By RON HIGGINS, Journal Sports
BATON ROUGE –- Cleaning out the notepad after LSU’s first four preseason football practices with four weeks remaining until the Tigers’ Aug. 30 season opener at Clemson. . .
Sometimes later this week, the Tigers will start practicing in shoulder pads. But so far, especially in 11-on-11 drills and in specialty team periods, here’s what’s been noticeable.
OFFENSE
It’s a positive that senior starting quarterback Garrett Nussmeier is now willing to bail out of a collapsing pocket and run, something he barely did at all last season.
Maybe it’s the fact that he was timed in the off-season running just more than 21 miles per hour. But he’s not hesitating to extend plays scrambling, making smart throws, or scooting downfield for gains of at least 10 yards before he’s stepping out of bounds.
The negative is that he’s having to do that on the majority of pass plays. LSU’s all-new starting offensive line doesn’t quite have chemistry yet, and defensive blitzers are getting to Nussmeier too often.
The best offensive lineman so far has been new starting left tackle Tyree Adams, a 6-7, 310-pound sophomore from New Orleans St. Augustine High. He started in LSU’s Texas Bowl win last January over Baylor when junior Will Campbell opted out because he was entering the NFL draft. So far in preseason, he’s won many one-on-one battles against high-touted transfer edge rushers Patrick Payton (Florida State), Jack Pyburn (Florida) and Jimari Butler (Nebraska).
“Will Campbell and Emery Jones were in front of me on the depth chart (last season),” Adams said. “Those guys showed me the way. They’re NFL guys and I wanted to learn, learn, learn everything.”
Sophomore Ju’Juan Johnson, bracketed as LSU’s third-team QB, is getting a lot of reps as a running back. While he’ll likely be used as a QB in Wildcat formation situations, he’s appearing to be third on the RB depth chart behind returning sophomore starter Caden Durham and freshman signee Harlem Berry.
A positive is that LSU’s receiving corps is deep in talent. It consistently makes great catches when adjusting to Nussmeier’s scrambles. Kentucky senior transfer Barion Brown has already demonstrated he can join returnee Chris Hilton as a legitimate deep threat. Oklahoma junior transfer Nic Anderson, at 6-4, 208 pounds, is a tough, physical cover for any defensive back.
At tight end, Oklahoma transfer Bauer Sharp (6-5, 246) and returning sophomore Trey’Dez Green (6-7, 240) are proving to be matchup nightmares because they’re athletic enough to play any receiving position.
DEFENSE
The most improved position group on the team is the defensive line, and not just because of the addition of the transfer edge rushing trio of Payton, Pyburn and Butler.
South Florida transfer defensive tackle Bernard Gooden, who has already infiltrated LSU’s offensive backfield several times, adds value to the DT rotation filled with Louisiana-bred monsters.
Graduate student Jacobian Guillory (Alexandria High) is working his way back after tearing his Achilles in Game 2vs. Nicholls last season. It forced then-true freshman Dominick McKinley (Lafayette Acadiana High) and Ahmad Breaux (Ruston High) into action, and they will likely be the starters to open this season.
“I had always worried about his (Breaux’s) toughness,” Guillory said. “But from the bowl game to now, his toughness is going through the roof. Maybe it has to do with him getting a little more mature.”
While All-SEC junior linebacker Whit Weeks is cautiously returning from a torn ACL suffered in January’s Texas Bowl, junior Harold Perkins Jr. is faster than ever after missing the last eight games last season with a torn ACL.
Judging from the consistent heat he has put on LSU’s QBs so far in the preseason, he’s finally found a position (the “star” linebacker, a hybrid LB/safety) that suits him.
“He (Perkins) is going to be doing everything this year,” said senior inside linebacker West Weeks, who starts alongside younger brother Whit. “He’s going to be dropping in covers, he’s going to be blitzing, he’s going to be fitting the run.”
Despite adding highly rated transfers senior cornerback Mansoor Delane (Virginia Tech), senior strong safety AJ Haulcy (Houston) and free safety Tamarcus Cooley (North Carolina State), the secondary remains a work in progress.
The shining lights among the DBs so far are sophomore PJ Woodland and true freshman DJ Pickett.
Woodland made a tremendous over-the-shoulder sliding interception of an overthrow by backup QB Michael Van Buren Jr. in Saturday’s practice. Five-star recruit Pickett is a physical freak (6-5, 195) with superior anticipatory skills.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Kickoff and punt returners?
All good with Zavion Thomas (second nationally last season in combined kickoff and punt return yardage) and Kentucky transfer Brown (five career TD kickoff returns).
Placekicker and kickoff specialist?
Very solid with two-year senior starting placekicker Damian Ramos and sophomore Aeron Burrell of Bossier City Parkway sailing kick after kick through the goalposts in the first few practices. Burrell, who ranked third nationally last season in kickoff touchbacks at 82 percent, hit a 52-yard field goal Saturday that cleared by more than 10 yards.
Punter?
Extremely questionable. While Burrell may be deployed in pooch punt situations because he launches mile-high 30-yard punts, new starting punter Middle Tennessee sophomore transfer Grant Chadwick and sophomore walk-on Badger Hargett are overwhelmingly average.
Contact Ron at ronhigginsmedia@gmail.com