On one of the hottest days of the still young spring, the Tigers took the field Thursday wearing full pads in preparation for the team’s first scrimmage on Saturday.
Junior quarterback Zach Mettenberger, along with freshmen Stephen Rivers and Jerrard Randall, worked with receivers on various basic routes during individual drills.
Throughout the early practice passing sessions, Mettenberger and crew worked primarily on post routes with a focus on hitting the back shoulder of receivers and then moved on to shorter slant routes.
The competition for the No. 2 spot under center was in full swing, with Randall looking sharp while frontrunner Rivers had accuracy problems on a few of his passes.
“They’re two young guys right now,” Mettenberger said about the quarterbacks. “They still have a lot to develop in their game. … Seeing stuff that they go through, or that I’ve been through, I try to help them out.”
Mettenberger expressed confidence in his backups, saying that if he were to get hurt, he feels the team could still go out and beat anybody in the country.
The non-pressured offense made easy targets for the self-proclaimed “Fab Five,” appeared to struggle during the drill, letting multiple balls hit the turf.
The team also took part in the Big Cat drill, where tempers began to flare when junior safety Eric Reid was hit while watching two teammates collide. Reid and freshman receiver Paul Turner exchanged words following the incident.
In the spirit of the NCAA tournament, the upset of the day went to 200-pound junior linebacker Seth Fruge, who took down junior running back Alfred Blue in the drill.
But LSU coach Les Miles wouldn’t let Mettenberger take on sophomore punter Brad Wing when Mettenberger jokingly called out Wing during the drill.
____ Contact Michael Gegenheimer at mgegenheimer@lsureveille.com
Football: Tigers ready for first scrimmage
March 15, 2012
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