Five plays into LSU football’s annual Spring Game, there was every indication that the Tigers were backtracking into the same mistakes, the same mental gaffes and the same missteps.

In the fall, LSU’s championship-caliber offense was held back by a defense that ranked among the country’s worst — one that continuously bent and broke.

The offseason was spent trying to fix that, with the defensive staff completely overhauled, but now it was happening again.

READ MORE: First-team offense shines, second-team offense hits snags in LSU Spring Game

Thirteen yards to Aaron Anderson: wide open, with freshman cornerback PJ Woodland caught backpedaling way downfield on Anderson’s dig route.

Twelve yards as Josh Williams ran through the defense, overpowering tacklers. Ten yards to Mason Taylor. In between was a mercifully dropped deep ball where cornerback Ashton Stamps trailed receiver Chris Hilton Jr.

The opening drive was capped off by a 45-yard touchdown to transfer wide receiver Zavion Thomas, complete with a celebratory round of duck, duck, goose for the offense.

The spotlight defensively was once again on the much-maligned secondary. Instead of crumbling, the defensive backfield fought back.

On the next drive, the second-team defense forced a punt, playing solid all around, highlighted by a physical Kylin Jackson pass breakup.

By the end of the game, the defense and the offense had tied, 31-31. The first-team defense took its lumps, allowing 21 of those points in their first three drives on the field, but there was something to build on.

The secondary showed something it has been lacking: depth.

Several young players stood out and made plays on the second team. That will need to continue, as the defensive backs are the swing factor of LSU’s defense this season.

Signs of progress

It wasn’t a perfect day for the defense by any means, but the second-team players did their part.

In particular, Jackson, the redshirt freshman safety, was very physical at the point of the catch.

“His skillset is such that, you know, he’s going to do a really good job on the tight ends,” head coach Brian Kelly said. “We expect him to do that.”

Freshman safety Dashawn McBryde also made an impact with his great length and tackling ability.

Jyaire Brown, a transfer cornerback from Ohio State, also had a few plays where he had good position, including a pass breakup in the end zone and a third down tackle short of the sticks.

Though the second-team front seven generating pressure and the backup quarterbacks’ inaccuracy both helped, the secondary held its own.

It remains to be seen how big of a role the backup defensive backs will have this season, but many have made a case to be involved.

As for the first-team defense, there were certainly issues. On the 45-yard opening drive touchdown, Kelly said the defenders confusedly ran Cover 2 instead of Cover 3, leaving an entire third of the field uncovered, something he’d never seen before.

That was just one of three 40-yard gains it allowed through the air.

“We can’t have those kind of mistakes,” Kelly said. “They’re unacceptable … we just got flat out out-ran for the football.”

On another big play allowed by the first team, sophomore running back Kaleb Jackson burst free for an untouched 32-yard touchdown. Safeties Sage Ryan and Jardin Gilbert both took bad angles to the ball.

Clearly, some of the old habits resurfaced. But it wasn’t all bad for the starters.

Once Nussmeier came out of the game, the first-team defense played two more drives and forced two stops.

Woodland was the culprit on a few breakdowns, but he looked strong before the game in red zone drills. He came up with multiple pass breakups.

There’s absolutely plenty of room to improve for the defense, but there were flashes from the secondary. It seemed like last year a play where a defender was in a good position as the ball flew through the air was a rarity, and there were several examples of that Saturday.

READ MORE: LSU defense struggles early, shows glimpses of young talent in Spring Game

Where it stands now

Though many have speculated that LSU may seek to replenish the defensive back room with the spring transfer portal window beginning April 16, Kelly seemed to indicate that the only position the team will address there is defensive tackle.

That means that what the team has is what it has.

Kelly frequently said the same last year throughout the secondary’s struggles, that another cornerback wasn’t walking through the door. For all the changes to the coaching staff, there haven’t been any overwhelming changes to the defensive back room.

It seems likely that many of the current starters in the secondary (namely, Woodland and Stamps at cornerback, Gilbert and Ryan at safety and Major Burns at the star position) will be fighting for their spots into the fall. There’s likely to be shuffling, especially with young players performing so well.

Still, it may be the case that the personnel LSU has available once again, will hold it back. However, it’s also far too early to judge.

Throughout spring practices, the new defensive staff has been building from the ground up with installing the defensive scheme. They’ve worked on basic things like gap alignment, and the emphasis has been on teaching and correcting.

Needless to say, the way the defense looked in the Spring Game isn’t what it’ll look like Week 1, or even in fall practices. The players are just getting accustomed and grasping the basics.

At the end of the day, depending on the staying power of what looks so far like another great offense, the defense doesn’t need to carry the team.

It just needs to do its part, something it often didn’t do last year, and something it’s working to do going forward.