The LSU football team scrimmaged at Wednesday’s practice, allowing the media to witness them at full speed and providing us with more information. While the sample size of plays to evaluate was small, they were still significant.
The anticipated event was just four possessions, split down the middle by Jayden Daniels and Garrett Nussmeier. Both quarterbacks ran the offenses with success, as they scored on every possession and looked good while doing it.
Here’s a breakdown of what I found noteworthy today, starting with what’s on everybody’s mind.
Quarterback Battle
This week has been centered around the quarterback situation, with Myles Brennan departing from football on Monday and the remaining candidates meeting with media on Tuesday. And while neither quarterback threw more than ten passes during the scrimmage, the results were still significant.
The quarterbacks had similar stats, as each player completed around 70-to-75 percent of their throws with mixtures of big plays and the occasional check down.
Daniels’ first drive immediately displayed his accuracy and ability to effectively operate the offense, with the team quickly making their way down the field and four of his first five passes being completed. His first pass of the day was a dime to Jaray Jenkins on a deep crossing route, which went for big yards and came against tight defense.
Nussmeier responded well initially, with a completion down the field to Jenkins and check down to Josh Williams. His accuracy was on par with Daniels, as he fit some throws through small openings.
The problem came when there was not a perceivable opening.
The biggest example of this came during his second appearance. In the red zone, Nussmeier found himself without an open receiver and under pressure. He responded to the pressure by inerrantly chucking the ball into a crowded corner in the endzone.
He had another play or two demonstrating a slight uneasiness under pressure and though that sample is small, it is significant.
The key difference between Daniels and Nussmeier isn’t talent, it’s experience. Daniels has been under pressure an endless number of times and has had plenty of time to learn how to make quick, smart decisions to deal with it.
Daniels’ composure throughout the scrimmage was practically contagious, as you could almost feel that he was about to make the right decision based on the way he was moving around in the pocket. In a race where any difference is significant, this may be what gives the nod to Daniels.
Receiving success continues
Prior to the scrimmage, receivers and defensive backs performed a drill where they went against each other in the corner of the endzone, where we witnessed some interesting exchanges.
Brian Thomas Jr. caught multiple touchdowns during the drill, with one coming in a tight battle against Jarrick Bernard-Converse, a projected starter at outside corner.
Mekhi Garner and Jaray Jenkins battled throughout the drill and got into it, with each win leading to trash talk after the fact. The tally finished even, with Jenkins catching one of his two passes against Garner.
The tight ends impressed as well, with Mason Taylor burning Derrick Davis Jr. on an amazing route and Kole Taylor catching a pass off his own deflection against the perceived starting safety in Jay Ward.
Jenkins was arguably the offensive MVP of the scrimmage, catching four passes, most of which went for big yards, and a nice touchdown pass from Nussmeier. Notably, Mason Taylor came in second in receptions with two, which continues to indicate that he’ll be involved at tight end in the fall.
The wide receiver room looks like one of the best in the country, and that’s been without Jack Bech on the field for much of camp. Expect the receivers to consistently interchange throughout games.
An *almost* wrapped up secondary
While the defensive line and linebacker lineups are figured out at this point, the secondary remains competitive.
That’s not to say there aren’t parts of it that appear complete. Jay Ward and Major Burns have consistently taken first-team reps throughout camp, with Joe Foucha’s involvement decreasing by the day. Greg Brooks Jr. has also maintained his expected starting position at nickel.
The discrepancy comes at outside cornerback. Jarrick Bernard-Converse, Colby Richardson and Mekhi Garner are the primary candidates and unfortunately, they can only fill two starting spots.
Richardson’s emergence has been a huge surprise. He’s gone from not having many people know who he is to lining up against Kayshon Boutte at practice.
When they added him back in June, few expected him to make an immediate impact. Brian Kelly claims that he already had it in him though, he just needed to gain some pounds.
“His summer workouts were outstanding,” Kelly said. “We saw this natural athlete that was not physically ready to compete at the [SEC level] transform himself physically.”
With the room being as competitive as it is, Kelly mentioned the possibility of having an interchangeable group as opposed to two guys consistently out there.
“I think we’ve got six corners that we feel we can play,” Kelly said. “That’s a far cry from where we were a few months ago.”
Either way, expect Bernard-Converse, Garner and Richardson to all be heavily involved in the fall.
Running backs changes and Offensive Line struggles
There has been a shift in the running back room, with Armoni Goodwin taking over on first-team reps in place of John Emery Jr. Goodwin has impressed viewers with his speed and agility throughout camp, along with his pass-catching ability out of the backfield.
At the scrimmage, the backfield evenly split the touches as expected, with each back running the ball 2-3 times. Each back also had a reception, indicative of Offensive Coordinator Mike Denbrock’s claims that they would be more involved in the passing game.
While the offensive line generally provided the quarterbacks with a good amount of time to throw, a few bad plays and snaps were observed, with the snap problem being a bit more concerning. Kelly claims that Dellinger’s struggles at snapping the ball are not a problem, as Dellinger was more focused on learning other responsibilities a center has than his snaps.
Still, it’s worth keeping an eye on.
The starting lineup currently features Dellinger at center, Tre’Mond Shorts and Miles Frazier at guard and Will Campbell and Anthony Bradford at tackle. But according to Kelly, there are a few other players still in the mix: Cam Wire, Marcus Dumervil, Charles Turner and Emory Jones.
While a lot has been wrapped up in terms of who we expect to see take the field against Florida State, there are still a few competitive positions to figure out. Stay tuned for more news on those.
