LSU junior defensive lineman Greg Gilmore didn’t want to leave the 4-3 defense.
Now as the “anchor in the middle” of LSU defensive coordinator Dave Aranda’s new scheme, Gilmore is enjoying the change from defensive tackle to nose tackle.
“I adapted,” Gilmore said. “I go where I was needed.”
With the season-ending knee injury to senior defensive tackle Christian LaCouture, Gilmore and sophomore defensive lineman Travonte Valentine have been rotating at the position, Gilmore said Monday.
A defense that returns three starters on the line brings comfort for Gilmore. But even when the younger players touch the field, he has confidence in the freshmen and their uncanny knack for taking direction from more seasoned linemen.
The hefty 6-foot-4, 308-pound tackle put on 11 pounds for his new nose tackle position in preparation for the double teams he will face this season.
“I was like 297 or something in camp,” Gilmore said. “I said ‘I got to go eat me a cheeseburger or something.’ I can’t be taking double teams like that.”
Gilmore said switching from defensive tackle to nose tackle requires a little more activity.
A bigger, faster and stronger Gilmore feels like he’s a true nose tackle.
“Some plays I may have to anchor down,” Gilmore said. “And sometimes I’m going to go get it and make plays for me. That’s just a great thing Coach Dave has put in for us.”
Senior defensive end Lewis Neal said he has noticed an improvement in his style of play, and he comes to practice every day with an “attitude” to get better.
“Every time his number is called, I feel like he gives it his all,” Neal said.
Wide receivers becoming more physical
When LSU wide receiver coach Dameyune Craig arrived to LSU, he harbored a preconceived notion: his new wide receiver group would be the “weakest group” in the Southeastern Conference.
“Coach Craig like to say a lot of things,” said junior wide receiver D.J. Chark. “He always drives us about being physical.”
Often, Craig mentions former LSU standouts Odell Beckham and Jarvis Landry, and he wants his new crop of receivers to resemble their style of play.
Chark also said their motivation to be more physical made teammates on the defensive side of the ball try to match the wideouts’ intensity.
The Shreveport, Louisiana native will step in as the No. 3 receiver, and he has worked on not just relying on his speed.
“A lot of time, you can’t just run by someone,” Chark said. “You have to use technique or trying to stack that guy or try to get him on the release. Speed can’t be the only thing you rely on.”
George Brown Jr. to leave LSU
Former three-star offensive tackle George Brown Jr. will transfer from the University, LSU spokesperson Michael Bonnette confirmed.
Brown, a native of Cincinnati, Ohio, sat out his freshman season as a redshirt. The 6-foot-7, 290-pound offensive tackle held offers from Alabama, Florida and Texas before deciding to come to LSU.
Brown is the second member of the football team to transfer in 12 days.

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Caroline Magee

LSU junior defensive tackle Greg Gilmore #99 speaks to media on Monday, Aug. 22, 2016.