It’s no secret where the LSU football team wants to be for the 2010 season.LSU coach Les Miles has preached a sense of physicality to players and coaches alike during the last four weeks of spring practice.Now it’s time for the rest of the country to judge for themselves.The Tigers will partake in live action in front of a crowd for the first time since the Capital One Bowl on New Year’s Day, a 19-17 loss to Penn State, as they take part in the annual National L Club Spring Game on Saturday at 3 p.m. in Tiger Stadium.”I’ve talked to a lot of players in the past like [former LSU quarterback Rohan Davey] to Charles Scott to everybody, and they all say this is the most physical spring in LSU history,” sophomore wide receiver Russell Shepard said of the team’s intense practices. “And that’s the big thing — when you talk about a big-time program and for this to be the most physical spring they’ve ever seen, that’s a huge step for us.”The game will serve as a Tweetup, an event in which a group of people who communicate on Twitter meet in person. LSU is attempting to break the Guinness World Record for largest Tweetup.Ford Motor Company holds the record with a 1,149-person event in December 2009.And while the lights from Tiger Stadium won’t shine on the field because of the afternoon kickoff, television cameras will shine brightly instead.The game Saturday will be nationally televised on ESPN2 for the first time in program history, which dates back to 1893.If two consecutive sub-par seasons weren’t enough fuel to fire up LSU, Saturday’s national TV audience should do the trick. “This year we have a chip on our shoulder,” said senior safety Jai Eugene. “The last two years that we have played, we felt like we left something out there. So we have a chip on our shoulder now to prove to everyone that we are that top team.”Junior running back Stevan Ridley echoed Eugene’s statement, noting the added excitement the cameras will bring.”As a player, if that doesn’t make you want to play better or play your best game, then I don’t know if you’re ready to play here at LSU,” he said. But before the 3 p.m. kickoff, a handful of players will square off in the Big Cat drill, a one-on-one drill that Miles introduced after the first week of practice.The Tigers will go through a full-fledged game duthen ring the first half, while the second half will include more situational work.Position changes and fresh faces have dominated the spring.Eugene moved from cornerback to safety. Shepard transitioned from quarterback to receiver. Lazarius “Pep” Levingston moved one position over on the defensive line from end to tackle. Junior Stefan Francois converted from safety to linebacker, and sophomore Chase Clement switched from defensive line to tight end.”We realize the spring is an opportunity for us to see a lot of our younger guys and an opportunity to get better at key positions as well as other positions,” Shepard said.The players were divided by Miles and his coaching staff and split into a Purple team and a White team.Not only will there be a chance to display the team’s future to a national TV audience, but bragging rights for the winning team are also at stake.”We haven’t put hot dogs and steaks on this thing,” Miles said with a smile. “Maybe we need to. We’ll have a picnic after the spring game, and maybe the one team will have to serve another team.”
—-Contact Sean Isabella at sisabella@lsureveille.com
Tigers conclude practice with spring game at 3 p.m. Saturday in Tiger Stadium
March 24, 2010

LSU freshman wide receiver Rueben Randle bobbles the ball.