A glance at the personnel on LSU’s kickoff coverage is enough to see how the No. 4 Tigers buck the usual trend of letting young, inexperienced
players handle special teams.
From sophomore safety Jamal Adams to senior linebacker Deion Jones, starters riddle each special teams squad for LSU, and it isn’t a coincidence.
Since he arrived in Baton Rouge in 2005, LSU coach Les Miles emphasized the importance of special teams and backed it up with a highlight reel of fake field goals and fake punt calls against ranked
opponents.
“Anytime you have a head coach like [Miles] that uses special teams and has attention to detail on it, you appreciate it,” said former LSU running back Jacob Hester. “That’s why when I was playing, you had so many starters that were willing to play special teams … When a coach uses that much of the time to tell you how important it is, it makes it important to you.”
Win or lose, Miles’ willingness to take risks on special teams defines his LSU career with memorable plays, starting with a fake field goal against then-No. 12 University of South Carolina on Sept. 22, 2007.
Miles handed South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier a bit of his own medicine and earned himself the nickname the “Mad Hatter” when starting quarterback and holder Matt Flynn flipped the ball perfectly over his shoulder to placekicker Colt David for a touchdown.
Despite holding the LSU career scoring record with 369 points, David isn’t remembered for his pinpoint accuracy, a feat only Miles could achieve.
“You want to be known as kicker for your kicking,” David said. “It’s kind of weird when you’re known more for a fake play.”
Throughout his LSU career, Miles has wrote the book on how to embarrass the University of Florida with fake plays.
During the Tigers’ undefeated run to the 2012 Bowl Championship Series National Championship Game, Miles gave Australian punter Brad Wing his minute in the limelight against then-No. 17 Florida.
As the last 30 seconds of the first quarter ticked down with the Tigers leading 14-0, Wing lined up to punt on his own 48-yard line on a fourth-and-15.
But when the ball snapped, Wing tucked the ball and scampered down the sideline for a touchdown, which was called back because of an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty call on Wing.
“If [Miles] sees a team that doesn’t take special teams as seriously as LSU does, [than] he feels like that’s an advantage he’s going to exploit that,” Hester said. “If you look at Brad Wing against Florida a couple years ago, he scored a touchdown on a fake punt. Those are things Les is comfortable doing.”
This season, the “Mad Hatter” struck the Gators again with a fake field goal featuring a backup quarterback at holder to seal the Tigers’ 35-28 victory against Florida on Oct. 17.
With LSU deadlocked against Florida, 28-28, and 10:50 left in the fourth quarter, the Tigers looked to take the lead with a 33-yard field goal attempt by junior placekicker Trent Domingue.
When senior backup quarterback and holder Brad Kragthorpe read the Gators’ coverage, he saw the key in Florida’s coverage the Tigers had prepared to take advantage of all week in practice.
“They were in the look we wanted them to be in,” Kragthorpe said. “It was one of those deals where we knew we would have an opportunity. We just wanted to take advantage of it.”
Seconds later, Domingue caught a lateral from Kragthorpe and sprinted in for LSU’s go-ahead touchdown.
“It was the perfect point on the field where we wanted to do it,” Domingue said. “Whenever we lined up, I said, ‘We’re actually going to run it, dude.’ I was really excited … I got back in my steps, and we ran it.”
Despite Domingue’s touchdown, the Tigers have struggled on special teams coverage this season, featuring the nation’s worst punt return coverage
allowing 28.7 yards per return.
LSU’s punt and kickoff return teams have allowed two kicks returned for touchdowns through seven games, including South Carolina freshman cornerback Rashad Fenton’s 96-yard kickoff return for
touchdown.
“We’re out there doing our jobs,” said sophomore wide receiver Trey Quinn on Oct. 12. “As far as we know, he made a good play and it’s history now.”
Along with the coverage teams struggling, the Tigers’ return game fell flat, averaging just 10.7 yards per punt return and 18.3 yards per kickoff
return.
Despite recording his second career punt return for a touchdown against Syracuse University on Sept. 26, junior cornerback Tre’Davious White’s inconsistency fielding punts has sparked questions surrounding his job security after he was sidelined against Western Kentucky University with an injury.
Freshman defensive back Donte Jackson easily handled every punt against the Hilltoppers, threatening to break each one with his blazing speed.
Although the special teams improved against Western Kentucky, continued improvement in each special teams’ unit could make or break LSU’s chances at reaching the College Football Playoff.
“I thought special teams were pretty good minus the onside kick,” Miles said in his postgame press conference after Western Kentucky. “We punted the ball with coverage. We kicked the ball well. We kicked it off and hit marks. Our special teams have improved.”