While LSU senior Andrew Whitworth was making his 40th consecutive start at left tackle against Arizona State University, four players were making their first career start for the Tigers. One was starting his first game at a new position.
The Tigers’ defense not only has to adjust to first-year Defensive Coordinator Bo Pelini, but they also have to adapt to four new starters on defense who are taking over for departed seniors Marcus Spears, Corey Webster, Travis Daniels and Lionel Turner.
Senior Cameron Vaughn replaced Turner at middle linebacker, which created an opening at weak-side linebacker where Vaughn had 19 starts, including all 12 last season.
“Cameron did real good,” sophomore linebacker Ali Highsmith said. “He made the adjustment just like the rest of the linebackers before him. He took the challenge up and did everything he was supposed to.”
Vaughn, who recorded six tackles against the Sun Devils, is the third linebacker in four seasons to shift from the weak-side to the middle.
Senior E.J. Kuale was slated to replace Vaughn at weak-side linebacker before he suffered an ankle injury during preseason practice that required a cast.
Junior Jason Spadoni started in place of Kuale at weak-side linebacker and recorded two solo tackles.
Spadoni switched from running back to weak-side linebacker during spring training, where he worked his way to second on the depth chart.
“For a first game, it was a real big test for him, and he did good,” said Highsmith, who also plays weak-side linebacker in certain packages.
Junior Chase Pittman replaced Spears at defensive end.
Although Pittman did not record any tackles or sacks, he said he was pleased with his performance, considering the Sun Devil offense played a lot of maximum protection with double teams on the lineman.
“Chase’s performance was less than what he’ll be in the future,” Coach Les Miles said of Pittman’s first game in a year and a half. “It was a representative performance for him. He’ll be better as games go on.”
Pittman said he was somewhat anxious going into the game, but most of all, he said he was just happy to be playing football again because he was tired of sitting around watching.
“I felt a little rusty after not playing in a year and a half, but I’m working the kinks out,” Pittman said.
Senior Ronnie Prude and sophomore Chevis Jackson replaced Webster and Daniels at cornerback positions. Prude went into the game with eight career starts, while Jackson made his first.
Prude tied for a team-high eight tackles, and Jackson recorded three. But both had mistakes in their zone coverage, which Sun Devil quarterback Sam Keller took advantage of with 461 yards passing and four touchdowns.
“I have as much faith in Ronnie and Chevis as I had in Corey or Travis,” junior strong safety Jessie Daniels said. “Sometimes maybe Chevis was confused at some points. He didn’t know if he should play off or on, or he played too soft in some situations.”
Daniels said the cornerbacks are playing more zone defense this season, and that is an adjustment they will have to make from last season, where the cornerbacks played a lot of aggressive man-to-man coverage.
“It felt great, but different,” Jackson said. “I didn’t feel more pressure, but there is a lot more responsibility knowing that your teammates are depending on you.”
After watching the game film, Jackson said he had some good and bad plays and said he recognized his mistakes.
“The mistakes were basically technique-wise – moving my feet and using my eyes to look for keys,” Jackson said. “Every game is a learning experience, and I’ll get better as the games go on. The next game, I won’t make the same mistakes.”
Red shirt freshman left guard Brett Helms was the only first-time starter on offense after he won the job in fall practice over sophomore Will Arnold, who started six times at the position last season.
Although Helms started the game, he and Arnold shared time at the position against the Sun Devils.
Contact Clinton Duckworth at [email protected]