The LSU football team lined up for its annual spring game on Saturday as Tiger Nation received its first glimpse of things to come in the fall. The Tigers split up into two squads, with the majority of starters playing with the white team.
Tight Ends and Fullbacks shine
It’s no secret that LSU offensive coordinator Cam Cameron is a fan of utilizing tight ends and fullbacks in the passing game, a trend that was established during his days with the Baltimore Ravens.
But Saturday, Cameron debuted his new scheme for getting the ball in the hands of more than just the LSU wide receivers.
“We want every guy on our offense involved in both phases of the game — run and pass,” Cameron said. “If at any time the defense knows you’re not going to throw the ball to a guy, you’re going to make it tough on yourself.”
Four different tight ends and three fullbacks caught passes in Saturday’s scrimmage, including sophomore tight end DeSean Smith and senior fullback Connor Neighbors, who both recorded three receptions and a touchdown.
Cameron described Neighbors as one of the best pass-catching fullbacks he’s been around and Smith as greatly improved from last season.
“It’s really a route tree that allows tight ends to do what they do best,” Cameron said. “We didn’t feature it last year for obvious reasons with the talent we had outside. … This year’s different.”
Stalemate at right guard
After the completion of spring practice, it doesn’t appear LSU is any closer to naming a starting right guard than it was a few months ago.
Senior guard Hoko Fanaika received the start with the white squad on Saturday but switched with purple’s Evan Washington at halftime.
“It didn’t mean anything,” offensive line coach Jeff Grimes said. “Those two guys have alternated everyday. … There’s really nothing to him starting with the ones. We switched them at halftime, and that was really the intent.”
Grimes refused comment on the guards’ performances at the scrimmage until after reviewing the game film, but Fanaika wasn’t impressed with his showing.
“On a grading scale, I think I did OK,” Fanaika said. “I have to work on my technique more.”
Grimes also spent time Saturday rotating through several players at center, including senior Elliott Porter and sophomore Ethan Pocic. Grimes did say Porter is the assumed starter for now but wants plenty of depth at the position.
“The thing about center is you can never have enough guys who can play it because you can move a guy from guard to tackle or left side to right side with minimal time, but if a guy hasn’t had consistent time snapping the ball, making calls and doing those things, then you’re going to have trouble,” Grimes said.
Hunter performs well
Junior defensive end Danielle Hunter emerged as the defensive stud Saturday, recording a pair of sacks on consecutive plays and setting up camp deep in the pocket all day.
Hunter battered the purple squad offensive line, shedding off double teams with relative ease. But instead of accepting praise for his dominating play, Hunter deflected all credit to defensive tackle Quentin Thomas for setting up so many opportunities for Hunter to get penetration.
“It’s not all because of me,” Hunter said. “[Thomas] is the main reason I got some of the sacks over there. It’s just the D-line working as one to penetrate the pocket and get to the quarterback.”
LSU coach Les Miles was happier with the performance along the defensive front more so than nearly every other position, saying its production was actually impeded by the play call on Saturday.
“There’s a lot of things the defensive coordinator could’ve called that he didn’t call today,” Miles said. “I think they got to the quarterback pretty routinely, but I think there’s some other keys to that defensive calls sheet that’ll make a difference as well.”
Wide receivers
If Saturday’s spring game proved anything to LSU fans, it’s that offensive coordinator Cameron isn’t afraid to go deep in the passing attack.
Nearly every drive during the inter-squad scrimmage featured a flurry of long balls to several of the Tigers’ wide receivers, none more so than sophomore Travin Dural, who finished the day with 130 yards and a pair of touchdowns on five receptions.
“We love to run the ball, but at the same time, we love to throw the ball vertically,” Cameron said. “That’s what we do, that’s what we believe in.”
Cameron praised Dural following Saturday’s scrimmage for his ability to go after the deep passes and said he expects that type of aggressive game plan will continue to be a mainstay in LSU’s offense despite the departure of former Tigers wide receivers Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry.
“It’s critical that [Dural] continues to grow and develop,” Cameron said. “You’re talking about a guy who has three years of eligibility left. He’s a young ascending player that really, the sky is the limit. I was thrilled the way he played today.”
Dural’s fellow receivers didn’t fare quite as well as he did, with John Diarse and Rob Bolden as the only other receivers to register a catch, each hauling only one reception.
“We have to get our timing and our depth down,” Dural said. “We need to be consistent. [This spring] we would have a good day and then two bad days.”
Miles said Diarse was possibly slowed down due to a nagging injury, but remained positive about the direction of his young receiving unit, saying there’s several players that can step up and earn a spot in the rotation.
LSU freshman quarterback Brandon Harris (6) runs downfield Saturday, April 5, 2014 during the white squad's 42-14 victory against the purple squad in the National L Club Spring Game in Tiger Stadium.
