason everyone recognizes me as the #1 LSU fan is because of my impeccable vision.
I can see things most cannot. Additionally, I am honest enough to tell the truth even when I don’t like it.
We are done. We couldn’t even win with the Heisman.
Now we have no shot. We are just a placeholder on people’s schedules so they can go to the playoff while we watch from home….AGAIN.
Buford is still a Tennessee fan
LSU is never without top tier talent. It’s truly astonishing what they have on their roster year after year. LSU should be good. It’s going to be tough to judge them given their offensive identity is going to have to completely change with the players they lost to the NFL. I think Perkins will be competing with TN’s James Pearce for SEC defensive player of the year. LSU is one of the more intriguing teams this year in the SEC. Kelly has had Daniels running around making crazy plays for the last 2 seasons but he’s gone and things have to run differently now. This season will be a big step in the right direction for Kelly if he can muster up another 10+ win season and land a spot in the playoffs.
Hey Donk. You’ll see this because I know you stalk my comments but I own you to the point you’re too afraid to leave the Bama comments. Feel free to join the conversation if your mom allows you some extra screen time today.
Blocking and running schemes will definitely be different this year without Daniels, but it will lead to improvement overall for the OL and RBs.
Perkins and Pearce will both definitely be up for Defensive POY, but don’t sleep on Major Burns this year either. Everything I’m hearing is he is excelling at his STAR position rather than traditional safety. He’s the hybrid LB/Safety.
Burns has been a liability since he’s been at LSU. I don’t see him getting DPOY attention. If he can just be a productive starter, that would be great.
Burns was god-awful last year, but Kelly has been sining his praises this spring. I think he will be at least a productive player, and it would appear Kelly does too.
I expect Burns to have a breakout season. His problem stemmed from poor coaching, not his lack of talent. With one of the best DB coaches in the game back on the LSU staff, don’t be surprised when you see the real Burns.
It’s hard to know what to expect from LSU this season. The defense has to be better and there is no way the offense can be as good losing three first round skill position players. I do expect Nuss to be one of the better QB’s in the conference and Lacy to be one of the better receivers. Our OLine should make the RB’s better. Kelly really messed up the DC hire initially, even though I thought House was a good hire. Definitely wrong on that one. He might have been the worst DC in the conference. We never should have let Baker go, but I’m very glad he’s back. I’m looking forward to the spring game, but it’s hard to know what you have when you’re playing against yourself. Geaux Tigers!!
I believe the defense will be better, we have young talent coming in and the young guys who played last year out of necessity should be improved given the staff upgrade. More than anything we need to see vocal leadership during the spring game and moving forward, after Brooks had to leave last season there wasn’t a clear leader and it showed in the on field product.
“We should never have let Baker go,…”
Add to that, we should never have let Raymond go!.
With those 2 return additions, I’m expecting a much better defense….heck, it couldn’t be worst. With this new defense I’ve staff and a full year of recruiting, we’ll begin to see the LSU defenses we have been accustomed to seeing.
It could have been acceptable if Kelly would have hired decent replacements. Instead, he made horrible hires for both positions. I think he has it correct now, but that offense last season was definitely playoff worthy. The defense was pathetic. That’s on Kelly.