LSU secured an important win last Saturday, beating Mississippi State 31-16 and starting SEC play with a win. The Tigers now prepare to face New Mexico at home before the heart of the SEC slate begins in October.
Today, Brian Kelly took the podium at his weekly press conference to address the win over Mississippi State and preparations for New Mexico. One of the key themes Kelly emphasized was consistency. Though LSU is playing what seems like an overmatched opponent this week, there is an emphasis being put on playing a complete game.
Here are some of the key takeaways from the press conference:
Improvements and adjustments on defense
LSU’s defensive performance was the highlight of the game against Mississippi State last weekend. The biggest adjustment was the positional change between Jay Ward and Greg Brooks Jr. For the first time this season, Ward played at nickel, while Brooks got the start at safety. Kelly said the change was an attempt to improve communication.
“We were looking for better communication,” Kelly said. “Jay is a very active player, physical player, we saw that with the play this weekend, Greg is too. But Greg is a veteran player that is used to playing back at that safety position and very good communicator. So it was just getting to know our personnel better.”
Ward earned SEC Defensive Player of the Week honors following his impressive performance against Mississippi State. Ward finished with 11 tackles, along with 1.5 tackles for loss and the game-sealing interception.
BJ Ojulari also earned recognition from the SEC, after tallying four tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks against Mississippi State. He was named SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week for his performance. Kelly praised both Ward and Ojulari for their awards and emphasized the significance of the recognition.
“We’re proud of their accomplishments and like to note those accordingly when those kinds of performances are highlighted,” Kelly said. “It’s very difficult to be a player of the week in this conference.”
As a team, LSU held Mississippi State to just 16 points and 289 yards of total offense, both season lows for the Bulldogs. The Tigers also added four sacks and eight tackles for loss, along with an interception.
Freshmen playing big roles
Another big storyline from the Mississippi State game was the contributions by freshmen Emory Jones, Harold Perkins and Will Campbell. Jones made his first career start for LSU on Saturday and, meaning LSU had two freshmen offensive tackles starting, as he started on the opposite side of Campbell. Kelly was impressed with Jones, adding that he could see a bigger role going forward.
“I would say that he exceeded expectations. He’s not gonna be perfect, but he’s active. He’s got great feet. And he is a great open field tackler,” Kelly said alluding to the tackle Jones made on a punt return.
The freshman combination of Jones and Campbell was a pleasant surprise for LSU on Saturday. Both players were solid in pass protection, and avoided many of the mistakes that can often come with starting on the offensive line as a freshman.
The other standout freshman performer was Perkins, who played significant snaps at linebacker on Saturday. Perkins finished with five tackles, along with 1.5 sacks. He was a key contributor on third downs, and was constantly able to put pressure on Mississippi State quarterback Will Rogers. Kelly talked about Perkins’ performance and the role he’s taken in the team.
“I think there’s a role for him. Certainly, he adds something to our pass rush,” Kelly said. “I think we found a niche for him in terms of where he can help us.”
Daniels’ take-off tendency
The offense’s biggest strong suit might be its biggest concern going forward, with Jayden Daniels’ performance against Mississippi State being very much a tale of two halves. The same concerns that were displayed throughout the first half against Florida State popped up against the Bulldogs.
While the defense came out with that sense of urgency Brian Kelly has been preaching about throughout the last two weeks, the offense came out stagnant, with that fact being evident based on the scoreboard through two quarters. Daniels’ start was shaky and fans were quick to criticize his tendency to take off despite having receivers open.
Kelly discussed that tendency in today’s press conference, mentioning that they want to find a balance between him completing his progressions and taking off when necessary.
“When he runs, we want to see if it was within the progression,” Kelly stated. “[Like] if it was really good coverage, the play wasn’t great against the coverage or we got defeated at a particular position and he got flushed, versus [turning] down a potential high-low read and [taking] off.”
While Kelly believes there is growth to be made there, the coaching staff wants to be careful with the way they handle it. They don’t want him to end up neglecting his running ability and having the offense lose that extra dimension.
“We have to be very careful and along the way, keep coaching him to do a great job of getting through his progressions and seeing the things necessary that allows us to be balanced in both,” Kelly said regarding the situation.
This will be a talking point for the next few games, as we get a better idea of what to expect from Daniels going forward.
Emery’s return and run efficiency overall
As it stands, Jayden Daniels is the leading rusher for LSU, with 225 yards on 35 attempts (6.4 yards per carry) through three games. However, one run by Armoni Goodwin late in Saturday’s game helped narrow the gap a bit.
On a dive out of the shotgun, Goodwin hit the hole before Mississippi State’s defenders could reach it, slipping two arm tackles and accelerating into the open field to outrun the defensive backs. That run extended the Tiger lead to two scores with under five minutes in the game, and displayed exactly what analysts and the coaching staff were expecting from him.
Josh Williams met expectations as well on the prior touchdown, hitting a tight hole near the goal line, bulldozing a defender and powering through to secure the score. He, along with Noah Cain, have played the power back role well, combining for four touchdowns from within 10 yards out to start the season.
And lastly, John Emery Jr. made his return to the field after missing the team’s last 15 games. He wasn’t hugely effective, rushing for about three yards per carry on eleven attempts, but he did show hints of his potential, especially in the passing game, and overall, was more than excited to be back on the field.
“He was elated after the game that he actually played football for the first time in a long time,” Kelly said. “He was sore, he was tired and I think he had all those feelings that he remembered in playing.”
Overall, every back featured in the committee has handled their roles well, according to Kelly. Their stat lines may not all be exceptional but in this offense, that doesn’t necessarily matter.
“They all lended themselves to what we’re doing from an offensive perspective,” Kelly mentioned. “Our run efficiency was much better [and] when we needed to run the football, we were able to do that to close out the football game.”
Special teams up-and-downs
Special teams is still a concern going forward, with multiple opposing kick and punt returns going for big gains while LSU’s return game has left fans scratching their heads.
One of those opposing punt returns went for nearly 30 yards and gave the Bulldogs excellent field position, which they effectively capitalized on. Regarding their struggles on defending against returns, Kelly highlighted the kicks as one of the primary reasons they had challenges there against the Bulldogs.
“The kicks that have been returned have been line drives down the middle of the field,” Kelly said. “That is going to compromise our coverage.”
He did mention that the blame wasn’t all on the kicker though, stating that they could do a much better job of slipping blocks and making open field tackles.
On the receiving side of things, the most questionable moment came early in the second quarter when Gregory Clayton Jr. received a kick at their own three-yard-line as opposed to letting it bounce into the endzone. He also dove on a ball surrounded by Bulldogs instead of staying away and letting them field it.
Kelly took the blame for that, stating that the staff has to coach better. He said that at the end of the day, it came down to awareness, specifying that on the play where he dove on the ball, Clayton believed it had bounced off an LSU player.
While there were struggles throughout, the special teams unit managed to get it right and then some on a huge play near the end of the third quarter. An exceptional punt having 4.5 seconds of hang time landed awkwardly in the Mississippi State returner’s hands, which was muffed and recovered by Slade Roy of LSU.
That play gave the Tigers the ball inside the MSU 10, and ultimately kicked off a fourth quarter in which LSU outscored its opponents 21-0. It may not fully alleviate their concerns regarding special teams, but it was huge for the unit’s confidence.
