Freshman Purple team quarterback Russell Shepard showed flashes of success Saturday in LSU’s annual spring game, but two mistakes proved costly in the Purple team’s 27-0 loss to the White team in Tiger Stadium.Shepard finished 7-of-12 for 70 passing yards and rushed eight times for 16 net yards. But a lost fumble and an interception made him “look like a young quarterback,” coach Les Miles said.”When you evaluate a guy like Russell Shepard on a day, you have to see some of the things he did positive and negative,” Miles said. “He has a very athletic body and needs reps to develop throws. He can be a quarterback who has the ability to both run and pass.”Sophomore Jordan Jefferson started for the White team at quarterback and completed 8-of-10 passes for 97 yards with no turnovers. He said he feels more confident with the way the offense runs, and he said he sees great promise for Shepard.”This year I understand the playbook more, and I’m able to bring more to the table than last year,” Jefferson said. “Russell did well — he made all the right reads and is good with his feet. We’re going to use him to his full ability.”But the running backs stole the show Saturday as senior Charles Scott and junior Richard Murphy accounted for the offensive touchdowns in the White team’s win.Scott led the White team in all-purpose yards with 70 on the ground, and his touchdowns came from 3 yards and 1 yard out in the first half.Murphy, who switched from the Purple team to the White team in the second half and finished with six carries for 41 yards, said he feels a good chemistry has developed among the running backs in the spring.”Charles and I felt really comfortable together,” Murphy said. “The offense opened up because you never knew who was getting the ball out with me, Charles or Keiland [Williams] rotating in and out  — Keiland could be at fullback and Charles at tailback, or Charles at fullback and Keiland at tailback. We opened up all our options.”Senior wide receiver Brandon LaFell led all receivers with 59 yards on five receptions, and he gave his effort Saturday a “B-plus.””I started off slow after my back injury in the [Chick-fil-A] bowl game last year,” LaFell said. “I caught balls but I had one drop. That drop around here, that’s a lot, especially for a guy with a history of dropped balls.”Freshman wide receiver Tim Molton caught two passes for 35 yards for the Purple team.On defense, senior Harry Coleman played significant minutes at linebacker in the spring game. Miles said Coleman proved Saturday he can make the transition from safety to linebacker easily.”We need another greater athlete at that perimeter spot, and Coleman can be that guy,” Miles said.Coleman said the coaching staff wanted to utilize him as both a run and pass defender in the linebacker position.”That’s the reason they moved me to linebacker,” Coleman said. “Instead of running different personnel on the field, I can cover a receiver as well as take on the run.”Sophomore safety Ron Brooks returned kicks for the Purple team, and he said he feels more comfortable at the safety spot after converting from cornerback this spring.”We’re more hungry than we were last year,” Brooks said. “I have more freedom back there [at safety], and I hope to have a prominent role as a kick returner. It felt good to get the ball in my hands.”Miles praised the performance of punter Derek Helton, and he said “the day was good” besides a 50-yard missed field goal by Josh Jasper.”[Helton] punted with great hangtime and in the direction just where we needed him to have it,” Miles said. “He’s a newcomer to our campus, and it was a key piece to the day.”
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