When LSU takes the field Saturday for its annual spring game, the official start of the 2008 season will arrive.
Familiar faces like Glenn Dorsey and Jacob Hester will no longer represent the Tigers. Instead, a new wave of playmakers will begin carving their own names in LSU football lore.
“Our guys will really look forward to [the game],” said LSU coach Les Miles. “The opportunity to play in front of a large crowd in our stadium is good for our players.”
The Tigers will be split up into two different teams Saturday. The White team will consist mostly of starters or projected starters, and the purple team will include second-string players.
Though the majority of the first-team players will be teamed up against the backups, Miles said the competition won’t be as one-sided as fans might think.
“It’ll be mostly ones versus twos,” he said. “But we put some key ones in with the twos. There are some key guys that we think will give the second team a chance to score and defend.”
Senior defensive end Tyson Jackson said he expects the competition to be tough no matter who lines up where.
“You know you’re going up against some of the best guys in the country when you go out there,” he said. “You’ve got to get geared up for that.”
LSU junior offensive tackle Ciron Black said he prepares for the spring game like he would for any regular season game.
“We treat it like a normal game,” he said. “It’s about showing the coaches what you can do and if they can depend on you.”
Miles said that a number of players will be held out of Saturday’s game because of injury including junior linebackers Jacob Cutrera and Perry Riley.
“We’re a little nicked,” he said. “The linebacking corps is for the most part watching from the sidelines. The two linebackers who are healthy are Darry Beckwith and Kelvin Sheppard, same thing with the offensive line.”
Miles said senior center Matt Helms and junior guard Lyle Hitt have minor injuries but will participate in Saturday’s game.
After the spring game, LSU has one final obligation before the team packs it in for the summer offseason.
The Tigers will travel on Monday to Washington D.C. to meet with President Bush. LSU was formally invited to the White House shortly after LSU defeated Ohio State in the Bowl Championship Series National Championship game in January.
When asked what the reward for victory in the spring game will be, Miles responded jokingly, “We are going to take the winning squad to Washington to see the president, and they’ll get to sit in the front of the plane.”
—-Contact James Rees at [email protected]